Posts Tagged ‘City Council’

Are local candidate forums worth the effort?

Posted by ameister on Monday, June 20th, 2011

Did you know that there was a mayoral debate on Wednesday at Coppin? You probably did not. Hassan Giordano wrote an entertaining description of what happened at Coppin.

I live near Coppin and I had no idea that a political event was about to take place. I am definitely not out of the loop. In order for a candidate forum to be worthwhile for a candidate there have to be a lot of people in attendance. In order for there to be a packed house there has to be some form of basic advertising and promotion. The mayor did not even bother to show up at the Coppin debate. I can assure you that the mayor will show up at a debate where she knows there will be 500 people in the crowd and multiple media outlets in attendance.

In 2007 when I ran for city council most of the candidate forums in neighborhoods were very small. The crowds were mostly made up of candidate entourages.  I thought that such venues would be great for a person running for a city council seat because you would be able to meet a lot of undecided voters. I was wrong. There were very few undecided voters at any of the forums. It would have been a better use of my time to knock on doors then spend a night in a room filled with people who wanted to support their candidate. Many forums ended up being useless shows.

If each district was able to come up with its own hyped, marketed, and recorded for replay on Youtube candidate forum then I would advise a city council seat candidate to attend. I know of nothing like that in Baltimore though. It actually would make sense for there to be only 14 localized candidate forums during the election season (one in each district). They could be three hours each. There would be an hour for the mayoral candidates, an hour for the City Council President candidates, and an hour (or maybe 90 minutes) for the candidates running to represent that district on the city council. If these forums were marketed correctly then many voters would attend and make it worthwhile for every candidate to show up.

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A followup to Wednesday’s post

Posted by ameister on Friday, June 10th, 2011

On Wednesday I gave my opinion of the local media’s aversion to “real news stories”.  I feel that there are some good reporters out there, but whoever is in charge of them is giving them fluff stories to report on.  I have a new take on that opinion. On the rare occasions that the mainstream media produces a revealing investigative piece it seems like the general population ignores it unless the story is shoved down their throats. It also appears that complimentary media outlets ignore the story even though elaborating on it would only help them (and Baltimore).

Nearly a month ago ABC 2 broadcast a revealing story about how Baltimore City Council members spend our money.  City Council members get to spend up to $5000 a year from a discretionary fund on all sorts of expenses. Rikki Spector was reimbursed for more than $12,000 over the last two years according to the story. Make sure you check out the story and the charts that show how much each council member spends.  Why does Rikki Spector spend so much on mileage? Hmmmm…..

So why are our $58,000 a year PART TIME leaders allowed to have a $5000 a year discretionary fund during these hard economic times?  Why are they allowed to drive cars leased by the city?  From the lack of publicity this story generated it appears that there are not many citizens who are worried about this very important question or the wasteful behaviors of our leaders.

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When will our leaders investigate Rikki Spector and other council members with residency issues?

Posted by ameister on Thursday, May 19th, 2011

This signed agreement from 2007 shows that 5th district councilwoman Rikki Spector currently occupies a condo unit at Harborview in the 10th (soon to be 11th) district of Baltimore City.

Rikki Spector lists 7404 Park Heights Avenue in the 5th district as her primary residence and receives a homestead property tax credit there. You can view her property tax bill here.

This is not a new revelation. The members of the City Council know about it and accept it by not investigating it. The board of elections, the inspector general, and the board of ethics also do not touch this issue. Yesterday was taxpayers night at city hall. If a person is occupying a condo downtown, then why should they continue to receive a homestead property tax credit at another location?  The average taxpayer, who showed up at city hall last night, can not have it both ways so why should our leaders? With Baltimore in dire economic straits why do we put up with these types of games?

Rikki Spector is not the only city council member with residency issues. Today the Mobtown Shank wondered why Belinda Conaway’s residency issues have not been investigated by the Baltimore City Council.  You can read the Mobtown Shank piece here.

