53 Beers On Tap

Forward Maryland 170 With Becca Niburg, September 26, 2021

We had a great conversation today with Democratic Delegate candidate in District 13 Becca Niburg!

 

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CA Board Endorsements-- 2021 Edition

The following is a longer form version of a Facebook post I wrote on April 6.

It's April and as surely as the cherry blossoms come out and baseball season begins, the elections season for Columbia Council (aka Columbia Association Board members) has begun. And to paraphrase Jim Nantz at the Masters, this has been an election season like no other.

First, the fine village of Hickory Ridge. Jessamine Duvall is seeking re-election and there's no reason why to consider replacing her. She is by far the youngest member of the board, but she should be at the vanguard of a new generation of leaders on the CA Board to come, who will (hopefully and at long freaking last) herald in a new era in CA where, I dunno, CA is responsive to those under the age of 50? She has broad operational knowledge and expertise and deserves re-election.

Similarly, Janet Evans in Long Reach should be re-elected to the Board. I have gotten to know Janet through working with her on the Board of Directors of the Inner Arbor Trust. (Which, despite what someone with a computer and too much time on their hands says, is NOT a boondoggle.) Janet is appropriately skeptical, pragmatic, asks good questions, and has the lienpayers' interests foremost in her mind. There is no good reason to not re-elect her.

And now we come to my home village of Oakland Mills. The incumbent Board member, Ginny Thomas, should have been retired years ago. Where do we begin? Her support of the Siddiquis and the cabal of gas stations who gouge Columbians each and every day? Her racism? Her contempt for those Oakland Mills residents who are renters? Her Trump-like revisionist history? Truly, her crimes against her own people are many and far outweigh her previous service on the County Council and General Assembly. Ginny Thomas is what's wrong with Columbia.

Fortunately, one of the sitting board members decided to stand up to the BS and not take it anymore. Rashida George is the breath of fresh air Columbia and Oakland Mills needs. I have no doubt that she will make sure the views of all Columbia residents are seen and heard by Columbia Association. I strongly support her candidacy for election.

Last, the village of Wilde Lake. First, any candidate who Liz Bobo endorses in Wilde Lake isn't worth my time. Full stop.

Second, there are two outstanding candidates in Wilde Lake. I have known Bill Santos for well over 20 years (recall Bill as the author of the great Columbia Compass blog) and through his time on the Howard County Planning Board. He has a breadth and depth of experience that will serve the CA Board well. Especially in light of a new CA Board President and CEO who is not from Columbia, Howard County, or Maryland. I expect Bill to be that voice of accountability and experience. As there can only be one vote cast in this race, I recommend you vote for Bill Santos.

But you can vote for the other candidate and be assured of good representation too. Tina Horn is a longtime Wilde Lake resident who has brought matters of social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront in local discourse over the past several years. She is a tireless champion and advocate and I have no doubt she would continue that advocacy as a board member.

The Forward Maryland podcast is fortunate to welcome both Bill and Tina as guests next week. Be sure to watch and listen!

As to the Dorsey's Search CA Board race, unfortunately I haven't taken too much time to educate myself as to these candidates. However, I like what I see out of Marlon Brown and he deserves your strong consideration.

Let's be careful out there.

#CABoard #CAelections #2021 #howardcounty #Columbia #ColumbiaMD

They Who Doth Protest Too Much

I'm starting today's special edition blog post by being very upfront about a few things.

As to these Facebook groups that have started in this 2020 election cycle, and claim to be influencing the elections in Howard County, I think this. "Howard County Neighbors United" is a cesspool. It reeks of intolerance and is one-sided to the nth degree. But it's not called "Howard County People who Opposed School Redistricting", it's called what it's called and that's a huge misnomer. And I believe I met the fellow who runs it one time in passing, and had one very brief, albeit condescending and borderline bullying (from him to me), interaction with him on Facebook. Just seems like an average guy who has some opinions I disagree with. Looking forward to that day when we have to see each other person again, because I wonder if his courage in front of the keyboard equals that behind it.

Another group, "Better Howard Together", is more septic tank than cesspool. A rational discussion is possible there for about an hour or two, then it devolves into one political agenda or another. But there does seem like a bit of containment there. Hence my tank comparison.

Among other things I think, I think it's bad form to leave a list of campaign supporters, contacts, volunteers, etc. unsafe. I'm one of the people who received that email on Saturday morning from the Molyett campaign, presumably because he's been on Forward Maryland a couple of times and because I sent some postcards for his campaign. But those things don't, and never have, stopped me from calling an error and so I'm calling one here. I'm sure Matthew Molyett and his campaign have recognized the gaffe-- why else would they have sent out the email?

And it's also personally crappy and low on the ethics scale to take that spreadsheet, announce that you have it, and/or spread it around. And yet, that's what some people have done. What, pray tell, are you, Mr. and Ms. Cyber Stalker, going to find there? Secret ties to the developer community? That if you go to sheet 4, cell AF367, type in "Sega", that you can play "Zaxxon"? What's the point and/or value? Ahhh, the point and/or value is simply that you can. Well, that's not a good answer. My opinion? Taking that spreadsheet and spreading it around is cyberbullying. Full stop.

And so we have a local blogger who writes The Howard County Progress Report who called this out. Especially because one of our more longer-term bloggers in the HoCo wrote that indeed, he had downloaded the spreadsheet, and posted that he had downloaded it. In her (the new blog writer's) opinion, we should be more mature as a community than to take someone's mistake and amplify it across local cyberspace.

And she is right. Just because you can do something doesn't make it OK to do. For whoever downloaded this spreadsheet and is currently going through it's contents to find something you may find odd, shame on you. You're despicable and immoral. You have all the right in the world to public sources of data and information, but you don't have the right to private data and information. End of story.

