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The following is my responses to a questionnaire provided by CARY is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and to support all allies. CARY is incorporated under the 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service.
Read MoreThe following are my responses to the questionnaire provided by The People’s Voice - a civic/political organization in Howard and Montgomery Counties.
Read MoreThe following is my response to a questionnaire provided by a group called Howard County Jewish Advocacy Group.
Read MoreHCPSS and certain school board members are pushing Public Private Partnerships (P3s) for new school construction. The Zum Bus contract disaster is a harbinger of a looming fiscal disaster due to lack of oversight and PPPs will lead to that.
Read MoreThe Howard County Educators Association (HCEA) requested responses to the following set of questions in consideration of Union’s recommendation process. While the Union has not endorsed in the District 4 Board of Education elections, my response to the questions are provided below.
Read MoreIn light of the proposed budget cuts, a critical dimension of their impact remains largely unaddressed: the direct consequences on our educational environment, particularly the increase in class sizes and the reduction in support for behavioral services. This shift not only strains the quality of education but also paves the way for unintended, yet inevitable, consequences.
As class sizes grow and resources for behavioral support dwindle, we are cornered into seeking alternative measures to maintain safety and order. This situation often leads to calls for an increased presence of School Resource Officers (SROs) in our schools. While ensuring safety is paramount, the reliance on SROs as a primary solution is a band-aid that overlooks the root of the issue.
The community, understandably concerned with the adverse effects of these budgetary decisions, will seek solutions. However, without addressing the foundational problems—such as the need for more personalized attention in smaller classes and comprehensive behavioral support—our responses may lean towards reactive rather than proactive measures.
Increasing SRO presence is a testament to our failure in deploying more positive and constructive approaches to education and student behavior management. It underscores a missed opportunity to invest in initiatives that foster a nurturing and conducive learning environment, such as restorative justice programs, mental health support, and inclusive educational practices.
Let there be no doubt, the community WILL deal with behavioral issues one way or another. Howard County’s record on discriminatory policing practices is as troubling as the rest of the country. When we cut the budget we are letting this troubling practice in the school system.
We need money to create safe and supportive atmosphere in our schools.
On the issue of race, America is likened to old, defective electrical equipment, plagued by frayed wires and exploding fuses. This metaphor extends to the political and social landscape, where quick fixes overshadow meaningful reform. Howard County, despite its progressive claims, faces criticism for its response to global and local injustices, revealing a discrepancy between declared values and actions. The narrative underscores a broader societal failure to address systemic racism and inequality, challenging communities to move beyond superficial declarations of inclusivity towards genuine, actionable change. This call to action is rooted in a deep understanding of interconnected struggles across communities.
Read MoreThe draft General Plan was written by developers and for developers. The plan assumes that 59,000 jobs will be created in Howard County over the next twenty years. This number is reached by using the average annual number of jobs created in the past ten years (3,000 per year) and assuming that 3,000 jobs will be created in the next 20 years. No other scientific or technical basis exists for this number.
The county council has introduced 116 amendments to the legislation to the draft General Plan, CB28-2023.
Read MoreThe FY2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) states that at the end of the [FY2022] fiscal year, the County had total long-term debt outstanding of $2.1 billion of which $1.8 billion comprises debt backed by the full faith and credit of the government. The remainder of the County’s debt represents bonds secured solely by specific revenue sources (i.e., revenue bonds). The County’s total long-term debt increased by $158.5 million (8.2% during that year).
Read MoreIt maybe recalled that approximately two years ago, a presentation prepared by Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) to its investors was made public that shocked Howard County. This presentation detailed the various anticompetitive practices HHC engages in to create “value” for its investors.
Read MoreA system – whether it is an organization or a machine – unless it is designed with a failsafe mechanism runs the risk of irredeemable failure that not only destroys itself but also potentially destroys everything around it.
The political system in Howard County lacks this basic failsafe mechanism. Organizations lack the ability to rein in craven and irresponsible leaders and we lack the basic checks and balances including a responsible media to hold our elected officials accountable.
