Mr. Pollitt Is Accurate

Below you will find a message from Rick Pollitt's Office which is correct. Although I try to be as accurate as possible, even though I spoke with several people referencing "what they heard as well" sometimes it's not what you hear, it's what you don't hear. The interview I mentioned early, (live) came off as if Mr. Pollitt stated "Sheriff Lewis does not believe Rai is involved either."

I made a trip to WICO and listened to the interview again and Mr. Pollitt's Office is correct. When you listen to the interview, it was Mr. Reddish who made that suggestion as a question to Mr. Pollitt and there was a long hesitation. I am wrong and I'll ask that Mr. Pollitt forgive me for that error? No bones about it, they're right and I am wrong.

Mr. Pollitt's Office said:

"…I transcribed the following from the interview:

RMP: “There’s nothing to make me believe that Mr. Sharma’s broken any laws.”

Reddish: “It’s also my understanding that Mike Lewis has said at this point that nothing points toward Rai…at least the preliminary reports.”

RMP: “There’s nothing official at this time . There’s all kinds of rumours and allegations and we’re going to follow up on every one of them.”

Those were the extent of the comments about Mr. Sharma. Please note that Mr. Pollitt did not state “Sheriff Lewis does not believe Rai is involved either.”

Also, “There’s nothing to make me believe that Mr. Sharma’s broken any laws,” is substantially different from “Rick is claiming Rai Sharma had nothing to do with what’s going on in Wicomico County.”

Mr. Pollitt believes a retraction is in order. Please advise.

Thank you."

COUNTY EXECUTIVE ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION AUDIT STRATEGY

Following a February 26th meeting to discuss the scope of work involved in conducting an investigative audit into the alleged corruption at the Wicomico County Landfill and other operations; Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. and the accounting firm of Twilley, Rommel & Stephens, P.A., have mutually agreed that the citizens of Wicomico County will be best served by the retaining of a Certified Fraud Examiner to conduct the investigation.



Mr. Pollitt praised Twilley, Rommel & Stephens, P.A. for their quick and honest response to this important step in restoring public confidence in Wicomico County government. Mr. Pollitt said he expects to announce the selection of the Examiner in the very near future.

Wicomico County Taxpayers Should Be Concerned

The following message was sent to me today and I thought I'd share an outside point of view with everyone.

"Unfortunately, Wicomico County Government is like the "Titanic", it has just struck an unseen tip of an iceberg (corruption). Sheriff Lewis and Company need all the help they can get to keep the "Titanic" from sinking due to the greed and corruption involved. It is time the public knew the REAL STORY surrounding both Wicomico County and the City of Salisbury governmental operations. A government employee friend of mine put it this way, "If the public only knew one-half the story ........"

What a shame this is not an election year for the County Council and County Executive positions."

My own personal thoughts to this statement is, I'm not so sure punishing those in this new form of government is correct. I can appreciate the anger of ALL County Taxpayers, that's a given as I am one of them. I can remember back 2 years ago when I contacted the MDE after they had investigated the Salisbury WWTP and were in deliberations over how much to fine the City of Salisbury. I said, the Taxpayers didn't do all of the illegal things that had found. Fining them heavily, (IMO) is not the answer. They firmly agreed and stated that their intent is a positive resolution with a swift punishment IF the City rejected their demands. "Why take from Peter to pay Paul?"

That being said, this is about getting to the bottom of ALL of the corruption involved, removing those people who had any part of it, fixing what is broken and moving forward without hurting the Taxpayers any further.

I honestly believe Sheriff Lewis and Executive Rick Pollitt are indeed making every step to do so. I'll add, before the Blogs came along, many of you probably would not have known the actual depth of just how bad things are. I believe you would have heard about it, yet you might not have had much follow up. In fact, (IMO) it may have ended with the Ray Lewis portion and other sources would have decided it just wasn't worth getting into the County end of it and it may have been swept under the rug.

Now let's look into the future. No Mr. Comegys, not with a crystal ball. The logistics that I have seen from the past, (Mayor & some of the Salisbury City Council) would regularly reflect back to other issues and problems coming from this particular situation in the County.

What I see is accountability, such as, a HUGE break towards Taxpayers. Executive Pollitt stated that much of what has been stolen is covered by Insurance and the return of much of what was recently taken. OK, I'll buy that. However, I'm told this has been going on for 5 to 10 years now. Again, something you won't read in The Daily Times. I'm also told yesterday that it's not $400,000.00 worth of theft. It was announced it was up to $1,000,000.00 and guess what, I'm told that's not accurate either. I'm told it's more like $2,500,000.00 now.