And we people who write blogs (I have never thought of myself as a "blogger", rather, an experienced activist and concerned citizen who happens to write a blog), we are not the local equivalent of Woodward and Bernstein. To be honest, we're too flawed. Because of our connections to the establishment. Or developers. Or other peoples' businesses. Or our own businesses. We are all flawed messengers with our own biases. So we have two choices. We either accept our flaws, grow comfortable with them and move forward (I'd like to think I have done this), or we reject the above and just do what we're gonna do under some facade of "impartiality". Which is what seems to be going on here in this case.

And that latter path is cool-- if you wanna do it, you do you. But don't hold yourself up as the paragon of impartiality, when you yourself don't understand the concept. You can't have it both ways. And also, don't gripe about it when someone holds up to your face what you fail to recognize. We all fail to wear a full suit of clothes sometime.

Wow, I just wrote the word "fail" in a blog post about Howard County? What? How could Howard County fail at anything? But, unfortunately, I find the quality of online dialogue in Howard County failing in election cycle 2020. I never felt this way in 2014 (maybe it was because this blog led the way then, haha), but also not in 2016 or in 2018, when I feel that the exact same blog I discussed above (without attribution, I know, but you'll be able to figure it out) really shined. But I feel that way now. And I'm starting to feel like retirement and moving from the HoCo in 14 years can't come soon enough.

Go Dodgers. And I LOVE Zaxxon!

Let's be careful out there.

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 8: The 20s and Afterword

   The Howard County Public School System used to undergo its regular reapportionment process for students, better known as redistricting, every few years. By the end of the 2010s, that time span had extended to almost a decade. The HCPSS Superintendent, Michael Martriano, who had replaced Renee Foose during the Kittleman Administration, led this process under the guidance of the Board of Education.

  In addition to balancing enrollments between school clusters and districts, especially in light of the development in the county since the last redistricting, a goal of this process was to create better equity amongst schools in terms of diversity and inclusion. Given the momentous election of 2018, which saw the election of the county's first African-American County Executive, State's Attorney in Rich Gibson, and Sheriff in Marcus Harris, as well as appointments of female Chiefs of Police and Fire and Rescue Services, it would seem that the county would be ready to welcome a more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse school system.

   Not so fast. Opposition to the redistricting plan arose, mostly from parents in the River High High School and Reservoir High School Districts, encompassing the area between Maple Lawn and River Hill. For months a vocal group of families and activists protested, attended board meetings, and opposed the plan. Advocates of the plan also organized and made their voices heard. In the end the Board of Education approved a revised plan. And the redistricting plan opponents have taken to the courts, as activists have done in many a land use or education action before, and lent their considerable capital to the cause in an effort to get their way and have the plan that was approved overturned. Whether this opposition to the school redistricting represents a new movement, or whether it is single-issue focused, is too early to discern.

 

   As my former high school English teacher, the late Virginia Pausch (mother of the late Dr. Randy Pausch, speaker of the "Last Lecture") would say, did you see the head fake? The social and community history of justice in Howard County doesn't end here. It's still being written. It never ends. And each and every person living in Howard County has a responsibility and obligation to live within it. In fact, honestly-- you have no other choice.

   And so back to the question my podcast guest asked me-- "Don't you think they need to be heard?" referring to the public school redistricting plan opponents. The answer is yes, they do need to be heard. Everyone in every community with an opinion on something, and who feels that their community does not work for them-- they all need to be heard. That much is obvious and anyone who thinks anyone in any community in this country stands above any other is ridiculous.

   But, all have a right to be equally heard. John Adams said, and Ronald Reagan echoed, that "Facts are stubborn things". Opinions can be downright obstinate.

   One sign during this redistricting saga sticks with me, the following written on a green sign: "No one has to suffer." The sign wasn't held by a parent or child in a socioeconomically lower class, but my one of the opponents-- someone being moved from a school with a wealthier clientele to a school with a poorer one. I didn't know that not going to your siblings' school, or one that didn't have the club you wanted, constituted suffering. I thought the better words would be hardship. Or inconvenience. Or opportunity. And all  of these descriptions are part of life.

   People who actually suffer-- who have problems making ends meet, who have to make choices between medical care, rent or mortgage, paying bills, and good from month to month-- they also have a voice. The people who can't write five figure checks to attorneys because some board member looked at them funny. The people whose condition does not allow them the luxury of moral outrage. They also need to be heard and their voices are equal.

   This community is one of incredible privilege. It always has been. And with that privilege has been promise. The promise that it will rise above the problems that beset other communities and become an example of a model community. That's what Rouse and his colleagues believed. That's what hundreds of thousands believed as they moved into this community.

   But Howard County hasn't always lived up to it's promise. It has a history of teasing. It has a history of allowing only so much progress as those in control would let happen. It has only been within the past several years that social change has been allowed to occur in Howard County unfettered. Without the invisible hand of history and of "venerable Howard Countians" to hold them back.

   The current situation with the schools is interesting historically because those at the forefront of the redistricting protests fit the profile of the success that life in Howard County was supposed to bring, or also, people who Howard County was designed to attract. Families. Upwardly mobile. With as large a house on as small a lot the zoning laws would allow, with kids who have their choice of prestigious colleges, with professional jobs and financial obligations to match. They represent, in some measure, the future of Howard County. And yet their attitudes towards this current issue suggest not a collective sense of community. Rather, they suggest a collective sense of personal privilege, of wanting the government to bend to their idea of what the community should be. Not acknowledgement of what it is.

   But there stand large parts of this county who is not going to let these new landed gentry change the rules. There are yet others who appear indifferent to the entire thing and have their own concerns. Staying healthy through the pandemic. Keeping their jobs. Educating their kids at home while also keeping their jobs. And doing their best to plan for an uncertain future.

   And so this is where we leave Howard County. An unfinished rope with many frayed ends. A county that had always had to answer the question as to how open, how welcoming, in fact how true it will be. How those threads knit together, and how strong a rope will form because of it, are the subjects of chapters that have yet to be written.

