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Wednesday, December 03, 2008

John Cannon Dives in Bed With Dems ...

... Ego Far More Important Than Principle or Party

It was my understanding that when this new county council came to office in 2006 that the Republican majority had agreed to rotate the presidency and vice presidency of the county council.  This is fairly standard among local governing bodies.

After one year as President of the Wicomico County Council, John Cannon refused to step aside.  Rather than make a big deal, his GOP "colleagues" didn't make a fuss.  However, this year there was evidently a decision to make a change.

Outgoing council VP Stevie Prettyman (R-2) nominated Councilman Joe Holloway (R-5).  What did John Cannon (? - At Large) do?  He nominated Councilman Bill McCain (D - At Large).  McCain, whose legendary intellectual acumen has led some to believe he is the bastard child of Salisbury Councilwoman Louise Smith, was elected 4 - 3 with Cannon finally showing his true stripes.  This vote is particularly telling given that Holloway is probably the most fiscally conservative member of the council while McCain is the most profligate spender in the crowd.

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45 comments:

Anonymous said...

Imagine that John Cannon not doing something that he said he would do..too bad we don't have to imagine it is such a reality...

Anonymous said...

No suprise to me. Cannon is and has been a RINO since he was elected. He was a great actor during the campaign but I can't wait until 2010. I can't wait to vote NO.

Anonymous said...

John Cannon has no hidden agendas. He's truly civic minded. I known him for years and certainly isn't doing it for the money. Good man.

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable!
Well written as usual!

Mardela said...

Has this question been raised to Mr. Cannon? And if so, what was his response?

It seems to me that many so called Republicans are jumping ship. Why? have they always been closet Democrats or are they trying to survive in the new climate of Democratic control?

I for one have no patience for a man or woman without principle. Honesty, leadership, integrity, and loyalty are values that must stay intact for any elected official. You must represent the PEOPLE that elected you.

The steps this gentleman just took to cross party lines and promote someone from the opposite party to the highest position in the council is an act of treason. This will not be tolerated.

As our country declines into a state of unrest, more and more people will be seeking ways to let only the best people available to run our government, whether its local or national. All current politicians have failed us miserably and new leadership is coming. Having political experience will not be something to put on your resume.

Congradulations Mr. Cannon, you just made some new friends, but at what expense did you get them?

Anonymous said...

Bill McCain can't hold a candle to Prettyman.

Anonymous said...

John Cannon is known as Bob Cannon's brother, Sharon Dashiell's brother and now John Cannon who dives in bed with the Dems. He can kiss his Republican affiliation goodbye.

Anonymous said...

Bartkovich or Holloway would have made a much better leader than Cannon. Heck, Prettyman would have smoked him.

Anonymous said...

I truly hope John Cannon takes the time to read this Blog. I am not at all surprised by Cannon's actions. He rode the coat tail of Sheriff's Mike Lewis during the election. He hung on like a bad case of the clap. Not that I have first hand knowledge of this type of thing,but it just sounds bad. Cannon was so far up the Sheriff's tail if the Sheriff came to a sudden stop he would have had a major issue. I am in no way aligning these two Mike Lewis has intergrity and courage. I just think cannon grabbed onto a powerful campaign. I surely hope the Sheriff's smells the stink on this guy. Cannon made many promises that he did not or has not kept in his term. There is still time John I dont think you will garner the support you did first time around. Those camera phones are a nasty thing. They have a tendency to record at public events. Hmmm Hope you remember all the bullshit you slung, because I sure do. I dont think you would have a prayer against R. Pollitt if he decides to run again. I see many things with the current council that alarm me. They have been misled under Cannon's leadership or lack there of. I hope we dont have to live through what the city has endured for years. Cannon is like a greasy ball bearing put any pressure and he will shoot out in any number of directions. I guess he should lean toward the democratic party he will fit right in. Liitle man you have a lot of cleaning up to do in two years if you intend to do anything of note worthy action. I recall my grandfather saying all good deeds come back ten fold. I am a true believer. I have not seen one thing that cannon stated while running come true. This latest action just confirms what I thought all along. There was something that just was not right with this guy. Good Luck Wicomico County we need it. Anyone who knows someone that will follow the will of the people and keep thier word, even if it is not the popular thing to do. Please move to the front of the class. We need a true leader.

Anonymous said...

Sir:

We have much greater concerns than the protocol for figurehead positions on the Wicomico County Council and blind adherence to whatever it may be.

Anonymous said...

Who gives a damn -- at the next election we can have a whole new Council and County Exec.

Anonymous said...

Johnny needs to keep Billy McCain close for him to be his mouthpiece.

Anonymous said...

No one said he was doing it for the money, he is doing it for the power trip he has been on for 2 years. He has the need to be successful in his mind like his brother and sister.

