District 38B Primary Results

Congratulations to Del. Norm Conway and Mayor Gee Williams, who won strong endorsements from Democratic voters in the Sept. 14, 2010, primary election. Following are unofficial results with all District 38B precincts reporting. Absentee and provisional votes are not included.

• Norman H. Conway . . . . . . . 5,051 votes      54.91 percent
• Gee Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,954 votes      32.12 percent
• Bernard John Hayden . . . . . .1,193 votes       12.97 percent

Norm Conway and Gee Williams have my full support in the Nov. 2 General Election, along with our Democratic candidate for State Senate in District 38, Del. Jim Mathias, and also Michael McCready, the Democratic candidate for House of Delegates in Districct 38A.

For more news and opinion on the 2010 Election in District 38 and beyond, see www.MarylandOnMyMind.com.

Thanks to all for your support!

– John Hayden

Local Jobs for Worcester and Wicomico

Protect Schools from Funding Cuts

Impose Term Limits on Politicians

Stop Tolerating Corruption

Conserve Farmland And Coastal Bays

Think Green — Clean Air and Water

Improve Rt. 589 (Racetrack Road)

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Attention Democrats:

Please vote on Tuesday. Remember, you have the right to vote for two (2) candidates for House of Delegates in District 38B. You have three Democrats to choose from: Norm Conway, Bernard John Hayden, and Gee Williams. Please vote for two of us. Good luck to all!

For Candidate Info in Maryland, Click On: VOTE411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters. You’ll bring up a list of Maryland candidates, from governor at the top to  House of Delegates and County Commissioners at the bottom.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

1) John Hayden responds to the League of Women Voters Candidate Survey. **Please click right here**

2) John Hayden responds to questions from four leading environmental groups in Maryland. **Please click right here**

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Why John Hayden Is Running

We’ve got some problems. We’re in an era of economic crisis and change. People have lost confidence in government, in big corporations, and in both political parties. People are sick and tired of politics as usual. We need to make some changes and restore confidence. We have to cooperate and respect one another. We have to live within our means. We might as well get started right now. This year, this election.

Does anyone represent independent-thinking, middle-class working people? I don’t want to represent big business or special interests. I’m available if you want someone to represent everyday people — the folks who work and pay taxes.

Your vote is the most important vote. Do you want politics as usual, or a new can-do attitude?

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Historical Perspective

The present economic crisis began in 2007, but we did not get to that point overnight. The American economy has been in decline for a long time. Some people trace it as far back as the 1950s, when America was at the height of its industrial power, and corporations decided to scrap the concept of “durable goods” and replace it with “planned obsolescence.”

The “hollowing out” of the American industrial base was well advanced by the recession of 1982. America’s industrial region became known as the “Rust Belt.” Yet the transfer of American industry and jobs overseas continued through the 1990s.

The masters of finance were in denial. They imagined that technological innovation and unending growth would create good jobs for all.  Exuberant investors thought the bull market and prosperity were permanent. During the high-tech bubble in the late 1990s, they even proclaimed the “end of the business cycle.”

After the turn of the century, everything changed. The rise of terrorism, the invasion of Iraq, and especially the housing bubble and credit bubble, led to near melt-down of the U.S. financial system. The run-up of U.S. personal and government debt during the same period limited our ability to recover. (Hard to believe that as recently as 1998, the federal government was running a surplus!) The economic contagion went worldwide!

It took us a long time to get into this mess, and it will take a long time to resolve it. I believe we have entered a prolonged period of economic turbulence and change, with unpredictable social and political consequences. If there were only one or two areas of concern, perhaps we could have a sense of direction. But there are too many variables in the worldwide economic system.

No one can predict what dislocations may lie ahead. For instance, even the experts did not expect the collapse of housing prices, or the financial crisis on Wall Street. No one predicted the BP oil spill, and certainly no one was prepared to respond adequately. Even now, as we come to grips with the economic pain inflicted on the Gulf Coast fishing and tourist industries, we can only guess at the extent of long-term environmental destruction.

With entire countries in Europe in danger of sovereign default, and some states in the U.S. as well, we seem to be at the edge of chaos.

The Situation In Maryland

I lay out the economic crisis to put the 2010 Maryland elections in perspective. We need to understand the national situation, but not let it confuse us about Maryland’s challenges and needs.

Maryland is NOT on the verge of default, like California, Illinois, Michigan, and New York. Unemployment is bad enough in Maryland, but not as intractable as in some other states.

Maryland will add thousands of military and intelligence jobs in the next few years due to BRAC. Those jobs are coming to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County; Fort Meade, between Baltimore and Washington; and Pax River in Southern Maryland. Some ripple effect will be felt on the Eastern Shore. We will see some increased demand for housing in Talbot County and beyond, and we will welcome additional vacationers and weekend visitors to the Shore.

The colossal public debt is a federal problem. Maryland is NOT running a deficit. Maryland has no debt except bonds sold to finance capital improvements. And Maryland continues to enjoy a Triple-A bond rating, indicating that the debt is well within our means.

The problem for Maryland is in the operating budget and the capital budget, not in unmanageable debt. Revenue is stagnant and expenses are going up, so Maryland will have to make significant — and probably painful — spending cuts.

Tax increases are out of the question during the continuing economic crisis. Tax increases would only make things worse. The only tax I would vote to increase during the next four years is the alcohol tax. It has not been adjusted in years, and it is a reasonable place to look for additional revenue. We will also begin realizing some revenue from slots during 2011. Any further increase in the cigarette tax would be unfairly punitive to people who are addicted to smoking.

If possible, I would like to see us begin reducing the sales tax. But I cannot in good conscience promise that we will be able to accomplish that within the next four years.

Should every program in state government be on the table for possible spending cuts? Yes, almost everything.

I can think of only two exceptions. Those two are education for children, and civil rights for all Maryland citizens.

We may be able to trim some frills and some bureaucracy in education, but overall, it is not reasonable to believe that we can reduce education spending without impacting the quality of our schools.

When I say “education,” I mean all education, preschool through higher education. I believe we should continue to hold the line on tuition increases at Maryland colleges and universities. I would not vote to give our children a second-class education, and I would not impose additional indebtedness on college students through tuition increases.

– John Hayden

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