   I hope you've enjoyed reading these posts these last few weeks. I've enjoyed writing them, very very much.

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 7: The 10s

   The beginning of the 2010s saw a state and local election cycle at its beginning. County Executive Ulman, known as the guy from the "Choose Civility" county and acquiring a statewide profile in acknowledgement of his stewardship of Howard County, easily won a second term over Republican Trent Kittleman, second wife of Bob and stepmother to Allan, himself now a Maryland State Senator. And the entire, 4 Democrat, 1 Republican County Council-- consisting of Courtney Watson, Calvin Ball, Jen Terrasa, Mary Kay Sigaty, and Greg Fox-- was reelected. The first time an entire County Council had been re-elected in the county's history. Now, along with a re-elected County Executive, creating a seemingly unshakable base of Democratic power in Howard County.

   I mentioned before that a question I would ask Ken Ulman, should this work go to longer form, would be if, in his opinion, the "Choose Civility" movement drive him, or did he drive the movement? I have another question, which I would happily pose to any one, and to you, the readers here, rhetorically, is this. Was the "Choose Civility" movement created, or take hold, in response to something.

  I submit for your consideration the fact that starting late in the 00s but going through the 10s, the contrasts between Howard County's socioeconomic and demographic classes began to grow more stark. A Board of Education member began to refer to the order villages of Columbia disparagingly as "Inner City Columbia". The Village of River Hill, and the new High School that shared its name, had gained a reputation of being "yuppieville" in the middle of Howard County, which itself as a whole is considered by many to be a "yuppieville". And to River Hill's south, the Maple Lawn community, with it's new "village center" and three brand new schools, one at each level, was acquiring the same reputation. Where Columbia was Howard County's shining star, that distinction was being constricted now to these communities. So pockets of perceived Howard County affluence and relative poverty were forming, in locations of the county over than the previously-recognized, socially correct (even if not politically correct) places. And so I have to wonder if there wasn't an undercurrent of anger and dissatisfaction that was picked up by some locally, and their proposed response to this undercurrent became "Choose Civility".

   The Ulman Administration boasted a very deep talent pool among the County Executive's assistants, and the second Ulman term didn't provide much letup. Especially as the County Executive was acquiring statewide ambitions. Much was done to promote the development of Howard County's tech industry, especially as the Federal Base Realignment Commission's (BRAC) finding were affecting nearby Fort Meade. Also in the 2010s, Howard Community College and Howard County General Hospital underwent a period of great growth. Ulman and his talented administration were serving the citizens of Howard County well, and created a great record of achievement to stand on.

   Unfortunately, when leaders create a great record of achievement to stand on, people who are in opposition to these achievements get their nose out of joint. And that's where Howard's Republicans found themselves. Despite all indications to the contrary, Howard's Republicans, lead by Senator Kittleman and Councilman Fox, portrayed the administration as "The Gang Who Can't Shoot Straight". When the administration would work on Columbia, this group would complain, why are they ignoring Ellicott City? When they would work on Ellicott City, why not Elkridge? When Elkridge, why not North Laurel? When Laurel, why not West County? When West County, why not Columbia? And so forth. And of course, add to this the now- routine complaints of Democrats being too friendly to developers, not friendly enough to police, and other misdeeds, real or perceived. Such strategy serves only to raise doubt, cause suspicion, and divide people. Especially when the otherwise doesn't provide much in the way of tangible solutions.

   So as the 2014 state and local election cycle came upon Howard County, County Executive Ulman announced a campaign for Governor and the race to succeed him boiled down to the Democratic Councilmember from District 1, Courtney Watson, against the Republican State Senator from District 9, Allan Kittleman.

   Despite the good stewardship of the County government over the past 16 years by Democrats Robey and Ulman, the advantage in the election was Kittleman's, as he had been the guiding force behind local Republican campaigns for the prior 20 years, from his time as Chair of the local Republican Central Committee and the Howard County Council. And there was also a popular Republican gubernatorial candidate in Larry Hogan, and a countywide case of "Ulman fatigue", in no small measure because of the Kittleman campaign's ability to reproduce what Chuck Ecker's campaign did, and unify all the people who had an axe to grind over something having to do with the Ulman administration. (In the author's opinion, a good amount of sexism against Councilmember Watson also existed.) This all lead to a narrow Kittleman victory, and the re-election of four of the five Council members. The only newcomer was Democrat Jon Weinstein, replacing Watson in District 1.

   But as has been written before, critcizing is one thing, governing is another. And Kittleman's administration became besieged with issues of social justice, diversity and inclusion, and personal safety almost from Day One. A proposed nominee to the Howard County Human Rights Commission had to withdraw due to this person's public use of the N-Word, and racist graphitti and racist social media posts became an almost regular occurrence. The Superintendent of the Howard County Public School System, Renee Foose, who came on board during the Ulman Administration, became embroiled in a number of conflicts with families, staff, and the public, and her management style raised the ire of many school and Central Office staff. And the Sheriff, James Fitzgerald, was investigated for racist comments said about his own deputies, former County Executive Ulman, and others.

   In looking for a way to manage the downward spiral of the place that only several years before loudly declared to "Choose Civility", the Kittleman Administration created instead OneHoward, which was meant to be a series of community dialogues to discuss how we could all find common ground as a diverse community. It was not a terrible idea. The execution was an abject failure. There was one public meeting, at the Florence Bain Center in Columbia, which contained more questions about the state of human relations in Howard County than answers. Especially in light of the then-recent election of Donald Trump to the Presidency. It would up being a three-hour session, led by County Executive Kittleman, that brought a few hundred people together to not talk about what made Howard County a great place, but to talk instead about fears. And fears were not solved, addressed, or even acknowledged.

