For The People--Not Politics

 

"By putting the people’s concerns first, I hope we can learn from each other, learn from our disagreements, and reach compromises to benefit all of our community."

Guest Blogger, Kristin Blais-candidate for the Mt. Airy Town Council  

There’s something about an election year that seems to bring out the worst in people. This year, is no different, only, as a candidate I’m experiencing it first hand. 

I have become the target of my opponents who have continually attempted to defame me, as well as those who support my candidacy for Mt. Airy Town Council. These attacks have been aided by email to our citizens, as well as statements in public alleging my candidacy for council is a conflict of interest, unethical and presents a majority vote on council. All of these allegations are untrue, without merit and meant to divert the citizens’ attention from the real issues they face as individuals, and also the issues our town faces regarding its future viability. These attacks have only made my resolve stronger and my message clearer – I am here to serve the citizens of Mt. Airy. 

This type of negative politicking is not pretty, but it’s the way a certain group of people conspire when it comes to politics and an election year in Mt. Airy.  It’s time we, as a Town, put these ill advised tactics to an end and concentrate on real issues; putting people before politics!

One of the fundamental problems in our election this year is even with the amount of public discourse in our town, this group of individuals seem more concerned with holding onto their power and positions, rather than listening and being open to new ideas. They don’t want to acknowledge those who disagree with their philosophies; this is not the mind set of good leaders, and can be detrimental to the future of our Town. We must embrace the fact that disagreement is the fundamental foundation in a democracy. Respectful, healthy debate can lead to positive change, for the very simple reason- nobody is right all of the time.

I know I have made my message clear to the people of Mt. Airy--your concerns come first!  Whether the issue is working to bring a variety of new businesses into town and supporting our current local businesses, addressing the lack of parking downtown, working to find jobs for our teens and adults, finding the solutions to our traffic concerns and speeding through neighborhoods, seeking additional recreational facilities, controlling our spending or making sure our public safety is not jeopardized, I hear you!  By putting the people’s concerns first, I hope we can learn from each other, learn from our disagreements, and reach compromises to benefit all of our community.

On May 7^Th, we have the opportunity to put our citizens first and the nasty politics last.  Let’s concentrate on the real issues that we face together to build a brighter future for Mt. Airy! 

Krsitin Blais
Guest Blogger 
Candidate for the Mt. Airy Town Council

Have a Drink with the Mayor When You Place the "Right" Sign In Your Yard?

The following was submitted by Meghan Shipley of Mt. Airy 

 
It seems there is a foul odor coming from the mouth of a town official. I received an e-mail sent out by our Mayor to his many followers. Some of those he thinks are loyal to him are very much against his views. Could it be? 

In this e-mail to his “friends," he not only attacked two residents running for council, but he also attacked a current councilman, and a previous one. Is the Mayor running for Town Council? 

It would appear that the Mayor has a slogan to help his friends get elected, ”they will vote as I tell them to vote." So much for the diversity of our town residents. 

Perhaps the Mayor should refrain from sending e-mails and do what he was elected to do; listen to ALL the people. 

In case you were not one of the selected few, allow me to tell you how Mr. Mayor ended his e-mail. A list of 5 different things for residents to do, none of which have anything to do with the finding out the facts and making a decision for themselves. However, if you put a sign in your yard for "his" candidate, he will personally come by your house for a visit and a drink! Lucky you! Or better yet, if you put a sign in your yard AND write a letter to the editor supporting Chris Everich, he will then leave you alone! 

I have one question, Mr. Mayor, are trying to use your power and authority to influence the voters?

Are you a minion of the mayor, or are you a town resident that is constantly ignored because you have a different opinion?

Vote for Bob King and Kristin Blais. They will represent ALL citizens.   

Meghan Shipley 
Guest Blogger 
This writer is a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission

Bob King Understands Mt. Airy's Challenges

The following was submitted by Risa Misra of Mt.Airy

On May 7^th I’ll be voting for Bob King for Mt. Airy Town Council. 

Bob moved to Mt. Airy in 1992 because it was a nice place to raise children.  For the past 20 years he has worked to enrich the lives of an entire generation of children through his efforts with the Mt. Airy Youth Athletic Association (1994-2001), the Mt. Airy Parks and Recreation Commission (1997-present), and Calvary United Methodist Church(2007-present).

In 20 years, Bob has seen Mt. Airy’s landscape change. Through it all he has consistently worked well with volunteers, Town and County staff, and elected officials to further our best interests by acquiring parkland and generating ball fields, bike and foot trails, and recreational programs for citizens of all ages. 

Bob understands the challenges of maintaining a vibrant community, one that remains affordable and provides a high quality of life for the majority of existing residents, and also supports local businesses. He understands that good schools, good roads, a safe and reliable water supply, and local recreational and employment opportunities are necessary for this generation and future generations to thrive.  

