Occasionally I’ll surf by the Howard County Citizens Association listserv to see what those crazy kids are up to these days. I think it would be accurate to say that I often find myself on the opposite side of their prevailing point of view.
On a recent discussion about political contributions, Steve Meskin shared an email he sent to Jared DeMarinis, the Director of the Candidacy and Campaign Finance Division of the Maryland State Board of Elections. Steve wants the state to dig pretty deep into the personal lives of people who contribute to political campaigns.
Among the things he would like to know about everyone who makes a political contribution:
-
- Contributors who are related to each other
- Employers of individual contributors
- Organizations for which an individual contributor is an officer
I think Steve is sniffing in places that are pretty private. Ya gotta keep an eye on those crazy kids.
Can you believe how arrogant some of those HCCA board members are? You would think that HCCA was running the world the way they fire off e-mails like that. They have somewhere around 100 members out of a county population of 270,000. Get over yourselves. Pretty funny for an organization whose President did not know that gases have mass, nor did she know what SDAT stood for- despite being an attorney by trade.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteYou have some valid points, ie., HCCA could be more humble in their approach to citizens, and more assertive in dealings with elected officials.
But also, I gather you are not a member even while it looks as though you've read every word of that long string on political contributions. Many readers are not members.
And not only do many read HCCA discussions, but they lead groups with thousands of members.
That string, incidentally, had much more than the over-the-top statement by Meskin. You could give him a break, he's new at this.
Still, you are right on some points. At times, HCCA sounds like an elite group of liberal Columbia attorneys. Maybe you should join in order to make it more egalitarian.www.howard-citizen.org/
Aren’t they supposed to be focusing on affordable housing and the environment? They seem to merely complain about what they think is wrong in land use and vilify anyone who does not agree (if you are not with them, you are bought off). What do they do to fight for affordable housing and the environment other than try to stop development?
ReplyDeleteWhy are developers to be limited in support of politicians and not lawyers, or doctors or teachers, or computer programmers, etc? If you give to a candidate, you give because you have a vested interest. It may be schools, neighborhood safety, or business interests. Why is one interest nobler than another?
I have heard that a lot of people have been unsubscribing to their group in the last few months because the 15 or so most vocal are really offensive and negative sometimes.
One reason those groups differ is that they have no money related agenda like land developers.
ReplyDeleteHere's a tidbit of what happened on the HCCA listserv, and if you think it's worthwhile, you can sign up as this blog host has already done:
(if you don't want to visit "those crazy kids", then attach the first number to the first header, as in: mary kay had 18k total contribs and LLC contribs of $250 which are usually people who want to hide contributions)
County Council Member
Total ContribsSince Jan 2006
AverageContrib
Total LLCContribs
NumberContribsUnder $100
Total LandUseContribs
ContribsImmediatelyafter election
Outside Howard Contribs
Mary Kay Sigaty
18,458
98.71
$250
126
$1,800
$2,325
$650
Greg Fox
66,716
137.28
$2,275
131
$5,250
$150
$4,685
Jen Terrasa
79,091
174.59
$4,530
105
$7,990
$1,690
$27,305
Courtney Watson
118,569
204.43
$6,020
36
$8,670
$17,083
$19,980
Calvin Ball
93,621
135.68
$10,780
112
$18,995
$21,849
$24,459
County Council Member
Total ContribsSince Jan 2006
AverageContrib
Total LLCContribs
NumberContribsUnder $100
Total LandUseContribs
ContribsImmediatelyafter election
Outside Howard Contribs
Mary Kay Sigaty
18,458
98.71
$250
126
$1,800
$2,325
$650
Greg Fox
66,716
137.28
$2,275
131
$5,250
$150
$4,685
Jen Terrasa
79,091
174.59
$4,530
105
$7,990
$1,690
$27,305
Courtney Watson
118,569
204.43
$6,020
36
$8,670
$17,083
$19,980
Calvin Ball
93,621
135.68
$10,780
112
$18,995
$21,849
$24,459
AND it's easier to read on the HCCA listserv
ReplyDeleteWhat's the big deal about the LLCs? Even the county council person with the largest contribution from them only got $250!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually $10,000. If you were a member of the HCCA listserv you'd know that.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most interesting about the HCCA website is that there is this apparently absolutist opinion that any contributions to political campaigns equates to shady, underhanded deals. The persons that post this kind of garbage at HCCA do not back this up with any evidence, they often just assume.
ReplyDeleteNo one on HCCA said what you are claiming, so I must conclude that you have no support for your position. None. Fabrication = no argument.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if you want to see some shameless gushing, visit the Co Blo Proj where the phrase 'even a blind squirrel' is thoroughly lost on the host. He interpreted two people giving him positive feedback and now he's pontificating from on high about the masses or residents who follow him.
You just can't make this stuff up! Too good.
How about we focus on the real question - a money laundering system that encourages unlimited, undocumented contributions through LLCs that are not required to disclose information about their funding/ownership.
ReplyDeleteNeither political party will allow the light of full disclosure to shine upon the "legal" loophole that circumvents regulatory limits for campaign contributions.