   OneHoward was mortally wounded. It's final gasps came in the form of a "OneHoward pledge" which became a thing for local Republicans for about 10 minutes, and also a few private steering committee meetings and a website called "Humans of Howard County". None of the above had any lasting community impact or effect.

   Then came early 2017 and Council Bill 9-2017.

   In part in response to the OneHoward meeting, at which many attendees raised their concerns about immigration and the Federal Government, Councilmembers Ball and Terrasa wrote the aforementioned bill, which allowed county employees to not participate in any Federal immigration enforcement activity. And this legislation created a maelstrom in Howard County. for months, pro-CB9 (consisting of many local progressive groups, minority groups, and individuals) and anti-CB9 (consisting of local conservative activists, affluent members of minority communities, and "special experts" from outside Howard County) testified on the bill. In addition, debate over CB-9 raged over all the major social media platforms, and local media including local blogs and news outlets. Ultimately, the bill passed by a 3-2 vote, with Councilmembers Weinstein and Fox dissenting. County Executive Kittleman vetoed the legislation, and the veto was upheld by the same 3-2 margin, with the same Councilmembers voting the same way. And thus the die for the 2018 local elections was cast.

  The 2018 election for County Executive featured County Executive Kittleman (himself now being looked at as a possible statewide candidate in 2022) running for re-election, challenged by Councilman Calvin Ball from District 2. As with many other state and local election cycles, national politics influenced local politics. And Councilman Ball  ran a campaign that painted himself as, as one local blogger put it, Howard County's Barack Obama. The campaign's motif was one of Calvin Ball, proud African-American man, father, husband, and public servant, bringing Howard County together to face the challenges of the future and to stand against the intolerance of the Trump Administration. Ball wound up upending the incumbent County Executive by a wide margin. And the days of "Good Ol' Boy" Howard County were pretty much over.

   But nature abhors a vacuum. And the space occupied by the old white patriarchy of sixty years prior was replaced by a new feeling of entitlement. That of the nouveau landed gentry in pockets of the county that had spent the last 15 years on a pedestal.

   In the last part, the 20s bring a new fight against segregation, and a new fight for equity.

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 6: The 00s

   The 1990s saw precious little go on in the world of community and social justice in Howard County. This was because, with the election of Chuck Ecker as County Executive, one of the "Good ol' boys" was back into office and the focus of local government could be not on social justice, on issues of diversity and inclusion, but on issues of reigning in the excesses of local government, and on making Howard County "friendly to business".

   I love the concept that Howard County is ever not "friendly to business". That kinda all is what Howard County is. Howard County is not a "company town". The largest private employer employs about 7,000 people and not all of them are county residents. Even more, as an affiliate of a local university, it's a nonprofit organization.

   So, without a large private employer to prop up the tax base, Howard County has been about two types of business these last 50 years: 1) Development and 2) Small business. The latter will be discussed later, but since the formation of Columbia, development and developers have been Howard County's necessary evil. And quite often, it's necessary good as well.

   There's little doubt that developers get a good deal in Howard County, with it's great location, schools, and quality of life. And there's little doubt that the development community has always had it's finger on the scale in local affairs and civic life. But there's also little doubt that the reason Howard County has become that way is because of--- developers! So it generally remains true that if your party is out of power in Howard County, you hate developers and development. But if you're in power, you love them! So it has been; so, I believe, it always shall be.

   Back to the Howard County government at the start of the 21st Century. As David Parrish alludes to in his book "Losing Jon", Jim Robey has been a good guy, growing up in an environment where scratching each other's back was just what happened. So his election did not herald a return to the liberal, empire-on-the-Patapsco character of the Bobo government. Nor was it as frugal and thrifty as the Ecker regime.

   The Robey administration was more a place where public service regained respect, the bleeding of the local civil service stopped, and while it was still acknowledged that Howard County needed to be "business friendly", there was a realization that good people in good government brought good outcomes. His was two terms governed with a middle temperament.

   And County Executive Robey made what I believe was the best hire ever by a Howard County Executive, when he hired Sang Oh into his administration as his executive assistant in 1999. Why, you may ask? This was an important appointment. It was important for the County Executive to acknowledge the changing face of Howard County, especially the growing Korean population. While having served the county previously as an Assistant State's Attorney, bringing Mr. Oh back into such a public facing role-- and his service in the ensuing years under Mr. Robey was sparkling and characterized by high energy and dedication-- showed keen insight and sent a signal that this administration would recognize that people other than whites lived in Howard County.

   Robey easily won re-election in 2002, defeating local businessman Steve Adler, the man behind Savage Mill, in the general election. Adler was what one kindly calls a "sacrifical lamb" in local politics; someone who runs and hopes to catch a lightning bolt that, 99% of the time, doesn't come.

   The 2000s was also marked in Howard County development as the decade where non-Columbia no longer envied Columbia. In fact, the opposite became true. The "village center" concept that made Columbia notable came to western Howard County in the form of Waverly Woods Town Center, and to southern Howard County in the form of Maple Lawn. Another very similar development, Lyndwood in Elkridge, also had risen. And the last village of Columbia, River Hill, came into it's own-- dense, upscale, no apartment-having River Hill. River Hill had it's own Columbia Associated gym and pool, and all of these development boasted new or freshly renovated schools nearly. In other words, non-Columbia Howard County had it's shiny new things at last. And in 2006, in the last year of the Robey Administration, the 160-acre Western Regional Park in Glenwood was complete. The county outside of Columbia had all of it's new stuff, and it was very happy. Meanwhile, beset by incompetent management in the Columbia Association throughout much of the 2000s, and the threatened closure of Merriweather Post Pavilion, and the closing of many businesses in Columbia's village centers, the concept of Columbia appeared by some to be on the decline.

