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United or not?

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005

Carrolltowne United may not be as united as its name. It was founded in July after residents in the Eldersburg area joined together to work with the county and the developer, Security Development Corporation, to find alternatives to a 254-unit rental complex off of Liberty Road.

The group is hoping to find a compromise that will not overburden schools, roads, water, and fire and rescue services. Members have held bi-weekly meetings, but after electing officers and seemingly getting off to a good start, there seem to be some conflicts within the group.

One example is attendance: where 30 folks were once meeting together, some meetings are now down to 10.

Other issues include informal vs. official meetings with some members of the group meeting with some folks at Security Development and other members of Carrolltowne United meeting with other officials of Security. Elected officials are invited to some ‘‘informational” meetings that only have some of the officers present.

So far, the group has been successful in meeting with Security Development officials twice. However, one meeting was not an ‘‘official” Carrolltowne meeting. Both were informal meetings, but what constitutes an ‘‘official” meeting?

Members are bickering. Some members refuse to hear concerns. Some are misinformed. They need to forget titles (president, vice president, etc.) and remember that they are equals who should work together. They all want the same thing: the best community to live and thrive in, and a safe environment for their children to learn and grow.

The group needs to have official meetings inviting all concerned to the table. Everyone should be involved, and no one person should be perceived as being on a ‘‘power trip.”

The bottom line: Carrolltowne United needs to live up to its name and present a united front if members expect to work toward a solution. A common set of facts would be a good start.

They are a great group of concerned people who can make a difference if they work together. Margaret Mead, a renowned cultural anthropologist, once said: ‘‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Let the people decide

Douglas M. Duncan, the Montgomery County executive, has entered the race for governor of Maryland, despite the whining and moaning of the state’s Democratic establishment. Good for him, good for the state and even good for the Maryland Democratic Party.

In formally announcing his long-presumed campaign, Duncan is ignoring the not-too-subtle hints of leading Democrats to step aside and let Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley have a clear shot at Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

What is it with our leading Democrats, that they are so uncomfortable with democracy, so untrusting of the will of the people? Don’t they remember the results of their efforts on behalf of former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 2001 and 2002? The leading Democrats elbowed O’Malley and Duncan out of the race even before it began, and then the untested Townsend stumbled from one mistake to another en route to losing the election to Ehrlich.

O’Malley is seen by most party leaders as the better candidate to retake the governor’s mansion in 2006. That conventional wisdom about an election that is more than a year away is just about worthless. We have 10 months until the scheduled party primary next September. Even if the leading Democrats can get the primary moved to June, we have seven months for voters to assess the candidates and make a decision.

The primary system, in which ordinary Democrats get to pick the candidate they want to represent them, has worked pretty well in the past and it can in the future. And leading Democrats are just going to have to get used to democracy.