Oglesby For State's Attorney

Dear friends and neighbors,

I am writing this letter in reference to the impending election on November 2nd.  I have been in contact with several concerned citizens and members of the OC FOP Lodge 10.  In these conversations we discussed the Worcester County State’s Attorney race and the recent negative campaigning and political deception that have been spread throughout the county.

I am not in a position to debate the morality of political tactics and the manner in which one candidate chooses to run a campaign.  I believe virtually every voter is anxiously waiting for the election to finish so that everyone can return to their normal lives.  At this point I am sure every Worcester County voter has been made aware the 3 Fraternal Order of Police lodges in Worcester County and the Maryland State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police have all endorsed Beau Oglesby.  I would like to take just a moment to address some of the issues that Joel Todd has stated are important for voters to consider.

First, Mr. Todd states that the FOP endorsements are not as important as Beau Oglesby claims them to be.  Mr. Todd stated that the endorsements are a result of just a few members who have influenced the lodges to make them.  Mr. Todd also provides the names of individual police officers that support him.

Several months ago, I sat at dinner with Mr. Todd, at his request, when he asked for the Ocean City FOP’s endorsement for his campaign.  At that time, he stated to our lodge president and me, how influential and politically important the FOP’s endorsement would be.  Mr. Todd recognized that the campaigning the FOP did during the previous election had a great influence and asked that if we as a lodge could not endorse him, that we try and not make any endorsement at all.

This clearly shows that Mr. Todd recognizes the importance of a police organization’s political endorsement.  He wanted the FOP’s backing in the election, and after not receiving it, he has made several attempts to minimize its importance.  Contact with the FOP attorney’s in Baltimore was made by a private attorney.  This attorney, know to have a personal relationship with Mr. Todd, was made to determine if any lodge by-laws were violated during the vote in an attempt to have the vote overturned. 

Mr. Todd also states that he has the support of numerous police officers and the FOP endorsements are from a trivial number of members that have influenced the votes.  First, the Maryland State Lodge FOP endorsement was passed with a unanimous vote of over 400 delegates.  Also, like anything else in life, people have their own opinions and simply by the law of averages Mr. Todd is bound to have a few supports in the law enforcement community.  I do not fault a single supporter, as long as it is for the right reasons.  But a quick look at some of the names he mentions and it is clear that some of these administrators and other officers haven’t seen the inside of a courtroom, in person, in years.  Other supporters, at their own admission, have a loyalty to him not from a professional law enforcement perspective, but from a shared membership in a club or organization.  I repeat, they don’t support him because he is the best candidate for the job, but because they are friends.  Also, if Mr. Todd has as many supporters in the police department as he claims, why didn’t they attend the lodge meetings and vote the FOP to endorse him?

Mr. Todd claims that Beau Oglesby has never tried a case in Worcester County and his supporters have never seen him work.  That is not entirely true.  Beau’s supporters have seen the quality of work, and the amount of respect he has, in other counties he has been a prosecutor in for many years.  That is the dedication to the office that we want to see in Worcester County.  Beau will approach the State’s Attorney office with a fresh perspective and a willingness to prosecute those who deserve it, with an understanding that everyone will be held accountable for their actions.

It is time for Worcester County courtrooms to have an unbiased approach to enforcing the law.  It will no longer matter if you or your attorney went to the same high school as the prosecutor.  Or if a plea bargain is more likely because your defense attorney has given thousands of dollars to the State’s Attorney’s reelection campaign.

November 2^nd will be here and gone in no time.  Please make every effort to speak to as many people as you can before Election Day.  Success at the polls for Beau on Tuesday has been many years in the making, and it will usher in a safer, better Worcester County for us all to work and live in.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and hope you can forward this message to others.

Joe Bushnell

Ocean City FOP 10 Executive Board member

Worcester County resident

Local law enforcement officer