Anonymous said...

John, tell us why you were fired from WMDT.

Anonymous said...

Advice to Cannon:
Pick your party and stay in it.

Anonymous said...

These are the good old days. Hide and watch.

Anonymous said...

If Cannon didn't keep his word to his GOP council members, then how can we as his constituents expect anything other than lies and deceit. I think the answer is obvious, we can't!!

Anonymous said...

Bill McCain as council president? Might as well just give him all of our personal checkbooks, he likes spending taxpayer dollars.

Gail would make a great leader of the county council. Stevie and Gail have always been strong representitives of the taxpayer.

Gail actually stood before the city council as nothing else but a citizen taxpayer and opposed the Old Mall deal that is going to cost Salisbury taxpayers $14,000,000 for nothing. Joe and Sherrie were great additions. Next election 86 the rest.

Anonymous said...

Hey Louweezil, I mean John, I want my vote back!!!

Anonymous said...

John Bartkovich who runs the Republican Party (cough, hack, yuk) in Wicomico County has been courting John Cannon for quite some time now to run for County Executive. Bartkovich is so damn dumb that he will support anyone who has an "R" beside their name. He is to stupid to see a RINO when they are stairing him in the face. John Bartkovich has ruined the Republican Party in Wicomico County and things won't get better until he is off the Central Committee.

Oops, I hope he doesn't read this. He will forbid all Republican Club members from reading this Blog again. LMAO

Dr. DooRag you can go to Hell!

Anonymous said...

Let's bring MJ Caldwell on council. He might have the ego but one thing is for sure, he would have never pulled a stunt like Cannon. Caldwell is true to his party, period.

Anonymous said...

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME. SHAME ON US THAT WE WERE FOOLED BY SOMEONE LIKE JOHN CANNON. NEVER AGAIN. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER AGAIN.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:53
There are a LOT of RINOs around. John Bartkovich isn't one of them. But of course if you were an involved republican, you would have known that, especially from this past election season.
I'll gladly work with John Bartkovich anyday, over a lot of other "Republicans" in this town. He is a good man!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Anon 10:53
There are a LOT of RINOs around. John Bartkovich isn't one of them. But of course if you were an involved republican, you would have known that, especially from this past election season.
I'll gladly work with John Bartkovich anyday, over a lot of other "Republicans" in this town. He is a good man!

6:33 AM

There are a few Republicans out there that will drink the Kool Aid and you are obviously one of them.

By the way, who are you?

Anonymous said...

Bartkovich might have lots of issues but disloyalty to the Republicans isn't one of them. He is true to his party unlike Cannon. Cannon needs to go. Wish we didn't have to wait until 2010.

Anonymous said...

Republicans eat their own. How did it taste yesterday, John?

Anonymous said...

John Cannon has been a disappointment on several issues. He ran his campaign in support of collective bargaining for the deputies and then spent a lot of taxpayers dollars on some big city lawyers to convince some anti-law enforcement judge to render an opinion that undermines the only mechanism (referendum) in the county charter and the state constitution designed to make the citizen voters the ultimate authority as it relates to how their government runs.

The REAL reason he did this is because he now understands that Wicomico County is so far back in unfunded employee retirement liability, that it would be virtually impossible to fund the retirement and disability program the deputies seek to protect their families. If it had been funded the way is was supposed to have been, it would likely be a rollover into the plan being sought. Ask Matt Creamer!

Cannon you are a fraud! Come clean! Be transparent and tell the people the truth.

The vote on down zoning farmland will be 3 to 3 divided on party lines. I'll make anyone a bet as to which way Cannon will cast the deciding vote effectively stripping the landowners of what little property rights they still have.

I say we vote him out decisively this next election and send a message that we won't tolerate a council that will run us unto the poor house and ignores the will of the people the way Salisbury City has.

Anonymous said...

Cannon is the best friend the democrats have. Laughing my A$$ off.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it interesting that all the lemmings followed your supreme leader right into the sea ( Mr. Bush)? Republicans never will have a chance as long as that narrow minded strict party loyalty exists. If there is someone from Mars who will serve this country or county in a responsible and pragmatic way ie; no WMDs and no "brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" etc, I'm all for them..three headed or not. P.S. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Let's honor Cannon at our next Democrat Club meeting. Any suggestions? Statue? Proclamation?

Anonymous said...

Always knew that Cannon wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. Someone should have locked the toolbox.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Harrison.... I served with John Cannon, I know John Cannon, John Cannon is a friend of mine... Mr. Harrison you're no John Cannon!

Anonymous said...

Heck no, Harrison isn't a John Cannon and thank goodness he isn't. Who in the heck wants to be a traitor?

