County Commissioner Candidates at Tuesday evening’s ACT forum (left to right): Jimmy Schoolfield (D-1), Jerre Clauss (R-1), Bill McDermott (R-1), Larry Ward (R-1), Edward Lee (D-2), Virgil Shockley (D-4), Tommy Tucker (D-4), Linda Busick (R-6), and John Bodnar (D-5).
Nine candidates for Worcester County Commissioner grappled with a range of questions at the Assateague Coastal Trust’s forum for commissioners at Snow Hill High School on Tuesday evening.
Someone once said that 80 percent of life is just showing up. The incumbent County Commissioners didn’t have a very good attendance record Tuesday night. Only two of the seven commissioners presently employed by the citizens of Worcester County participated. That’s not even enough for a quorum.
The two incumbents in attendance were Mr. Shockley, a Democrat who represents District 4, the large, rural, western portion of Worcester County; and Ms. Busick, a Republican from District 6, the northern end of the county. Of the 13 candidates who would be new faces at the county offices, seven were present Tuesday, and six were absent, by my reckoning.
In fairness, most of the candidates who were not on hand are from the northern part of the county, especially Ocean Pines and Ocean City. Honestly, no one can attend every political meeting. Perhaps they are planning to be at the Assateague Coastal Trust’s next scheduled forum, in Berlin. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Sept. 7, 5:30 p.m., at the Berlin Intermediate School.
Some candidates missing, but lots of seats available in the audience, too.
The public didn’t have such a good attendance record, either, Tuesday night. Nothing unusual about that! As a news reporter, I’ve covered meetings of all kinds from one end of Maryland to the other. Wherever you go, you’ll find that the public in general shows little interest in the hum-drum of civic affairs.
People like to grumble about government, but they leave it to their elected officials to do anything about it. Fair enough. If I’m elected to the House of Delegates this fall, I plan to devote my energy full-time, year-round to the people’s business.
As the two pictures from the forum show, an impression of the size and attendance at any event depends on where you point the camera.
Four incumbents were absent: James Purnell (D-2), Bud Church (R-3), Judy Boggs (R-5), and Louise Gulyas (R-7). District 1, which includes Pocomoke City and the southern part of the county, does not have an incumbent running. I guess we should cut these incumbents some slack, because truth be told, they have sat through hundreds of meetings for the county during the past four years.
Candidates who would potentially be new faces had better attendance. Three were challengers in Districts 2, 4, and 5. And four participants were from District 1.
The nine candidates in attendance had a spirited discussion, and they were all polite and respectful to each other. Environmental and agricultural issues were addressed, of course, but education, housing, and jobs were also discussed. The forum also touched on county government transparency and the controversy surrounding the Liquor Control Board.
Just to give a sample of the candidates’ comments: Jimmy Schoolfield of District 1 said he’s particularly interested in bringing business and jobs to the Pocomoke City area, including the industrial park.
Edward Lee of District 2 said affordable housing is in short supply in his area, and he wants to pursue the concept of a Housing Commission, possibly by redirecting some existing funds or employees.
Virgil Shockley of District 4, a 12-year veteran of the commissioners, provided needed technical expertise on many issues, most notably efforts to bring broadband wireless internet access to Worcester County.
Linda Busick, during the discussion on housing, pointed out that although many of the residents of the resort areas of the county are affluent — some even wealthy — we also have a significant amount of local poverty.
The nine candidates running to represent Worcester County in the Maryland General Assembly (two Senate candidates and seven delegate candidates) were invited to attend as observers.
But only two legislative candidates showed up to listen and learn. They were A. Kaye Kenney, Republican candidate for House of Delegates from Wicomico County, and Bernard John Hayden (that’s me), Democratic candidate for Delegate from West Ocean City.
– John Hayden
Thanks to The Daily Times in Salisbury for running the following item Friday in a prominent position at the top of the op-ed page (09-10-10, page A15). Thanks to my neighbor, Judy Davis, for the vote of confidence, and thanks to The Times for the generous headline, which I’m using as the headline for this post.