Bob’s long record of service shows that he is willing and able to reach across the table to make good things happen. I believe that is exactly what Mt. Airy needs.

Rita Misra

Guest Blogger

Rockinberg Showing Leadership? Please!!!!!

Where's The Water?

You know it’s bad when they call in the “big guns.” Where has Todd Eudy been hiding? Under a rock? Isn’t he the guy who barely shows up for Water and Sewer Commission meetings, but Pat Rockinberg and gang argue he can stay on even though the council developed rules and guidelines for such instances. Well, yes…I believe he’s the guy. 

  

In this weeks Gazette, Eudy states 

“I appreciate how he (the Mayor) frequently references and carries out the vision of our residents as reflected in the 2007 Town Survey.”

Let’s gets one thing straight. The 2007 survey was analyzed only for political purposes serving the Rockinberg anti-growth, anti- business political machine agenda. If Rockinberg was really behind what the residents wanted, he wouldn’t have promoted a “not in my back yard” response to the Rigler Annexation proposing a community center. A community center that 63% of the residents said they wanted in the infamous 2007 survey. 

Mount Airy will be much better represented when the new survey is completed by the Be Local, Mount Airy group. Results will be analyzed objectively by those who do not have an agenda or a political ax to grind.   

In 2006, Eudy did nothing but bring hate to our community. Divide and conquer was his motto. He savagely attacked three council members who worked tirelessly for this community trying to bring the amenities that this community needed and still does. I’ve made many friends on the"other side" since that time I would never want this community to go backwards in time. The kind of venom and animosity Eudy brings to the table is what we all must stand up against and demand better. I hope residents will see Eudy for what he really is, a shit stirrer, and understand the reasons why he is suddenly surfacing--there's an election year coming right up. 

Do you remember “The Quorum?”  How could you forget? Well, one could argue that’s exactly what we have now with Pyatt, Strong and Helt; Helt being the wild card for sure. You never know which way the wind is blowing with Helt, but typically and as of late…it blows towards Rockinberg and gang. (BTW, who he has positioned in every commission and every nook and cranny of our Town’s government.) 

This new “Quorum” is anti-economic development and developer, anti business, anti work where you live if possible, anti collaboration of all stakeholders in the community, and with the exception of Helt on occasion, have shown they are not willing to embrace different ideas, solutions, recommendations and suggestions in order to work together to solve problems. 

They don't even accept the notion that we have any problems.

Leaders have vision. Leaders can see things from all angles and embrace different ways of looking at a situation, issue or problem. Leaders embrace their team and work with each person to develop a healthy, strong, professional relationship among colleagues.

Those are not the traits of our current Mayor. 

Don’t agree with his opinion? He will write a letter to the editor instead of discussing in a mature, business like, adult manner. If you write a letter regarding your opinion, he sicks one of  his goons after you. (Eudy, Blatchford, Basement Boy Falletta, Curley) Want to obtain documents under Freedom of Information as a resident? He will charge you. Want to be annexed in to Town (not a resident) he will go to bat for you! (Hmm. I wonder what the politicians were going to get in return?) 

You may think he’s doing a bang up job, but I ask you this Mount Airy; Since he’s become Mayor...

• Has he fostered an environment where business feels confident? NO. 

• Has he worked with MAMSA, Economic Development and the Planning Commission to create a strong foundation where business is encouraged and welcomed into our community? NO. 

• Has he utilized the 2007 survey and it’s findings to bring a community center or something for teens to do? NO. 

• A middle school for Frederick County? NO.  (In fact, he didn't even know that the Frederick County students no longer attended New Market Middle.)

• Has he taken the steps to come up with solutions to Mount Airy’s long standing infrastructure problems, such as Water, Sewer and Traffic? NO. 

There’s been much discussion lately about our “reserve” funds. The reserve funds have been sitting, earning interest from impact fees developers are required to pay for FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE. 

Wake up Mount Airy. Those funds aren't for emergencies or to balance the Mayor’s Budget. Those funds are a promise to YOU, the residents who  have been waiting for two decades for Mount Airy to get with the program and fix it’s infrastructure problems. 

Shame on you, Todd Eudy or anyone else who thinks this Mayor is showing leadership. Real leadership starts with action; not false promises, lots of empty talk…. and most of all, spin.

Mayor Rockinberg-- Doesn't Have a Clue

--On Economic Development, Our Commercial Tax Base and  Living Where You Work..

Perhaps it's time for a new survey?