With any hope and luck they'll get to the bottom of this and move forward without excuses. That would be what is called, professional results. Although the Governor may have reduced funds to Wicomico County, hopefully we can see light at the end of the tunnel with many expenses going WAY DOWN?

I'll close with this. I have been told that County Employees had been going to Lawn & Garden Companies and just buying them out of all sorts of things. Of course, each time they went in there they would purchase just under $1,000.00 worth of merchandise, keeping them from having to get a PO# from the County. This is yet another area the Sheriff's Department will have to look into. Mind you, the companies selling these products did nothing wrong, they simply sold products the County wanted to purchase. However, I'm also told you could find MANY of these products at County Employees homes. So just when you think it's over, it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Get to the bottom of it all without excuses in the future and give some relief to the Taxpayers.

Taxpayers Are Concerned Too

Dear Mr. Pollitt and Wicomico County Council Members:

Thank you for your attempts to resolve some of the current problems that Wicomico County currently faces.

Unfortunately, as a property owner and taxpayer in Wicomico County, I feel that again we are being led "down the Primrose Path" regarding the "hiring" of a local accounting firm for your audit purposes.

I would appreciate a response to the following questions regarding the audit:

1. Was a contract put out for public bid so other accounting firms could submit their proposals?

2. Was the firm that was hired the low bidder on the audit contract?

3. Why hire a local accounting firm (what is being "covered up" now?) instead of an out of the area firm?

4. If no other public bids were solicited, why?

Is this contract award another example of the Wicomico County government's "Good Old Boy System" at work, whereas you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours?

Unfortunately, I am sure that everyone is stressed by the events of the last two (2) weeks, but the auditing firm selection process leaves several unanswered questions.

Thank you for your time and the opportunity to express my concerns regarding this matter.

Mr. Pollitt Responds:

I alone am responsible for the speedy selection of the Salisbury accounting firm of Twilley, Rommel & Stephens PA to conduct the special audit of the public works department. Having met with Sheriff Lewis and members of the Wicomico Bureau of Investigation on Saturday it was my judgment that we needed immediate and competent assistance in determining how such a scheme of thievery could occur and how to best prevent future crimes. TR&S has no official relationship with the county government and they have an impeccable reputation for integrity and efficiency. We have asked them to conduct a forensic audit or, as some may call it, a programmatic audit. It will be divided into two phases. The first will uncover what happened, how it happened and why we didn’t catch it earlier. This will be conducted starting immediately and the results will be shared with the public as soon as we have them. The second stage will involve a systematic review of all of the county’s policies and procedures to help us develop better safeguards for future operations.

I realize and appreciate the skepticism you express. However, I have full confidence in the ability of local, independent auditors to guide us through these troubled times and I am even more confident that we will emerge stronger and better organized than before. Realizing that the public trust has been violated (as has our own trust in some members of our county system) I respectfully ask that you have patience and give us the opportunity of getting our house in order before passing judgment on us. I am as outraged as you are about what has happened and when we have identified those responsible, as I said to Channel 16, “there will be hell to pay.”

Thanks for your note and, hopefully, for your support.

Rick Pollitt

Wicomico County Executive

P. O. Box 870

125 North Division Street

Salisbury, Maryland, 21803

Phone: 410-548-4801

Fax: 410-548-4803

E-mail: rickpollitt@wicomicocounty.org

DOH! As Homer Simpson Would Say

This just in,

"I don't know whether this is the truth or not. Rumor has it that Ken Townsend has jumped ship. Disappeared."

Today's Wildlife Photo

Once again our friend buryvoter delivers yet another spectacular photo. This was taken this morning at the foot of the Rt. 50 Bridge in Ocean City.

Let's Talk About The County Finance Department

Do you remember Stevie Prettyman throwing a fit last year when 6 Employees got a 6% pay increase while everyone else got 4%?

This is important Folks because look at who was getting those pay increases! Pat Peterson, head of the Finance Department. Ted Shea, accused of allegedly having a deck built on his home from Public Works. The list goes on and on.

Look, Pat Peterson buried these increases in a voodoo accounting fashion in a deficit column and if someone had not tipped off the Council, they would have NEVER known about the increases.

Then there's the question, how did ALL of this theft go on without the Finance Director knowing about it? I'm not pointing fingers at a position that hasn't been considered this whole time. 50% increases in fuel & oil in some departments would have sent up the red flag to me anyway.

