Final Word on FOP Endorsments

An email from FOP President Andy Mackert

Related to this post 

My name is Andy Mackert. I am a Sheriff Deputy in Howard County, Maryland.

As the Presdent and co-founder of the Howard County Sheriff’s F.O.P. I am surprised but pleased that this Post on my friend David Keelan’s blog has generated so much interest.

That the F.O.P. could so quickly generate the passionate interests of Howard County citizens confirms that our concerns are being noticed. Now we need to ensure that action will be taken. Our endorsements were just the first step in a long process. Long after I and others have left the Sheriff’s Department we hope that positive changes will last.

As the Voice of the F.O.P as a whole I am in a position where some people love me and some don’t. Looking back setting up the F.O.P. may have been easier than running it. The endorsment process is an example where all the members did not agree on the endorsements. Not that anyone expected full agreement. One of the things I love about this department is that we all can agree to disagree.

Let me set the record straight for some of you today!

Roger Lerner for Board of Education

The Howard County Blog reported the Democracy for Howard County Board of Education endorsements.  I was disappointed that he did not receive their endorsement.

I met Roger Lerner when I took my kids to Meadowbrook Park.  Coincidentally, Roger had left a comment on this blog regarding Chancery SMS software the night before.  He had no idea who I was.  When he approached me to introduce himself I told him “I know who you are and I plan on supporting you”.

Roger Lerner has great ideas and enthusiasm.  What is more – he has a solid head on his shoulders and a firm grasp on the issues.

You may want to read his full platform here.

He supports, among other things:

Bernhardt’s seriousness, humor aids run for judge

From the Baltimore Examiner.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Rick for a number of years.  I have also had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Julia, a public defender in Baltimore City, on a number of occasions.

They are wonderful people who are dedicated to public service.

In February 2005 I was honored when Rick asked me to write the following letter of recommendation to Governor Ehrlich when Rick was seeking an appointment to his current position.

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Governor Ehrlich,

An open letter to Marsha McLaughlin

Marsha,

It is with great concern that I am writing to urgently request that you rescind your recently enacted policy that restricts public access to Turf Valley related DPZ files and advises your staff not to speak with members of the public about DPZ’s processing of the numerous development applications that have been submitted for this project.

I called to speak with members of your staff today and was told that all inquiries to review/discuss Turf Valley files had to be made directly to you in the form of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.  When I tried to leave a message for you to return my call, I was told, that too, had to be submitted through FOIA.

Members of our community are outraged with your new DPZ policy, which we believe is a unilateral and arbitrary position that violates the Howard County Charter (Article IX, Sections 906, 907), which I have quoted below:

HOWARD COUNTY CHARTER

Article IX. General Provisions

Section 906. Copies of books and papers on demand.

The Executive shall, with reasonable promptness, furnish to any resident of the County, on demand, a certified copy of any book, account or paper kept by any board, commission, office or department of the County government, or such part thereof as may be demanded, except criminal investigation reports, and individual personnel records, upon payment in advance by the person demanding the same, of a reasonable fee to be prescribed by resolution of the Council.

Section 907. Inspection of books, accounts and papers.

All books, accounts, bids, contracts, papers and records of any board, commission, office or department, except criminal investigation reports and individual personnel records, shall at all times be open to the inspection of any resident of the County or representative of the press, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations in regard to the time and manner of such inspection as the Executive may make.

While I can appreciate the Office of Law’s concern that the County is involved in litigation over the Turf Valley zoning, this is not the first time that the County’s policies/decisions have been questioned in court.  Restricting public access to important government information is an unprecedented restriction of citizens’ and taxpayers’ rights.  Furthermore, it jeopardizes public trust and endangers the accountability of government.  I believe your actions are leading our County to a “slippery slope” and implore you to reconsider your decision and work to restore public confidence in DPZ.

In the absence of your rescinding this policy, under FOIA and on behalf of the citizens and taxpayers of Howard County, I am formally requesting that your office make available all files and information (both electronic and paper) related to all material that pertains to the development of Turf Valley by Mangione Family Enterprises or Commercial Contractors, Inc.  Please hold this material at the DPZ “counter” for review by any and all Howard County residents or interested parties.

I will look forward to your reply and hopefully having the opportunity to discuss this further with you.

Regards,

Marc

Marc Norman

2617 Golf Island Road

Ellicott City, MD 21042

410-418-8666

This is a great development

Please pardon the pun… 

I think the Savage Marc station development is a great idea.  I have long wondered why Dorsey Station off Rte 100 sits their surrounded by nothing, but I didn’t know the County was thinking the same way.  I knew about Rte 1 it is just that I didn’t know that Dorsey and Savage were targeted too.

Two years ago, Howard County officials rezoned land around the Dorsey and Savage train stations to transportation-oriented development, a new category intended to encourage dense, mixed-use projects along the U.S. 1 corridor. The zone requires that 15 percent of the apartments be for moderate-income families.

If we are serious about mass transit options I think developing around these two stations is a step in the right direction.

I was also encouraged by this report

Maryland Secretary of Transportation Robert L. Flanagan, a former Howard County delegate, said the state got no offers in 2003 when it advertised for private development around state-owned MARC and Metro train stations.

Hopefully these plans by Petrie Ross Ventures will kick of a new era of development along rail transportation corridors.

Story here and here

There is a small problem.  Savage and Dorsey are on the Camden Line of the Marc Train system.  Marc does not run as often on the Camden Line as it does on the Penn Line.  I also found that the schedule not as convenient as the Penn Line.  I don’t know if this is because of the freight trains or not or other variables such as demand, but I hope they can improve the scheduling.  There are currently 9 Southbound trains and 9 Northbound trains on the Camden Line that stop at both Dorsey and Savage. 

The Camden Line does not stop at BWI Airport.  Can they fix that?

The Penn Line has 20 Southbound and 24 Northbound trains and it does stop at BWI Airport.  There are four trains between Penn and Union stations between the hours of 5PM and 7PM and five trains between 5AM and 7AM which is convenient for commuters.

The Camden Line connects Union Station to Penn Station.  Riders can switch to Amtrak in Baltimore (they can also switch to the Penn Line) and DC.  They can also jump to the DC Metro or the Baltimore Light Rail.  Trains abound.  Although I find the Camden Line schedule to be incovenient for my I am sure others find it perfectly suitable.  Additionally they can adjust the schedules as ridership demands.

I just hope they connect it to BWI.