A Letter To The Editor

HADDAWAY-RICCIO DOESN’T PRACTICE WHAT SHE PREACHES!

Ms. H-R, whose district in the House of Delegates includes part of Wicomico County, is the new Minority Whip, and in that role gave the Republican’s response to O’Malley’s State of the State scam last week. She lambasted his absurd budget proposal that has even more spending this year, including a huge political payback to the state employees ($750 bonus, etc.). She set the tone early in her rebuttal by addressing the deficit reduction that O’Malley has proposed do: "While the Governor has made a start, it simply is not enough." After discussing other aspects of the budget/deficit she turned to Maryland’s version of earmarks – bills that members sponsor to get special state funding for pet local projects to curry favor with their constituents (commonly called "pork"). About that she stated:
"Many legislative members, including myself, have important projects that we would like to have funded, but in light of the economic times we face, our Caucus has asked that these projects not be funded."

At least Ms. H-R is not dishonest – in recent weeks she has introduced bills seeking bucks for these "important" projects in her district (none of them in Wicomico County, however):
$250,000 - Chesapeake Maritime Museum (Eckardt, Colburn)
$250,000 - hospice in Talbot County (Eckardt, Colburn)
$500,000 - senior housing in Cambridge (Eckardt, Cane & Colburn)
$ 75,000 - Dorchester Center for the Arts (Eckardt, Cane)
$300,000 - replica of a lighthouse (Eckardt, Cane, Colburn)

The names in parenthesis are co-sponsors in the House or have sponsored the same pork in the Senate, such as "Rich" Colburn.

As these bills make clear, some of the "big spenders" are Republican. Besides those mentioned above, Senator Colburn is sponsoring these pieces of pork:
$400,000 - culinary center at Caroline H. S. (Pipkin)
$200,000 - buildings at Salisbury Zoo (Mathais, Conway, Cane)
$300,000 - Tri County Council Service Center (Mathias, Conway, Cane)

"Addie" Eckardt is no slough when it comes to pork. At present the only Lower Shore Republicans who remain pork-free politicos are Mike McDermott and Charles Otto, the new kids on the block.

And our local Democrat members also have their hand in the pork-barrel once again. Norm Conway is sometimes called the "Prince of Pork" in Annapolis. In past years his slabs of fatback include money (several hundred thousand) that he got for the Rotary Club’s "boy scout camp" on Riverside Drive a few years back.

To him, Mathias and Cane, pork is an entitlement – just ask them.

Once again, with the General Assembly in session, there’s a loud noise coming from Annapolis: Oink, Oink.