New commissioner board

[STMLADY]

I am concerned about the board. With Dan and Tom on there and others being previous democrats.......any thoughts on that one..

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by STMLADY
I am concerned about the board. With Dan and Tom on there and others being previous democrats.......any thoughts on that one..

For some time St. Mary's has been in a strange position. Natives have historically been conservative Democrats, and people outside the party machine gravitated to the GOP. As recently as the 1990-94 commissioner board, the Republican faction favored more government spending than the Democratic faction (especially on school issues).

You're right--it would be fascinating to hear why Dement, Gray, Jarboe and McKay switched parties. They definitely left themselves open to charges that they simply wanted a free pass to the general election.

Now, I'm simply guessing when I say that McKay used to be a Democrat. His dad was a Democrat when he was county commissioner and state delegate in the 1970s. He switched to run against Roy Dyson in 1994.

 

[STMLADY]

I can confirm that. McKay used to be a Democrat.

Larry has bounced back and forth but for the past 8 years I know he has been a republican. I do like Larry and he has my full support.

 

[vraiblonde]

Tonio, you're onto something because that's why a lot of them changed. The pickin's were slim for Republican candidates down there so they changed over so they wouldn't have so much to compete with.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by STMLADY
I can confirm that. McKay used to be a Democrat.

Larry has bounced back and forth but for the past 8 years I know he has been a republican. I do like Larry and he has my full support.

Except for that period after Shelby beat him in the last election, when he switch to Democrat, then changed his mind a while later. So much for the past 8 years, considering that was 4 years ago.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Tonio
You're right--it would be fascinating to hear why Dement, Gray, Jarboe and McKay switched parties. They definitely left themselves open to charges that they simply wanted a free pass to the general election.

Now, I'm simply guessing when I say that McKay used to be a Democrat. His dad was a Democrat when he was county commissioner and state delegate in the 1970s. He switched to run against Roy Dyson in 1994.

You are correct. They all switched to run for office, so they wouldn't have to attempt to unseat the sitting commissioner during the primary. Hell, Dement was on the Democratic Central Committee for better than 10 years. They're just trying to give themselves an opportunity to win. It's not any more complicated than that, and nothing wrong with it either! Pretty smart of them to make the changes necessary to give them the best opportunity at victory.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by smcdem
Joe calls Dement to congratulate him, Kenny asks what the hell do I do now. O my...it'll be a long 4 years.

Well, that's better than getting a little (too much) Budweiser and driving to Breton Inn to whip Joe in the parking lot!

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Tonio
With Randall and Anderson (both defense contractor employees) out, the new commissioner board has no one tied to NAS Patuxent River. What do you think of this? It also looks like everyone on the new board was born in St. Mary's.

Now that we've thrown the Good Old Boys people out, we'll quickly start hearing about how the GOB is in control of the county once again, making that term even more ridiculous. McKay, Dement, Mattingly, Jarboe and Raley. It doesn't get any more St. Mary's County than that. You can give me county-boys any day to the radical outsiders ousted in the General Election.

We threw out the radicals and put in the most conservative choices available. This board will do well for two reasons. We now have a group that will get along and work together. The last board put on a good show, but the last two to go were more than meets the eye. Secondly, we were smart enough to put two experienced commissioners back into office.

Probably the best thing to happen after this election is that Vernon Gray has promised to stop writing his newspaper articles, and he won't run for another election after his (4th?) loss. But, your wisdom cost Joe Gass his election. He'll choose his "teammates" better next time. So, goodbye Vernon. Nice to have you around as the voters whipping-boy for the last 12 years.

For once, I voted correctly. Now I don't know how to act.

 

[Tonio]

Nodnarb, not all the newcomers are "radical". Some profess to be more conservative than the natives. Think about how many retired military people we have in this county.

Anyway, I never wanted to see local elections become a natives vs. newcomers issue. If some people chose only to vote for native candidates, then that's sad. Our democracy is healthiest when people from all segments of the community campaign for office.

 

[MDindef]

That's right...

Did anyone notice a lot of family names on the election ballot? How many "Mattingly's" were there running for different offices here?

 

[STMLADY]

Originally posted by Nodnarb
Except for that period after Shelby beat him in the last election, when he switch to Democrat, then changed his mind a while later. So much for the past 8 years, considering that was 4 years ago.

I stand Corrected Nodnarb...thank you.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Tonio
Nodnarb, not all the newcomers are "radical". Some profess to be more conservative than the natives. Think about how many retired military people we have in this county.

I was specifically referring to Julie and Joe.

I think this was more about moderates being elected. It just so happens that the moderates were also the locals.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by MDindef
That's right...

Did anyone notice a lot of family names on the election ballot? How many "Mattingly's" were there running for different offices here?

I'm not saying that's a bad thing. People should take an interest in their community, no matter where they are from.

I really think that it has more to do with the moderates won, and it just so happens that they are all native to SMC. Just a co-winky-dink.