   The 2006 local election saw a race between two County Council members, Republican Chris Merdon of Ellicott City against Democrat Ken Ulman of Columbia. The freshman Democrat Ulman bested the veteran Republican Merdon behind a well-financed, energetic campaign. Such were the hallmarks of hailing this new generation of leadership, as Ulman was only 32 years old when elected. This was seen as a shot in the arm by generations of Columbians as the start of something new and exciting in Howard County, while seen with skepticism by those outside of Columbia, especially with a veto-proof majority of four Democrats on the County Council. It was perceived by some that the era of big, Bobo-style government was back in Howard County.

   They weren't completely wrong. Ulman did place a new emphasis on local government to provide high quality services for its citizens. As well as the best schools in the state for its children. And he funded both. But he also asked for something more.

   Should I ever make these posts into a book, I plan to ask Ken Ulman if he saw this coming. But early in his first term, Ulman asked the people of Howard County to embrace a new means of public discourse. He invited all to "Choose Civility".

   "Choose Civility" was inspired by a book by a professor at Johns Hopkins University, P.M. Forni. Dr. Forni spoke to Howard County Library staff, who then worked with their colleagues at Howard Community College and the nonprofit Leadership Howard County, to host Dr. Forni at the kickoff of the "Choose Civility movement" in February, 2007.

   I credit the below to the Choose Civility website:

   "Interest in Choose Civility grew exponentially.  For the community, a Choose Civility initiative would serve as a reminder of the importance of civility in a world becoming less civil and would promote positive and respectful behavior.  Nearly 50 government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and school and education systems quickly became partners to encourage others to choose civility in their personal and work lives.  In the spring of 2008, the first Choose Civility Symposium attracted nearly 350 community leaders and individuals.  Thanks to the generosity of major sponsors – the grassroots initiative has distributed more than 70,000 Choose Civility car magnets and window decals; distributed 2,000 copies of Dr. Forni’s book through HCLS, school system, and community college; created numerous events and discussions; and sparked interest for similar initiatives in communities around the country.

As the initiative evolved, Howard County Library System assumed the leadership role.  Choose Civility falls squarely within HCLS’ educational mission to deliver equal opportunity in education to everyone in Howard County, including its Partners.  Howard County Library System’s curriculum comprises three pillars:

1. Self-directed Education: Through its collection of one million items available in print and online, customers can borrow civility-related books from HCLS.
2. Research Assistance & Instruction for individuals and groups: HCLS instructors offer personalized research assistance and teach or facilitate civility-related classes.
3. Instructive and Enlightening Experiences:  Participants enjoy the cultural and community center concepts; events, such as the Choose Civility Symposium; and the partnership itself."

   I'm fascinated to understand the extent to which County Executive Ulman directed this movement, and also, how much it directed him. Because Choose Civility, and those little green bumper magnets that advertised it, were certainly what he was known for.

   But would it stand the test of time? The 2010s would bring the answer.

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 5: The 90s

  As Howard County entered the 1990s, it seemed as if the progressive liberalism of Columbia Democrats was about to usher in a decade-- at least-- of dominance in Howard County. Columbia Democrats held two of the five seats on the County Council, and center-left Democrats, Angela Beltram and Shane Pendergrass, held Howard County's District 1 and 3 seats, respectively, and County Executive Liz Bobo seemed assured of re-election and would become an early front-runner for the 1994 Democratic nomination for Governor.

 The voters of Howard County had other plans. And elected Ecker to the Executive's seat and Darrell Drown defeated Beltram for the District 1 seat.

 A former senior administrator in the Howard County Public School System, Ecker was affable and friendly and had a soft-spoken demeanor. And in line with the "good ol' boy" network in Howard County. And his campaign pioneered what others in future decades would realize as the way to the Executive's seat-- get everyone who hates the person in power pulled together. In this case, that meant ranging from homeowners who were angry over the high rate of development in the 70s and 80s (during which Bobo was on the Council and Executive, and including people who were direct beneficiaries of that development!), to local businesspeople whose businesses were being destroyed due to larger retailers coming to Howard County, to PTA leaders who were concerned with development's impact on Howard County's schools, to people angry over singular, yet severe, local injustices, such as the death of Columbia man Jon Bowie. And there were those with even less superficially altruistic opposition. People who were openly angry about "Columbia taking over Howard County" and about making Howard County more accessible to minority groups and the champion of too many liberal causes.

   It barely took a year for the hatred in Howard County to show its face during the Ecker Administration. Early in 1992 a gay man named Bob Healy sought appointment to the Howard County Human Rights Commission, which at that time had never had (at least not openly) a gay member. County Executive Ecker's assistant, Gail Bates, openly opposed the nomination along strongly fundamentalist lines, which caused Ecker to instead nominate a gay woman named Jan Nyquist to the seat on the Commission. While Ecker attempted to salve the wound by removing Bates from the selection process, Bates kept her job, the damage was done, and Howard County's veil of being tolerant of gay people was as thin as it could be.

   Meanwhile, the anti-development forces took over. Anti-development sentiment had been successful in ensuring that Columbia's last village, River Hill, would be built without rental housing, and was working to gum up the works of the development of what would eventually become the community of Maple Lawn. In fact, the anti-development forces were so high that Susan Gray, an anti-development attorney in Howard County, became the 1994 Democratic nominee for County Executive, running on a platform of-- you guessed it-- anti-development sentiment. In that campaign she defeated a former Democratic Party Chair, Sue-Ellen Hantman, who had previously run for the Maryland House of Delegates.

   As one may remember, 1994 was the mid-term election of Bill Clinton's first term as President, and was known as the "Contract With America" cycle. The local election cycle in 1994 saw the biggest Republican tidal wave in Howard County, before or since. In part thanks to many, many Democrats crossing party lines-- publicly and privately-- Ecker destroyed Gray for re-election, Drown won re-election to Council District 1, Dennis Schrader won election to the open seat in Council District 3, and Marna McLendon became the new Howard County State's Attorney, giving the local GOP it's first (and only) control of the County Council and first State's Attorney seat. In the case of the courthouse, Sheriff Michael Chuichiolo and Registrar of Wills Kay Hartleb both switched parties soon after their return to their offices, which they were both re-elected to as Democrats.