Anonymous said...

Give it up people. Yesterday Cannon made history in Wicomico County. Never before has there been a Republican majority council with the opposite party in a leadership role. Way to go John.

Anonymous said...

I talked to John and he said: Time is truly wastin'
There's no quarantee
Smile is in the makin'
You gotta fight the powers that be
I can't play my music
They say my music's too loud
I kept talkin about it
I got the big run around
When I rolled with the punches
I got knocked to the ground
With all this bullsh!t going down

Anonymous said...

As a Democrat, it is fun to watch Republicans eat their own for once (we Democrats have been doing it for years). Local politics really should have little to do with political party--the main question to ask is whether the person is actually serving his or her community to the best of their ability, not whether they adhere to some party loyalty 100% of the time. Now, I don't know enough about Mr. Cannon to say whether he has been representing the community well, but THAT is what the debate should be about, not whether he is a RINO. Want proof? Louise Smith (Republican) and Gary Comegys (Democrat) have combined their "talents" to drive this city close to ruin. Their party affiliation has had little to do with their actions.

joe albero said...

anonymous 9:06,

Bruital, but I had to laugh.

Anonymous said...

That's ditch is Boss Pollitts ditch. And I told him that dirt in it is your dirt. What's your dirt doin' in Boss Pollitts ditch?

Anonymous said...

I agree that politics should be kept out of local issues. That isn't the way it is though and Cannon's big problem is that he wants to make the deal and then tell the council. He works behind the scene full time without the knowledge of the council. Then when confronted, he misrepresents his actions. He lacks integrity. And yesterday he proved he lacks loyalty also and isn't good to his word.

Anonymous said...

"profligate" we're going deep now. Can you use that as a dangling participle adding the "ing".

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Bartkovich might have lots of issues but disloyalty to the Republicans isn't one of them. He is true to his party unlike Cannon. Cannon needs to go. Wish we didn't have to wait until 2010.

7:28 AM

No one said Bartkovich is disloyal to Republicans. Read the quote by Anon 10:53 PM:

"Bartkovich is so damn dumb that he will support anyone who has an "R" beside their name. He is to stupid to see a RINO when they are stairing him in the face."

G. A. Harrison said...

Before any of you guys start calling folks "dumb", I'd check some facts first. Some of you are mixing up Mrs. Bartkovich with her husband, Dr. Bartkovich.

As I stated in the original post, I've had my disagreements with Gail. I have had my disagreements with John as well. However, neither lack are dumb.

Anonymous said...

G.A., Read all the posts. When did Gail B. become a he? The comments about dumb were made in reference to Dr. Doorag.

Anonymous said...

I have a major problem with Mr. Harrision’s facts in the article posted last Wednesday. Where did he get the idea there was any understanding that the Presidency & Vice Presidency get rotated? I happen to be very attuned to local politics – this is the first I’ve heard of any such agreement. The fact of the matter is Wicomico tradition holds that the majority party elects their top vote getter, normally the at large candidate, for a 4 year term.

Let’s assume that there was an agreement to switch leadership. Where would any of the four Republicans get off cutting such a back-door deal? I consider this type of action a betrayal of public trust. I like the idea of the top vote getter getting the top job. This isn’t a video game or musical chairs – this is still a democracy, right?

By the way, if there was a deal in place why didn’t this come up a year ago? Or, why didn’t Vice President Prettyman step down and throw open the VP slot? Let’s say Cannon did refuse to step down last year, to his fellow Republican’s dismay; then why would Dr. Bartkovich continue to tout Mr. Cannon as the best hope to unseat Executive Pollitt? Again, I question Mr. Harrison’s premise or as he states “my understanding”.

As long as Mr. Harrison is presenting himself as a journalist, I’d like to ask him if he contacted John Cannon for comment on his actions. Did he get a “no comment” from Cannon? Just where is Harrison getting his information anyway?

I am a staunch conservative Republican. However, it sickens me to witness hard fault partisan politics on the local level. As far as I’m concerned it is my own party that demonstrates the worst side of partisanism. Whatever the circumstances that lead up to this series of events; it is clear that the Republican majority gave themselves and the county a black eye. Dr. Bartkovich, where do you go from here?

I yearn for the Lew Riley error, when civility was practiced and party politics was mostly the last thought. The first order of business was how to help the citizens and how to run a tight ship. Cannon’s style reminds me of this error; he is level headed, civic minded and fair. Cannon’s fellow Republicans should have left well enough alone.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

10:14 PM

You have no clue what you are talking about. Check your facts and sign your name.

Mr. Cannon is anything, but level headed.

By the way, go back to school and get an education. It is "era" not error. You must be a produck of the Wicomico County Kiddy Warehouse.

Error = mistake: a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention