MIKE MCDERMOTT WOWS THE WICOMICO PATRIOTS

Last night’s meeting, held at the Legacy restaurant (formerly Chef Fred’s), was a winner. The featured speaker, G.A. Harrison, gave a comprehensive analysis of the death of Wicomico County’s tax revenue cap by recent state legislation that allows Annapolis to direct payment of the County’s income tax revenue to the Board of Education in a county that does not meet stare-mandated “maintenance of effort” funding of its Board of Ed. He gave due credit for that measure to Delegates Conway and Cane – the only ones from the Shore who supported the bill (Senate Bill 848), which authorizes the County Council to break the tax cap if the excess revenue goes to fund education. He also discussed Rick Pollitt’s scam in this year’s county budget “based on a fiction” that the State is not going to screw Wicomico County because the special session of the General Assembly will somehow save us and the tax increases proposed by Pollitt will be enough.

Mr. Harrison is much more that your average citizen when it comes to governmental chicanery. Among the disturbing facts he mentioned: Rick Pollitt has, once again, failed to make his detailed (“line-item”) budget available for convenient public access on the County’s website. Maybe the County Council – several members were in the audience – will take prompt and appropriate action to right that wrong.

If anyone was bored by Mr. Harrison’s detailed analysis, Delegate McDermott provided the antidote with his emotional, spell-binding critique of cause of the Maryland malaise – the O’Malley dictatorship, to which most of the state’s liberal legislative mafia (including the dynamic duo named above) pay homage. At the risk of overlooking other bombshells in his commentary, do you know that funding for a new library at Salisbury Univ. -- $135 Million, which he opposed – was added to the state budget at the last minute and without normal discussion? It will probably become a reality even though the State can’t provide funding for roads, etc., and the existing library is certainly adequate. Is there any wonder why O’Malley and his acolytes are increasing taxes again?

If Mike wants to have another career, he could be a great full-time motivational speaker for the conservative cause. But we are better off if he stays in the General Assembly. He urged those who were present to actively participate by standing up to the elected officials, even if just to say “I’m mad as hell and won’t take more taxes” (my words, not his). That was also part of Mr. Harrison’s presentation.

Greg Belcher ran the meeting while encouraging audience participation, and the food was quite good at Legacy (try it if you haven’t). Nobody who attended regretted having done so.

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