   The second Ecker term was generally dedicated to making Howard County friendlier to small business, including an emphasis on downtown Ellicott City, development of Timbers of Troy golf course, and on the redevelopment of Savage Mill. It also saw a recognition of Howard County's aging population, as the first senior housing developments in Howard County were created.

   However, something else was happening in Howard County during the second half of the 90s. The county, especially Ellicott City, was becoming more diverse, but in the form of Korean immigrants who were moving to the Centennial and Mount Hebron High School Districts to live. As this population increased during the decade, Korean businesses and churches formed. And, as families could afford to send money back to their relatives in Korea, or pay for travel, Korean families in Howard County grew more numerous and took up a greater percentage of Ellicott City's population. Howard County, specifically Ellicott City, started to become a desired location for immigrants from Korea.

   Also during the late 90s, Jim Robey, now the Chief of Police in Howard County, was retiring after a 30-year career in the Howard County Police Department. He didn't stay retired for long, as he became a Democratic candidate for Howard County Executive in 1998, replacing the retiring Chuck Ecker, who himself was mounting a Republican primary challenge to 1994's standard bearer, Ellen Sauerbrey, for Governor. While it had been assumed by local Democrats that the Republican candidate for County Executive would be Delegate Bob Kittleman, Delegate Bob Flanagan, Senator Chris McCabe or even Senator Marty Madden-- all stalwart Republicans and who, in  the case of Kittleman and Madden, had some crossover appeal-- Republicans instead nominated Dennis Schrader, an experienced business executive finishing his first (and only) term in Howard County's Council District 3, in the southeastern portion of the county.

   The failure to run a more seasoned candidate was a huge tactical error by Howard County's Republicans. Robey trounced Schrader by 55 to 45 percent in the general election, and Guy Guzzone defeated an Ecker aide, Diane Wilson, to reclaim the County Council District 3 seat for the Democrats. Democrats regained control of the local executive and legislative branches one term after losing them.

 

NEXT: Good ol' Howard County Chooses Civility, and modern-day Howard County starts to form

 

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 4: The 80s

 Before pressing forward into the 80s, it's worth talking about the 60s a bit. Because my post on the 80s discusses in some depth the efforts undertaken by the Howard County Republicans to gain relevance politically in the county. And the Republicans were led intellectually by Bob Kittleman, he of the NAACP Education Committee and working with Silas Craft on the integration of the Howard County public schools.

 There were many great African-American activists in the 1960s. But, they were only given that which the white male establishment would let them have. Integration of the HCPSS took eleven years, after all.

  So I find irony when I see local conservatives take credit for integrating the county. For in the 60s as well as the 80s, a nickel's worth of difference separated a Howard County Republican from a non-Columbia Howard County Democrat. And when faced with the option of abandoning issues of racial equality in order to gain political market share, Howard County Republicans always, always did the latter.

 

  Howard County's electoral color barrier was finally broken with the election of C. Vernon Gray to the Howard County Council in 1982. In the same year, William "Bill" Manning became the first elected African-American member of the Howard County Board of Education. This created a one-two punch against which non-Columbia Howard County, already dealing with their community's perceived usurping by the upstarts in Columbia, reeled.

 But all was not lost for non-Columbia based local community leaders. Local "good ol' boys" in Hugh Nichols and Ned Eakle held the County Executive's spot from 1982-1986, and non-Columbia Democrats held the majority of Howard County's elected positions, led by the indomitable President of the Maryland Senate, Jim Clark. And in 1982, a Republican was elected to the state legislative delegation, as Bob Kittleman won a spot in the House of Delegates, representing District 14B.

 There are some who say that the 2016 election of Donald Trump marked the election where national politics came to Howard County. It wasn't. It was the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, followed by his 1984 re-election, that brought national politics home to roost in Howard County. Remember the era. The 1980s saw organizations like the Christian Coalition and Moral Majority ascendant. It saw the rise of the evangelical, the social conservative, the pro-life activist. And most importantly, the rise of the "Reagan Democrat"-- someone fiscally conservative, socially moderate, and hawkish in terms of national defense. Someone who believed in personal responsibility, and who were opposed to entitlement as a lifestyle and government interference in the free market, which Affirmative Action and Welfare, for example, were perceived to be.

 Kittleman and the HoCo Republicans surmised that there were a lot of Reagan Democrats in Howard County. And so they set about finding them. Door to door, precinct by precinct. In fact, by the end of the 1980s, the Howard County Republican party had switched the registration of at least a dozen precincts from Democrat to Republican, through an aggressive program of door-to-door voter registration in which Democrats were encouraged to change their affiliation to Republican. Voters would be asked about what they think of "liberal Columbia Democrats" and how they're changing the county. And asked if they supported Ronald Reagan and the direction of the country. If the sentiments generated by the first question were negative and to the second, positive, then the person would be asked, "then why are you still a Democrat?" and handed a voter registration application to change their affiliation on the spot.

 I have such a great memory of this because my father and grandmother were two such targets of those efforts. In fact my father turned Republican in the 1980s. My grandmother did not.

 So how could the party of Kittleman encourage people to register with the anti- Affirmative Action, anti-racial and gender equity Republicans? This is but one of many paradoxes between local Republicans and their national counterparts. The easiest way I can explain it, is the Howard County Republicans dump their principles for political expediency faster than any local political organization I have ever been part of, or known. And did Bob Kittleman know of this particular paradox? Hell, yes he knew it. How did he feel about it? When asked about it he would shake his head, but it wasn't a shake against a falsehood, it was a shake of being unwilling to answer the question. Sadly, the real answer is lost to the ages. a Bob Kittleman memoir would have been an interesting read.