It appears we have a Mayor who really isn’t getting the big picture of why economic development is so important for Mount Airy. At February 23rd's special meeting of the Economic Development Commission and the Town Council,  the Mayor said>>

“I don't see a huge push or need for Economic Development beyond what we already have, we already have a good mix.”

There in lies the problem.  

The philosophy of the Mayor, 2 councilman (Pyatt and Strong) and the entire Planning and Zoning Board towards the “greedy developers” is ‘go away.’  The Mayor also said>>

“We need economic development and the business here more as a convenience.”

He went on to say that the residents need to make more of an “effort” to support local businesses to ensure their survival. He states>>

 "How we can help our residents and these businesses is to foster these businesses only as a convenience. If we don't support the businesses here in Mount Airy, those conveniences will go away. What I think EDC should focus on to help to foster these businesses and keep them thriving is a shop where you live campaign. We can educate these people, because if we don't frequent these businesses, we're not going to have them. I think that will help build our commercial tax base and keep our businesses thriving."

Really? 

Don’t get me wrong; I try to frequent our local businesses as much as possible. I would hope other residents do the same; I mean, who wants to drive to Frederick, Columbia or Germantown? But the Mayor has it all wrong. It’s not the resident’s responsibility to patronize local businesses in order for them to survive.  I, along with my fellow residents make our own choices when it comes to shopping for groceries, gas, eating  out etc. It's a free society. That’s how it works. 


Oh and by the way Mr. Mayor, encouraging a shop where you live campaign in town is just one component of EDC. Shopping here in Town will not grow the commercial tax base.Only new businesses opening their doors will add to the commercial tax base. 

It’s the Town’s responsibility and in the Town’s best interest to ensure the Town remains a viable, attractive and welcoming place to start a business. A diversified business sector brings additional foot traffic for other businesses and creates a climate that would entice residents to make the choice to stay local more often.  

The word “developer” is a bad word in this town, and the development community has been treated very poorly. Half the residents in this Town wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the development community and for the good hearted life long residents who  said YES to us moving to their Town to raise our kids and open our businesses. 

EDC Commission member Frank Dertzbaugh said  “If we can’t at least bring potential investors in the door, and get them through at least a concept, then they will lose interest with all the other hurdles they will have along the way which are many.”

It’s an uphill battle to even get a project to the concept stage. It has become the mission of this administration and the Planning and Zoning Commission to create an atmosphere of negativity with no creative out of the box solutions to infrastructure challenges. 

It's no secret that Mount Airy has a water issue...it's been that way for nearly two decades. The truth? These Town officials don’t want to find water. They don’t want to find a solution. The Mayor said so himself>>

"We have water for every resident in Mt. Airy now; I don't see a huge deficiency. I don't think we need big ground water and that's one of the things I campaigned on. We don't need these big resources. We have water resources.Now we need some more to build out center street. We are limited and I don't think we need to take great gains to change what we already have." 

How quickly we forget when we hit a dry spell? If it were really up to them, they would seal the Mt. Airy borders. Perhaps they should just build a fence? 

EDC member Mike VantSant said  "there are a couple of very key things in the enabling legislation, and one that jumps right out at me is to promote the ability to work closer to home.” To which the Mayor replied>>

"A lot of people had a choice when they moved to Mount Airy of places to live and working the same area, while that can be some what desirable, I don't think that's the number one desire of the people that live here, to have their job immediately adjacent to where they work." 

 Wow! I'll say it again.. Really? 

The Mayor is out of touch with reality and with most residents and business owners in this Town. If we have the opportunity to work closer to home, most people would jump on that, that doesn't mean we want to become an "employment hub." It just means that we create more opporutnity whether it means more jobs for our Teens, stay at home Moms or business professionals.  

Most businesses are eager to see business development. Businesses want to grow. They want the town to be a place where prospective business owners can come and be treated with respect, given an honest process and not subject to the political BS of the almighty Planning and Zoning commission.   

Businesses in Mt. Airy-if you want to grow and prosper, it’s time to take a stand against the unorthodox treatment of our development community. Stand up if you believe Planning and Zoning, Economic Development, and the Town Council should all work in concert to create an atmosphere that is conducive for economic growth and vitality in our small Town.

Mount Airy’s Charter

Like Amendments to the Constitution…
Changes Should be Part of a Thoughtful and Planned Process

I attended the Public Work Session on Wednesday May 12 primarily organized by Councilman Gary Nelson regarding the Town’s Charter. Having gone back and forth with acting Mayor Peter Helt the week before regarding the process of commission appointments, I was eager to hear the Town Charter discussion.

Past Town Council members and Mayors were invited to the work session. It was an interesting dynamic with many strong personalities who shared great insight and a lively discussion. Mount Airy’s Charter and how difficult issues are dealt with has been a hot topic since the Dave Pyatt issue in December of last year, particularly for the council members who were forced to deal directly with the issue.

