Wicomico County Executive – Rick Pollitt

During his first four years in office we have criticized Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt many times, on many issues.  We have disagreed with him on his not restructuring the county government to accept the realities of a post revenue cap world.  We have disagreed with him on his stance on land use issues and on his (we believe, false) claim that he has never tried to strip landowners of property rights without compensation.  We have disagreed with Pollitt on his refusal to publicly call the Wicomico County Board of Education to task for their profligate ways. We have also been disappointed by his refusal to meet with the County Council and his refusal to provide them with a monthly list of receipts and expenditures.  That said, we (some of us reluctantly) support his bid for re-election.
Despite these differences, we have to acknowledge his success in shepherding Wicomico’s county government through difficult times.  Would we prefer that he had done some things differently?  Absolutely; but Pollitt deserves credit for tackling a difficult job that will be more difficult during the next two to three years.
While we have stated our disappointment in a lack of openness with the county legislature, we cannon condemn Pollitt for a lack of openness with public at large.  Pollitt has consistently been willing to answer questions posed to him by the media or the voters.  This must be applauded, and respected.
Perhaps our endorsement MAY have been different IF a credible opponent had emerged.  We’ll never know because Pollitt’s opponent is not a credible alternative.  Republican Joe Ollinger may be almost as nice a guy as Rick Pollitt.  However as we noted in our endorsement of District 38 State Senate candidate Michael James, “we don’t need to send a pal to Annapolis”.  We don’t need to select a “nice guy” to serve as the County Executive either.
The cornerstones of Ollinger’s campaign have been issues that are either unnecessary, impractical, or simply too expensive.  A county police force, run by the county Sheriff may sound interesting, unless you happen to live in Salisbury, Fruitland, or Delmar.  Ollinger has offered no means of paying for such an idea.  We must also point out that the primary reason this proposal wasn’t openly ridiculed was because such a force would be commanded by Sheriff Mike Lewis.  What happens when Lewis chooses to retire?  Will the next Sheriff of Wicomico County also be the county’s most popular elected official?
Ollinger’s idea to have the County Executive appoint the members of the school board is laughable.  It is also impractical.  No other Maryland Board of Ed is chosen in this manner.  Getting special legislation through would probably prove problematic.  Even if this were not so, I would no more want Ollinger, or Pollitt, picking the Board of Ed members than I would the governor.  The Board of Education should be answerable to the voters.  This is why the overwhelming majority of Maryland counties elect their school boards.
We encourage you to review Ollinger’s “platform”.  In addition to the two issues noted above, Ollinger also claims he would implement “pay for performance” for BOE employees.  As supporters of “merit pay” you would think we would be cheering.  Ollinger’s proposal cannot be implemented without the consent of the legislature and the four unions representing Wicomico BOE employees.  Ollinger should not make promises that cannot be fulfilled.  Ollinger also implies that he can dictate policy to the BOE.  We wish.  Sadly, the only thing a county executive can do is withhold funding and negotiate.  These are bigger political battles than Ollinger appears to have a stomach for.
All in all, Rick Pollitt has earned our vote for another term.