A few commenters to this post have suggested that, among other sins, I have libeled Marc Norman by suggesting that the food workers union is COGs sugar daddy. A commenter “Gimme” took issue with my questioning of Marc on this topic. They wrote:
“As a private citizen, he doesn't owe you or any of the disgruntled developers and lawyers you parrot for an answer.
His statement (May 28, 11:32am) that COG had "not accepted ANY funding from organizations with a financial interest in the Turf Valley referendum" was verified by the Board of Elections financial filing you copied on this post (just above your link to the picture of the naked couple).”
I’m afraid that is not quite correct. The only publicly available financial information for COG was filed before the union became heavily involved. COG was not required to file a subsequent financial statement because the petition effort did not succeed. This “publicly available information" does not answer anything because at that point in time they were just getting started.
This is the document that Marc Norman suggests confirms that COG has “not accepted ANY funding from organizations with a financial interest in the Turf Valley referendum.”
I realize I first needed to ask Marc if he believes that the food workers union has a “financial interest” in keeping a non union grocer out of the Turf Valley development. That would be key to understanding his answer and that is probably the best I can expect.
As for the link to the naked couple from the Burning Man festival, well let’s just say that they are certainly more open than COG has been so far.
Daily
19 hours ago
3 comments:
WB,
Once again, I've googled the research for you. The press reported that Howard County Citizens for Open Government made two petition submissions for a total of more than 9,000 signatures, exceeding the 5,000 required for placement on the ballot. The BoE would have required a financial disclosure each time.
Who annointed you to be the Grand Poobah? You've attacked Russ Swatek and TAG for months. Stop harrassing private citizens with your unsupported innuendo and smear campaign.
Get off your ass and start researching the public records. Your lawyer friends can run the searches while you laugh over a Maker's Mark about the schmucks who think they can get a fair shot from the elected officials that take money from the developers.
When you find something - report it. Otherwise, you owe all of us a big apology - especially Mark.
Gimme A Break
WB, your credibility is zero and heading into negative territory. Each time a petition is submitted the petitioner must answer whether or not signature gatherers were paid. Those forms are available for you to view at the BOE.
But you continue to build straw men to support your fabricated claims. Common sense dictates that straw makes for a poor foundation.
It's a simple yes/no question. Just answer it yes or no and this issue goes away. Personal attacks on WB makes your case less believable. If you really want transparency in government be transparent yourself.
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