The city council needs to investigate why the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee receives a homestead property tax credit at her house in Randallstown. Should a person with so much influence over Baltimore’s finances be suing a soon to be 7th District constituent for millions of dollars? What message does all of this send to the citizens of Baltimore about transparency and the priorities of Baltimore’s City Council. Shame on our leaders if there is no investigation into all of this!

An interesting WBAL TV story.

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Links to interesting stories from sources you may not be familiar with

Posted by ameister on Friday, May 13th, 2011

What an interesting news week in Baltimore. All of us are familiar with the mainstream sources of news in Baltimore, but there are some others out there that deserve our attention. There are also times that DC sources cover Baltimore stories before Baltimore sources do.

The Washington Post is as mainstream as its gets, but yesterday they covered a story that the mainstream media in Baltimore has not touched for a while. I predict the potential move of the DC United soccer team to the Baltimore area will make the news up here again soon enough.  Here is what the Post has to say about the potential move of the team.

WAMU in Washington was also talking about Baltimore today. Starting a little bit after the five minute mark of the “The Politics Hour” the host and guests talk about the city council residency issue. The hosts were already familiar with Jack Young’s residency issue.  The host and guests did not have all of their facts straight and at times made incorrect statements, but it is now obvious that the Baltimore city council residency issue is known in the nation’s capital.

I really love the Hampden based Mobtown Shank. They also talked about the Baltimore city council residency issue.

Yakov Shafranovich is a guy in Baltimore with a blog. You probably have never heard of him before, but he has gathered a lot of public information about Baltimore and posted it on his site. He also had some thoughts about the Baltimore city council residency issue.

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Stop ignoring the elephant in the room: The city council residency issue

Posted by ameister on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

This email was sent out to numerous leaders, citizens, and media members:

“Stop ignoring the elephant in the room: The city council residency issue

My name is Adam Meister and I live in Reservoir Hill. I am writing you this email as a citizen of Baltimore.  I live in Baltimore THUS I receive a homestead property tax credit at 2216 Linden Ave. If I received a homestead property tax credit at this address and if I lived in Randallstown then I would be committing fraud.  Every citizen of Baltimore has a right to complain about his or her local government. Every citizen of Baltimore has the right to free speech. I will not be silenced.

The city council residency issue is not going away no matter how much some of you want it to disappear. Frivolous lawsuits by elected officials against vocal constituents will not silence anyone, in fact they will only increase the volume of the voices of the people who demand an investigation and the resignations of those involved in questionable residency/property tax paying practices. What does it say when a City Council remains silent when a fellow member makes a mockery of the property tax system? The recent developments brought on by pure greed and power hunger are embarrassing and are a slap in the face to the honest property tax paying citizens of Baltimore who could easily run away to the suburbs instead of dealing with the many everyday challenges Baltimore presents.

Since the above paragraph describes more than one member of your body it is going to take a strong leader to stand up and deal with this elephant in the middle of the room. Every day this issue grows stronger. It will soon be the main issue of election season 2011. Handle your business now before your city council class is remembered as the one that condoned these insulting practices at a time when everyday citizens are dealing with harsh economic realities.

I have copied state election officials, media members, elected officials, and the inspector general’s office on this email. Below are links to recent stories that appeared in traditional print and TV media that show how ridiculous and embarrassing the current situation is. Read the comments below the articles, the citizens are rightfully angry and frustrated. The city council needs to address the elephant in the room  before the voters do.

Regards,
Adam Meister
Citizen of Reservoir Hill and recipient of a homestead property tax credit for the ONE house I live in here.

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27850462/detail.html

http://citypaper.com/news/homes-of-contention-1.1125236

http://www.examiner.com/politics-in-baltimore/belinda-conaway-receives-a-homestead-property-tax-credit-randallstown

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/maryland/baltimore-insider-blog/bal-councilwoman-belinda-conaway-sues-examiner-columnist-adam-meister-20110510,0,4265291.story

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/maryland/baltimore-insider-blog/bal-if-your-city-councilwoman-is-sleepy-snippy-and-sick–20110511,0,5738516.story

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-mossburg-20110426,0,2276610.column“

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Excuses and frustration in Pigtown