  Further, my belief is that this is how Howard County, indeed Maryland, Republicans have honed their skill of always deflecting towards Democrats. Whenever asked about their being out of lockstep with each other or with their Federal counterparts, Maryland Republicans drop into their "Well, we're not the corrupt Democrats who have run Maryland for the last 40 years!" schtick.  It's so much easier to be against than for. And eventually, if you can pull together enough people who are against varying things, you can win.

  And a lot of things that a lot of people didn't like were going on in Howard County. Howard County added another almost 69,000 people in the 80s, making the total over 82,000 over 20 years. And much of that growth was outside of Columbia, as farms and rural properties in Ellicott City and Elkridge were bought and developed. And the 1986 elections brought a new wave of change to Howard County. Elizabeth Bobo became the first female and first Columbia County Executive in history, while two more Republicans were elected to office--Bob Flanagan to the House of Delegates alongside Bob Kittleman in District 14B and Charles Feaga to the County Council, in the newly-created District 5.

   As the political and cultural divides grew between Columbia and Howard County outside of it, so too did the social divides. Columbia expressed itself more strongly as the unapologetic nexus of liberal thought in Howard County, be it through the activism of the Columbia Democratic Club, or be it through efforts in fighting handgun violence, ending nuclear proliferation, AIDS awareness, divestiture from South Africa, and many other of the leading social issues of the decade. With their former leader, Bob Kittleman, noticeably absent, the local chapter NAACP, under the leadership of the indomitable John Wright, flourished. And Columbia became more diverse as immigrants of the 80s-- refugees from Asian and Central American countries especially-- came to the new city to take advantage of it's relatively newer, inexpensive housing, good schools, and location in the middle of Howard County, in the middle of Maryland.

   There was a lot for non-Columbia Howard County to be upset about. But, even though it had enjoyed recent election success, Howard County Republicans still felt like the mouse fighting the lion. County Executive Bobo had developed the county through the recession of the late 80s, and was seen by many as a future Governor as early as 1994, when she could no longer serve as Executive. So the Republicans convinced Chuck     Ecker, a popular senior administrator in the HCPSS, to leave his job, switch parties, and run for County Executive. A fool's errand, it seemed. Until all the people who didn't like something about Columbia-led Howard County got together.

NEXT: A two party county and the red flag unfurls

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Part 3: The 70s

   The 1970s brought the begin of the rise of Columbia to Howard County-- literally and figuratively, pervading through every aspect of life in Howard County. During the decade of the 1970s, the population grew from approximately 61,900 to approximately 118,600-- a near doubling of the county's population. Eight of Columbia's villages were online by the end of the 1970s, with Dorsey's Search established soon after, in 1980.

   The establishment of Columbia brought some much needed shape and form to Howard County. Prior to the building of Columbia, Howard County did not have a full-service, acute care hospital. But it gained one in Howard County General Hospital. So too, did Howard County establish a two-year college of its own, in the form of Howard Community College. While located in Columbia so as to be centrally located and accessible to residents of the new city for their use, they were of course for use by all the county's residents. Similarly, the Howard County Library System established branches in East Columbia, as well as a Central Library branch near the Mall in Columbia.

   Perhaps most notably, the rapid growth of Columbia also meant the rapid takeover of Howard County's government by residents of the new city. In 1974, three Columbians were elected to the Howard County Council and a fourth-- Elizabeth Bobo-- was appointed during the 1974-1978 term. All four were re-elected in 1978. While the County Executive's office remained out of reach for the residents of the new city, the four Columbians on the Council-- Bobo, Ruth Keeton, Lloyd Knowles, and Virginia Thomas-- enjoyed a strong enough majority on the Council that if they so chose, could vote as a block and override any Executive's veto. Columbia held the political power in Howard County, and Howard County knew it.

 And not all of Howard County was happy about it.

 The 70s begins my personal story of growing up in Howard County. And growing up in eastern Howard County, people did not consider themselves people of privilege. It was a working class town where religious and community connections ruled the day and as such, politics and mores trended towards the conservative.

 I recall very clearly being one of the few families that openly supported Jimmy Carter for President in 1976. I don't just mean on our street. I don't mean among my peer group of friends. I don't just mean in my class. I mean in the entire town. Being nine years old, we didn't exactly engage in highbrow political discourse; arguments about Ford vs. Carter basically revolved around who our parents liked and who our friends' parents liked, and that the other guy sucked.

 Another thing that made us different among families on Montgomery Road was that we actually went to Columbia Mall to go shopping. Patowmack Toy Store was a favorite of my father's, and I wish I had all the 70s-era toys that were bought for me there.

 Nevertheless, when I would go to school and bring in my Lincoln Logs, or newest toy trains, or slot cars styles after Formula One or Le Mans-type sports cars, and the kids asked where I got them from, and I told them, they would respond with, "We never go to Columbia." My friends' families preferred to shop in Laurel or Catonsville or Baltimore. Columbia was not much liked.

 As the 70s progressed, I learned many things about Columbia and people who lived there that I didn't know. They were quite interesting. How many were true? Uhhhh, that's another matter. Here we go:

-- People in Columbia didn't believe in God since they didn't have churches (no doubt a take on the Interfaith Center concept)

-- Lots of black people lived in Columbia (Elkridge and other towns still had their pockets of minority concentration)

-- Columbia kids all go to school in open classrooms (so did we, but that was beside the point)

-- It was OK for men who lived with men to live in Columbia (cruder terms were used, of course)

-- Columbia had pools and gyms and we could not use them!

-- No kid in Columbia played baseball; they only played soccer and they will not let other kids in the county play soccer or basketball for that matter!

-- People in Columbia want everyone else in Howard County to live the way they do!

 So that's what we were made to believe about Columbia. We have met the enemy, and they are close.