Discussion ensued regarding how vacancies should be handled to the overall power of a Mayor. Chris Decolli, councilman 2002-2006 believes strongly in the separation of powers. The Mayor acts as CEO and manages government operations and the Council acts as the legislative branch. Our charter currently resembles this set up. Town Council President and acting Mayor Peter Helt suggested we give the Mayor a vote at the table and take away veto power. Many thought that this presented several issues, one being an even number of votes at the table.

In addition to recommended changes to the charter structure, another recommendation was to add a "Forfeiture, Suspension or Removal from Office" option, or possibly even "Recall Procedures." A suspension or removal option is already part of our Town Code for appointed officials:

"Removals and suspensions. To remove or temporarily suspend from office any person who has been appointed to any municipal office and who after due notice and hearing is adjudged to have been guilty of inefficiency, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, misconduct in office or insubordination; and to fill the vacancy caused by such removal or suspension."

It was councilman Nelson’s comments regarding a recall provision that got a lot of heat. Councilman Nelson thought the voters should be able to get rid of an elected official because they were not following through with the platform of promises made when campaigning.

WOW! If this were the case, we should get rid of 95% (at least) of all elected officials, including President Barack Obama! In this provision, an elected official may be recalled with only 20% of the registered voters signatures through a referendum. If Councilman Nelson had his way, it would be simply because they haven’t kept a campaign promise. Really?

Let’s examine this statement a bit closer and perhaps share a little history.

It’s no secret that Councilman Nelson and I have rarely been on the same side of an issue. But I do admire that he stayed the course and completed his term, unlike the other members of the Johnson-Nelson-Woodhull team of 2006.

As liaison to Parks and Recreation for the past four years, Councilman Nelson brought several initiatives to the table. My friend Bob King, Chair of Parks and Recreation, has nothing but praise and admiration for Councilman Nelson.

"Whatever he took on, Gary Nelson gave one hundred percent effort."

King credits Nelson with many of the commission's accomplishments such as coordinating the effort to designate the Town's 88 acres as a park, naming the park and creating a Master Plan for the park. Councilman Nelson also worked hard on Rails to Trails. By applying and receiving grants from the State Highway Administration, councilman Nelson was able to offset some of the legal costs for easements and make property purchases needed for the project. This project is now closer to reality than ever before.

The one issue that Councilman Nelson and I have agreed on is that of schools and Mount Airy. We strongly believe that we need a Frederick County middle school either in Town, or closer to Town. Although one never would have guessed it when he fought hard against an annexation that came complete with a pad-ready school site in 2006. He said, “we can do better.” Granted, he certainly tried to do better and worked on several leads to find a site for a school during his term.

After working with Councilman Nelson on the Committee for Schools, I truly believed that Councilman Nelson was committed to bringing a Frederick County middle school to Mount Airy. Unfortunately, even though Councilman Nelson managed to convince Frederick County to retain a "floating" future school site within the Town's limits, the “we can do better” promise regarding finding a site for a Mount Airy middle school for Frederick County never came to fruition.

Should we have “recalled” Gary Nelson? Overall, I do believe that Councilman Nelson meant well and truly believed he could do better, so recalling him because he did not fulfill his promise of bringing a Frederick County middle school to Mount Airy would be absolutely ridiculous! I know, crazy coming from me, but it's true. I promised readers this would be an honest and truthful Blog, and I too will honor that promise.

Campaign promises are sometimes harder to keep than one may think. Trying to work with Frederick County schools when the Mount Airy community has sent mixed messages regarding schools being built here for the past 15 years would be challenging for anyone, seasoned or green. FCPS is a tough bunch and I truly believe that Mount Airy has gone down that path one too many times to be taken seriously, although I'd love to be proven wrong in this case.

It’s the green politicians who think they know more, and think they “can do better” who create an air of arrogance. I do believe that Gary Nelson had that air of arrogance when he was elected. Personally, I believe he still has it, but that doesn't mean he should be recalled, nor should he not receive credit where credit is due.

Councilman Nelson did not run for re-election and his term ends today. But if he had run, the voters would have decided if councilman Nelson was worthy of another term based on his accomplishments and the promises made four years ago.

And that is how we get rid of politicians who are not doing the job we elected them to do. This is America! We go to the polls!

In closing, I want to thank councilman Nelson for planning this very informative public work session and for his four years of service to the Town. I admire anyone who takes on this challenge and I hope the new incoming administration will take seriously the oath they are about to take this evening in serving the people of Mount Airy.

We don't expect to always get along, but we do expect a level of consistency and commitment to promises made and for decisions to be made based on what's best for all Mount Airy residents, not just a select few.