Posted by ameister on Monday, May 9th, 2011

I was included in an email thread about the Baltimore nuisance abatement program not working in Pigtown.
Some people in Pigtown are tired of running around in bureaucratic circles. It was not a shock to read typical pro-bureaucratic run-around type comments from 10th district councilman Edward Reisinger.  Here is what the Pete Welch supporting councilman had to say:

“You are on track. We can’t change the PAST. We need to move FORWARD. There are some Core people, that want to make a difference. We all want a CLEAN and SAFE neighborhood. That is our OBJECTIVE. Stop BICKERING and work TOGETHER.
Councilman ED. Reisinger
10th District”

Reisinger does not want the people of Pigtown to remember the past since in the past his friend Agnes Welch did absolutely nothing to improve the chaotic drug situation in Pigtown. He does not want you to remember how he blindly endorsed her son to take her place to reward her decades of incompetency.  Reisinger does not want you to remember how Terry Hickey was gerrymandered out of the 10th district.

Reisinger thinks it is easy not to bicker and to work together. This is not a shock since he is a member of a one party good old boy (and girl) city council that blindly supports their own. The same city council that refuses to talk about the numerous council-people who do not live in the district (and in some cases CITY) they are supposed to live in.  Everyday people can not stifle debate like our leaders can! We can not gerrymander our way out of our challenges.

Reisinger, the good old boy establishment leaders, and the people who work for the oragnizations that are supposed to solve the problems the city created in the first place all want the citizens of Pigtown to continue to run in bureaucratic circles moving from station to station hoping things will be different this time. Everyone loves a little lamb right?

Some people (and I am one of them) think being a sheep solves nothing. In order to get things done in this city you have to call people out by their names and embarrass the establishment. People who do not think outside of the box will condemn you, but in the end of the day you will make a difference while the people who condemn you will continue to run around in circles and get nothing accomplished.

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Baltimore is close to having its first Latino city councilperson

Posted by ameister on Friday, April 1st, 2011

In 2010 and 2009 I wrote about a yearly party I attended that was filled with local political people. The host of this legendary party was Odette Ramos. On Saturday she hosted the 2011 version of this party. I arrived late and found out that Odette Ramos may run for the soon to be open City Council seat in the 12th district. Carl Stokes is the current representative in the 12th and he will be running for mayor.

Odette is currently the President and CEO of Strategic Management Consulting.  Since her parties were always filled with people who were familiar with the Baltimore political scene I always thought that she would run for office one day. In 2007 she was a very visible member of Terry Hickey’s 10th district city council campaign (I have been informed that this year Hickey will be Bill Cole’s campaign treasurer! Now that is a story for another time…).

If Odette makes it official then you can expect a lot of stories about her being the first Latina to make a “serious” run for city council. One can expect her to receive many prominent endorsements and support from all corners of Baltimore. if she wins she will be Baltimore’s first Hispanic City Councilperson.  There is some irony in all this. Right now the local media is talking about how Latinos will be hurt by City Council redistricting yet if Odette Ramos runs for City Council then this will be the closest a Latino person has ever been to attaining a seat in Baltimore’s City Council.

The 12th district race will not be an easy one. There is a man named Robert Stokes (not related to Carl Stokes) who may run for the 12th district seat. Stokes seems to be cut from the “traditional” Baltimore political mold. He will use his last name to gain votes and according to this old City Paper article there have serious questions about where Stokes really lives :

“Robert Stokes says that where the candidates live shouldn’t be an issue, and lists a 13th District address on Elmora Avenue with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Last year, when he was running for the House of Delegates, his campaign made payments to Stokes at a downtown apartment.”

I guess that will qualify him for a Conaway endorsement…

So while the other media outlets talk about how Hispanic people have been dealt an unfair blow by redistricting, I am here to inform you about the very real possibility of Baltimore electing its first Hispanic City Councilperson. There goes the redistricting lawsuit.

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Belinda Conaway receives a homestead property tax credit in Randallstown

Posted by ameister on Friday, March 25th, 2011

At this link and this link Belinda Conaway says she lives in Baltimore. Conaway is free to say what she wants to, but in order to clear her family name she is gong to have answer the questions I have listed below.