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by Nodnarb
I was specifically referring to Julie and Joe.

I think this was more about moderates being elected. It just so happens that the moderates were also the locals.

You're right about Mattingly, Raley and Dement. But I wouldn't consider Gass and Jarboe to be moderates. And even Randall and Anderson aren't all that far from the mainstream either, when you compare them to Gass, Jarboe, Lewis and Gray.

 

[alex]

I don't think you will see that much change in what gets done with the new board vs. the old board.

Jarboe's talked about open meetings, yet when he was on the board 4 years ago the public took the board to court to get open meetings.

The newly elected (not the reelected) board members talked about geting the Board out of the developers pockets. I think this board went from the developers pockets to their beds.

Only time will tell, but I would not be surprised to see even more development than before. It will be interesting to see if Metcom is instructed to install new sewers lines to the McKay's in Charlotte Hall now that Tommy is on the board. Rumor has it that they have been having septic problems and have been nickel & diming the fixes rather then do it right.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by alex
Only time will tell, but I would not be surprised to see even more development than before. It will be interesting to see if Metcom is instructed to install new sewers lines to the McKay's in Charlotte Hall now that Tommy is on the board. Rumor has it that they have been having septic problems and have been nickel & diming the fixes rather then do it right.

That's pretty unfair. Charlotte Hall / Mechanicsville is a development district/town center. According to the zoning ordinance, those areas require water and sewage infrastructure. Development is controlled by that document. Not the commissioners.

If anything, we better hope that MetCom receives some cash to help with their buildout. Given the deficit in State funds, I doubt that will happen. If McKay's benefits, it's because they are in a Town Center/Development District. Not because Tommy McKay was elected to office.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Tonio
You're right about Mattingly, Raley and Dement. But I wouldn't consider Gass and Jarboe to be moderates. And even Randall and Anderson aren't all that far from the mainstream either, when you compare them to Gass, Jarboe, Lewis and Gray.

Gass lost. I wasn't considering him a moderate. He's more is a right winger in the spirit of the extreme religious right.

Tommy Mattingly wasn't moderate back when the tax increases were enacted, but he moved towards the center as he gained experience. He won.

Randall and Anderson were both 1:20 folks who wanted to take your property rights. They caved on 1:5 because the other 3 wouldn't go for their 1:20 plan.

Jarboe has a history of being a fiscal conservative, although I would agree that he isn't moderate on all (or even most) issues. But, considering the liberal Democrat he beat in Dr. Brooks, he's the moderate. Plus, Larry is also one of the most personable people you ever want to meet.

The moderates won all 5 seats.

 

[smcdem]

I still can't see how you can say Jarboe is a moderate?? Well what was sad about this race is that the dems really were aganist the developers (well Julie and Joe were at least) and the repubs did an amazing job to cast them as friends of the developers. I have to hand it to you, it was your year to shine I guess. No matter what we did to make the truth be known, we just dug ourselves a deeper hole. Hey, its not fair but through out this campaign I have matured. I am forever thankful.

 

[Oz]

You're right. Julie and Joe probably weren't the friends of developers, given their 1:20 stance. But, all citizens must work within the framework of our zoning ordinance, so, I really don't see your point. Developers have the same rules as everyone else. Pull them up on the county web site, although I have challenged you on this before and you buzz in and out of the thread.

Jarboe has a 4 year history as a commissioner of being a fiscal conservative. That was the important part. Calling him a moderate is a stretch, but because of the fiscal record of his previous board, that made him closer to the center than Dr. Brooks. Right now, what our county needs is someone to watch the checkbook, and that's what we got.

Now, we need a county administrator who has the best interest of the board and county at heart, instead of his own agenda. This board needs to buy out the current Administrator and hire a professional who has run something. One who won't continue the spending policies currently in place. Buy out the attorney with no experience running anything, much less an organization this size. That has been the biggest mistake of the current board, in my opinion.

 

[Delilah903]

Originally posted by smcdem
I still can't see how you can say Jarboe is a moderate?? Well what was sad about this race is that the dems really were aganist the developers (well Julie and Joe were at least) and the repubs did an amazing job to cast them as friends of the developers. I have to hand it to you, it was your year to shine I guess. No matter what we did to make the truth be known, we just dug ourselves a deeper hole. Hey, its not fair but through out this campaign I have matured. I am forever thankful.

Smcdem:

You are being incredibly gracious about the outcome of this election and it causes me to have a lot of respect for you. You are a very intelligent kid and I look forward to more debates with you. I certainly enjoy your posts.

On a different note, I can't see why the Democrats are upset by the outcome of the election. We basically still have an all Democrat Board regardless what party the candidates were with at the time.

Tommy McKay was a Democrat until four days before the Primary....

Kenny DeMent was a Democrat until one week before the Primary....

Dan Raley is currently a Democrat............

Tommy Mattingly is currently a Democrat......

The only Republican on the Board (IMHO) is Larry Jarboe!