Today's "Times-Record" announced that the Ridgely town election filing deadline for candidates and voting times are "to be announced". Hmmm...our Charter is very clear on the filing deadline. It's 10 days before the election. This year the election will be on April 27th. In recent elections the polls have been kept open longer than the Charter prescribes. I'm not sure how this came about but it's a good idea. The Charter, however, does say that the polls are open between 9 and 5.
I have to wonder about all this "to be announced" confusion so near to an election. As many of you know, a few weeks ago the town manager presented some proposals to change the Charter election rules. The proposals raised suspicions among many and nothing more was done. It would now be impossible to make any change before the election.
This year I will not let the whispering campaign that emerges every Springtime here in Ridgely go unanswered. I've heard some whoppers over the years as election time approaches. My first BULL BUSTER concerns the strange story that Ridgely's financial woes (which preceded the global economic crisis) are the result of some "snitch" calling the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). This "call" supposedly stopped our Ridgely Park development. First, even if there was a "call", MDE can't withhold permits without good cause. They had plenty of cause with or without a "snitch" since the town already had to use stream discharge at times when our waste water treatment plant (WWTP) couldn't handle the load. We simply could not handle a new development and the town has now embarked on a $1.5 million WWTP upgrade to accommodate future development.
MDE saved the citizens of Ridgely from a massive sewage spill. MDE also saved us from the massive fines that accompany WWTP failure. If there is a "SNITCH", he or she is a HERO who saved the town citizens from management miscalculations. But I think the whole story is BULL. MDE was just doing their job. They deserve a thank you.
BULL BUSTERS will always ask these questions. Who would start such a rumor? And, who might benefit from such a story? In this case, all signs point to a town manager and his allies trying to explain away the town's abysmal financial situation.
Showing posts with label voter suppression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label voter suppression. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Mickey Mouse And His Dog Too
Voting fraud in urban America is a well established fact. With the reports yesterday that Obama supporters from ACORN had registered Mickey Mouse, I want to tell you a story about the voting dogs in my old hometown of Philadelphia.
In 1993, there was a special election for the Pennsylvania Senate, which pitted Republican Bruce Marks, against 33rd Democrat Ward leader Bill Stinson. Republicans had recently taken a local State Representative seat(won by John Taylor)and the odds were good the Republicans could take the empty Senate seat too. It was the first run for Bruce Marks, who was in for a Baptism by fire.
Back in Philly, I was an urban activist just like Barack Obama was in Chicago. There was one big difference, I was by then, a conservative Republican activist -- a very rare bird, indeed, in inner-city America. I volunteered for election day duty, and was assigned by the 33rd Ward Republican Ward leader, Mark Cumberland, to the polling place in the recreation center next to the Carl Mackley Homes housing project. I was a certified poll watcher for the party, with the legal right of entry to the entire polling place. Before leaving with another volunteer, Ken Bell, Mark gave us a phone number to call if "we had any trouble". I remember thinking --hmmm... OK!?
When we arrived, we were immediately "welcomed" by the Democrat committeeman and election judge, both of whom looked like they would have made excellent extras in a Fellini movie. They weren't going to let us in, period. The committeeman (who would later be convicted of absentee ballot voter fraud),was particularly obnoxious. At about five inches from my face, he boasted loudly that, "this is my neighborhood and I know everyone, their mothers, and their brothers. I even know their dogs, and they are going to vote too".
Ken and I reasoned that our "welcome" might be what Mark meant by "trouble". We called the number and explained about the recent events. Within 20 minutes, two 18 wheelers arrived. The trailers were painted with American eagles and flags and a loudspeaker system was blaring God Bless America. It was the Teamsters, who were in this election, a Republican union. Out of the trucks marched 8 men who looked like they meant business. One of them asked "where is Toby Gearhart?" and I was happy to step right up. In the next few minutes, without any problem, Ken and I were able to march right into to polling place and look wherever we wanted. Sometimes, the freedoms that we take for granted need to be backed up by a bit of muscle.
That afternoon, there was only one, almost comic incident, when the Democrat candidate himself showed up on the scene. As he was leaving he muttered to me, "you know, I know some tough guys too".
Well, they couldn't save him this time. Bill Stinson's election was overturned by the court, and a number of Democrat committeemen and campaign workers throughout the area were convicted of voter fraud.
With the Teamsters by our side, we didn't witness any voter fraud that day. However, there was fraud committed there, but BEFORE voting began, with absentee ballots. (Who knows what else was planned until we showed up.) Besides outright intimidation, illegal absentee ballots were the preferred method of election theft throughout the district.
How many canine names were involved in total is hard to say. Click on below for the complete legal conclusion of the story:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1904058/Marks-v-Stinson
In 1993, there was a special election for the Pennsylvania Senate, which pitted Republican Bruce Marks, against 33rd Democrat Ward leader Bill Stinson. Republicans had recently taken a local State Representative seat(won by John Taylor)and the odds were good the Republicans could take the empty Senate seat too. It was the first run for Bruce Marks, who was in for a Baptism by fire.
Back in Philly, I was an urban activist just like Barack Obama was in Chicago. There was one big difference, I was by then, a conservative Republican activist -- a very rare bird, indeed, in inner-city America. I volunteered for election day duty, and was assigned by the 33rd Ward Republican Ward leader, Mark Cumberland, to the polling place in the recreation center next to the Carl Mackley Homes housing project. I was a certified poll watcher for the party, with the legal right of entry to the entire polling place. Before leaving with another volunteer, Ken Bell, Mark gave us a phone number to call if "we had any trouble". I remember thinking --hmmm... OK!?
When we arrived, we were immediately "welcomed" by the Democrat committeeman and election judge, both of whom looked like they would have made excellent extras in a Fellini movie. They weren't going to let us in, period. The committeeman (who would later be convicted of absentee ballot voter fraud),was particularly obnoxious. At about five inches from my face, he boasted loudly that, "this is my neighborhood and I know everyone, their mothers, and their brothers. I even know their dogs, and they are going to vote too".
Ken and I reasoned that our "welcome" might be what Mark meant by "trouble". We called the number and explained about the recent events. Within 20 minutes, two 18 wheelers arrived. The trailers were painted with American eagles and flags and a loudspeaker system was blaring God Bless America. It was the Teamsters, who were in this election, a Republican union. Out of the trucks marched 8 men who looked like they meant business. One of them asked "where is Toby Gearhart?" and I was happy to step right up. In the next few minutes, without any problem, Ken and I were able to march right into to polling place and look wherever we wanted. Sometimes, the freedoms that we take for granted need to be backed up by a bit of muscle.
That afternoon, there was only one, almost comic incident, when the Democrat candidate himself showed up on the scene. As he was leaving he muttered to me, "you know, I know some tough guys too".
Well, they couldn't save him this time. Bill Stinson's election was overturned by the court, and a number of Democrat committeemen and campaign workers throughout the area were convicted of voter fraud.
With the Teamsters by our side, we didn't witness any voter fraud that day. However, there was fraud committed there, but BEFORE voting began, with absentee ballots. (Who knows what else was planned until we showed up.) Besides outright intimidation, illegal absentee ballots were the preferred method of election theft throughout the district.
How many canine names were involved in total is hard to say. Click on below for the complete legal conclusion of the story:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1904058/Marks-v-Stinson
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