Before you read my questions I want to share some new information with you. Click here for a copy of some Maryland Judiciary Case Search information about the time police pulled over Milton Washington at Liberty Road and Buckingham road in Baltimore County. Milton Washington is Belinda Conaway’s Husband. This incident happened in March of 2010.   Mr. Washington is listed as living at 9810 Southall Road in Randallstown.

I visited the Baltimore County property tax search page and copied the following three screen shots:
Screen shot 1
Screen shot 2
Screen shot 3

The screen shots are from the Washingtons’ (Belinda Conaway’s married name) most recent online tax bill (that was paid in 2010). One can easily see in screen shot #3 that they are receiving over $700 in homestead property tax credits. This means they say they live in the house. One can also see that the sewer service fee is over $400. People are clearly living there. If you look up neighboring houses you will see similar sewer service fees.

So here are my questions:

Why has Belinda Conaway been receiving the homestead property tax credit in Randallstown for years if she says she lives at 3210 Liberty Heights in Baltimore?

Why did the Maryland case search say her husband lives at 9810 Southall Road in Randallstown?

If she still thinks she lives in the city then when will she be returning the thousands of dollars of past homestead property tax credits to Baltimore County and the state of Maryland?

Should a person who files for the homestead property tax credit in the incorrect jurisdiction be in charge of the Baltimore city council budget and appropriations committee (the most important city council committee)?

The simple question that sums up everything is did Belinda Conaway commit mortgage fraud or election fraud?

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You will never have to worry about finding a job if you are part of the Baltimore political establishment

Posted by ameister on Friday, February 25th, 2011

Lois Garey represented Northeast Baltimore on the City Council from 1995 until 2004.

The 2003 political year brought some election reform to Baltimore. The City Council was reduced from 19 to 15 members and 14 new single member districts were created. Local elections were supposed to be moved to presidential election years, but the primary remained in 2003 while the general election was moved to 2004. The 14 month gap between the primary and general elections allowed some 16-year-olds to vote and since Democrats always win in Baltimore it allowed some lame duck council members to remain on the council until the end of 2004. Lois Garey was one of the lame duck members who lost the primary election in September of 2003, but did not have to leave office until after the General election of November of 2004.

Lois Garey conveniently started a new job as a city “Zoning Appeals Officer” in December of 2004. As of 2009 she was paid $62,200 a year at that city job. I have no idea what a “Zoning Appeals Officer” does, but apparently Ms Garey must be very qualified to be one since she became one right around the time she stopped being paid to be a city council member. Here is an old Lois Garey resume that was posted online while she was still in office.

One receives all sorts of benefits for being part of the Baltimore political establishment.

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The revised redistricting map will not please the people of Butchers Hill

Posted by ameister on Friday, February 18th, 2011

You can view the revised redistricting map that came out earlier this week here.  You can view the original redistricting plan here. In my previous article on this subject I pointed out how residents of Butchers Hill might not like part of their neighborhood being placed in the 13th district. Under the revised plan even more of their neighborhood is in the 13th. I foresee a lot of protest over this. The odd thing about this move is that I do not think Warren Branch wants Butchers Hill and that Jim Kraft wants to lose Butchers Hill. The people of Butchers Hill do not want to be split or be part of the 13th. The problem is that the 13th district lost population and the 1st gained population. The 13th needs people in order to have a reasonable population number. I feel bad for Butchers Hill, but I do not think that math is going to allow them to remain in the 1st.

A new issue that the revised map has produced is the splitting on Mount Vernon between the 11th and 12th districts. The neighborhood is already split, but they were probably looking forward to being unified.

I was happy to see Druid Heights moved to the 7th from the 11th. Druid Heights did not fit into the new 11th demographically and in the 7th it may be able to receive more attention. In the 2007 primary election only 100 people in the Druid Heights precinct voted (I came in third there and even beat Bill Cole :) ) so I would advise them to come out in larger numbers this year if they want more political attention.

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