 As the 70s continued, the symbiosis between Columbia and the rest of Howard County kept forming. Columbia became, by and large, the social, commercial, and cultural center of Howard County. Whereas Howard County benefitted from the taxes generated by Columbia's activities and used those funds to grown County Government and increase and improve county services, most notably the Howard County Public School System, that was for the benefit of all Columbians.

 However, as the 1970s came to a close, one thing remained true about Howard County. It's leadership remained totally white. In terms of the County Executive, County Council, members of the Howard County Board of Education, Howard County Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly, and Howard County Courthouse positions-- every single one of them was white. Despite its hard turn to the left in many areas, enough of the previously extant power structure in Howard County remained in place to keep a person of color from advancing into positions of power.

 And as it would happen, the power structure was starting to fracture in Howard County. Everyone in elected partisan office was a Democrat, but there were two types of Democrats-- "Columbia Democrats" and "Howard County Democrats". The former were more liberal and more in lines with the ideals of the new city. They were cosmopolitan and advocated for Columbia and Howard County to advance to lead Maryland. The latter were more moderate to conservative and wanted to preserve Howard County "the way it has always been"-- more rural, less progressive, and with only as much ambition to lead the region or state as they felt they needed.

 The 80s would see a lot of things in many of these regards change. It would prove to be an exciting time and perhaps, lay the groundwork for the Howard County of today.

NEXT: The Go-Go 80s, and the Republicans get sneaky!

Promises, Promises: Observations on Social and Community Justice in Howard County, MD, Foreword and Part 2: The 60s

  As it entered the 1960s, Howard County shared a look with rural counties of today-- one large town (in this case, Ellicott City), several smaller towns (among them, Elkridge, Daniels, Savage, Scaggsville, Simpsonville, West Friendship, Lisbon, and Poplar Springs), an agricultural economy, and a vastly white, middle class and up, Christian culture. The county seat, Ellicott City, contained most of the county's cultural and economic outlets. Howard County at the time boasted all of two high schools that were part of the Howard County Public School System: Glenelg High School and Howard High School. The 60s would see the building of Atholton and Mount Hebron High Schools.

   In my own family, our reputation of being "city people" continued, as my grandfather died in 1956, leaving our household comprised of my grandmother, great grandmother, and father, who was a teenager at the time. Raised by a single parent was a rarity in the early 60s, and doubly so in Howard County. And my grandmother and great grandmother felt like strangers in the land they bought. Not interested in marrying again, my grandmother sought male companionship for my father among the ranks of the local chapter of the Order of the DeMolay, otherwise known as the junior ranks of the Masons. In that organization my father found friends and began to acclimate to the Howard County community. After all, after not being a)local, b)a farm family, c) raised by two parents, e)community connected, f) rich, or g) the right type of Protestant, he had finally checked a box.

   By all accounts, my father's high school experience could best be summed as a more rural, certainly much less neon, version of the movie "American Graffiti". My father attended high school at the same time as some very well known Howard Countians (if the names Kasemeyer, Robey, and DuVall ring a bell, among others) and for my father high school was a time for football, wreaking havoc at the Elkridge Drive-In, fast cars, cheap liquor, girls (my mother among them), and some school thrown in.

   Howard County was also, at the time, very, very white. Each town in the county had their own "colored" community within. In Elkridge, there were two concentrations of such people. One was in the little development of Harwood Park, near the railroad tracks that carried freight from the Port of Baltimore up and down the East Coast and about the country (and still does). The second was around the location where the current Elkridge Elementary School and Elkridge Landing Middle School currently stand. Both areas were notable in that the houses were notably more run down, appeared more crowded, with more junk and overall detritus associated with poverty, then the homes around them. These were rural slums.

   Meanwhile, elsewhere in Howard County, other things were happening. The Howard County Public School System was desegregated in a process that took eleven years. The county's NAACP was emerging. And local African American activists of the time found champions in their white counterparts, not the least of them being future State Senator Bob Kittleman.

   As of 1962, all Howard County only had one place to vote. A second was added in 1962. State Senator Jim Clark proposed a five-member County Council and County Executive structure in 1965, and Howard County approved charter government in 1968, with the five Councilmembers being selected from the county at large.

   And also in 1962, land acquisition began on the property that would eventually become Columbia, MD, a process that would move forward for about another 18 months, and when which took an additional two years for the zoning to be approved. So much has already been written about the forming and founding of Columbia. Given the shorter form of these posts, I don't think I could give this process justice.

   But what I will expound upon a bit are my own beliefs on how the formation of Columbia shook the foundations of Howard County.

   As I mentioned previously, Howard County was a place where about twenty families were in charge of a lot of the commercial, community, civic, and religious structure. And it was incredibly, incredibly white. And, honestly, stubborn. A school system that takes eleven years to desegregate, even in the 1960s, doesn't exactly strike the observer as a liberal-minded bastion.

   What Rouse and his colleagues proved was that someone could come in and quite literally, take over. Not that it didn't have a price, in terms of the zoning approval and changes to the plan for Columbia that had to be made in order to approve the zoning. Yet, looking into the background (and I encourage everyone who is finding these blog posts interesting to go back and learn about the founding of Columbia), I find it ironic and also fitting that the founding of Columbia also founded the love-hate relationship that Howard County enjoys, to this day, with that brand of entrepreneur called "The Developer".

   And so the newcomers were coming to Howard County at the end of the 1960s. And they came. In droves. By the thousands. And they did not look like Howard County. They were younger. More female. And many families of color (mostly black families) and families of interracial marriages. There many new things coming to Howard County.

   And Howard County, in several ways, accepted. On the balance of things, who can imagine what would have become of the place had development proceeded pell-mell throughout Howard County? It could have been a nightmare.

   But in some other ways, Howard County acted very much how peoples and people do when they are confronted by something they don't fully understand. They react in fear and lash out.

 

In Part 3, the dance of Howard County moves from the barn to the disco!