The Rouse Project failed again. But our county lacks the failsafe mechanism to protect us from sustained system-wide failure.
Read MoreThe chapter ignores schools, incorrectly assumes that residential development, incorrectly extrapolates future jobs and uses that incorrect figure to project housing needs. The chapter claims that it consulted with various stakeholders to develop this plan, but clearly advances the viewpoints of those who did not ask about schools and the welfare of the county’s public infrastructure.
Read MoreI am running for central committee with a slate of dedicated activists. Visit our website here.
Read MoreWoke Racism is pernicious and poses a danger for black people for two reasons.
First, it exploits black pain and it is predatory. Using race and racism to advance corporate welfare, which takes away from black families who would thrive from high quality schools and public infrastructure is criminal. Howard County’s schools are overcrowded. Class sizes keep going up. We lack funding to counselors. We keep building trailers to support capacity, which are not safe from potential threats.
Second, it erodes public trust. Howard County’s Woke Racism problem has led many to call anyone and everyone that holds a thought that is different from them as a “racist.” Insiders form groups in the name of racial equity, call others racist in the name of standing up for black people, and the first encounter with a black person with whom they don’t agree, he/she will face their Woke Racism wrath.
Read MoreOne of the first bills introduced in 2022 was sponsored by the County Executive. The bill summary of CB2-2022 says it intends to “prohibit discrimination based on citizen or immigration status in the areas of employment, law enforcement practices, public accommodations, and financing;…”
Of course this bill is election-year performative stunt because the County Executive has acted adversely against immigrant issues and this bill does absolutely nothing to address any concrete problems. So it is not scored.
Here are the bills scored by the legislative score tracker.
Read MoreA highlight of the eight county council and county executive actions that had the largest adverse impact on the budget. The eight actions listed below led to $288 to $317 million in adverse impact on the county’s budget. Every single one of these actions provide an outsized benefit to Howard County developers at the expense of taxpayers.
Read MoreBroadly speaking, we, as a community, have been fighting along artificially created lines. I am convinced that at the heart of almost every single community upheaval or debate is money.
For the past few decades, our local taxpayer dollars have been disproportionately allocated to wealthy, corporate interests . I firmly believe that, if we can ensure equitable allocation of our taxpayer dollars and an accountable government, I think most of our common interests are resolved.
Instead of picking candidates who rely on stoking culture wars to get elected, if we elect politicians who would treat the sacred issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status responsibly, we can begin to have responsible conversation that do not end with insults.
But we have to first focus on land-use and zoning AKA, THE MONEY.
Read MoreIf you live in Maple Lawn, you may be aware of a plan by the original developer to expand the project by 505 residential units. You may be concerned that if you speak out and call for proper management and mitigation of the project’s impact on the school and road capacity as well as general impacts of residential development, you may be labeled as “anti-development.”
My advice is to call out for responsible growth no matter what. There are people who do not want any development and there are people who want unmitigated residential development without proper regulations. Most people fall somewhere in between.
The Maple Lawn community can and should call for the County administration to enforce the regulations and require that the developer pays for the development’s impact on schools, roads, and other public facilities.
Otherwise, the taxpayer will be left holding the bag while the developer leaves with his profits. A few years ago, the developer cancelled the annual fireworks because they were “cost prohibitive.” Since then the community has not had fireworks. While the choice to continue the annual fireworks is optional, maintaining school quality is not optional.
We cannot afford the decline of schools.
Read MoreThree decades of Democratic establishment rule and what have we got to show for it? Overcrowded schools, segregated communities, and an utterly dysfunctional party apparatus that spends more time protecting terrible politicians.
Voters who want real change are stuck between a party that riles people up by scare mongering them with terms such as Critical Race Theory and a party that leverages social ills such as racism and anti-immigration to ascend to power.
Regardless of the party, the power structure is focused on funneling taxpayer dollars to wealthy and powerful corporations.
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