The bottom line is, some serious digging needs to happen here and a swift hand must be in place. I'm confident the audit will bring some of this to light.

Major Breaking Story

Ladies & Gentlemen, what you are about to read is yet another major cause as to who and how the Wicomico River is being polluted. I was told, "Your friend Rai Sharma had a big hand in the whole thing. All the run off from the Landfill goes right into the Wicomico River and I can tell you how he did it and where to find it."

I listened to Mr. Rick Pollitt this morning on Bill Reddish and once again Rick is claiming Rai Sharma had nothing to do with what's going on in Wicomico County. At the risk of being wrong, I'm telling you he allegedly does have his hands in it and this seriously concerns me for Mr. Pollitt's sake. Mr. Pollitt included Sheriff Mike Lewis into that equasion stating Sheriff Lewis does not believe Rai is involved either. I think Mr. Pollitt should let Sheriff Lewis speak for himself, respectfully. You mark my words right here and now Ladies & Gentlemen, I said it here first and weeks from now you're all going to say, Albero was right.

Is Rai Connected? Follow the bouncing ball............

"Google a map for 28672 Old Quantico RD.

Go out Nanticoke Road, take the first right Old Quantico Rd Rt 815 , walk down the lane that goes between the third and fourth house on the right. Beauchamp owns this property which used to belong to me. There is a huge metal covered spillway there. All the water from the dump eventually goes through there, under Nanticoke Rd. into Parsons Lake under Fitzwaters Street by the City pumping station and out to the river.

When I moved back to Salisbury in 69 there were chicken parts and grease floating on top of this lake coming from Mardel By Products. Are you familiar with them? They were located where I think the county now uses the building for recycling paper etc at the end of Brickiln Rd before the road crosses the railroad tracks. I fought Mardel By Products using the Environmental groups in Annapolis and we caught them red handed pumping chicken mess till it started to flow downhill and into a drain that goes under the road and back into the lake.I took jars of the mess to the County Council Meetings and threatened to uncap and let them smell what was in the jars. I didn't have to....They knew what it was. The health department claimed it was oyster quality water :) Yeah, right. They were supposed to be treating the water but they weren't because they always knew when the inspectors were coming and they treated it then. When they got my complaints they would come down unannounced and they finally caught them. Old history but at least you know the back ground because it gave the County an idea .

Drive up Brickiln Rd. to the first house on the left.There is an old barn in the back yard if it hasn't fallen down and a dip in the road. That is where the water went under Brickiln Rd and into the lake.That is where the old spring that fed the lake was located near the barn. Our lake was all private property... we owned the bottom of the lake. They fouled the lake by pumping the polluted mess on top of the spring. Long story and short story is I made their life a living hell calling Annapolis until they sold the plant .I thought my worries were over. Not so because the County bought the old Mardel Property. In six months the lake cleared up and was almost normal but not for long..

Sometime later I noticed on one of my many trips to the dump a group of men digging a ditch from the right side (dump side) to the left side under Brickiln Rd. It was kind of an odd thing to watch because you could barely see the men's heads because the ditch they were digging was so deep and there were so many men... at least a dozen or more. I called Rai Sharma and he said what they were doing was cleaning out and existing ditch.
A few months later we had a big 5 inch rain.... and the road between the two ponds was under water with fish flopping on top of the road. We could not use the road with the car...My father who built the lakes all the way to Fitzwater St. always told me not to worry about flooding because there was no way they would ever flood and we had many 5 inch rains before. I spent three weeks of my vacation poking in all the pipes trying to find out what was stopping up to no avail. Because we owned the pond we called the State's Road commission and asked them to lower the pond . At one time we had our own wheel and could do it our self. When they lowered the pond so we could work on the spillway we got the answer very quickly. The pipe was not stopped up at all... It was full of water coming through and was taking all the water it could handle. From that point on I was lied to and made to feel like I was stupid by Mr.Sharma. Eventually after numerous run ins with Sharma the County asked for an easement, installed the metal spillway and an 18 inch pipe to replace the 8 inch pipe that was there.

In the end it allowed Sharma to drain the land his Public Works Bldg. is on and ultimately the dump.

The ditch that takes the water from the dump is just before where the road makes a sharp right , It is in between the railroad tracks and Brickiln Rd."

The photos above, (provided by an outside source) show the different ponds, lakes and even pump station that in fact forces the water from a lake far below the ponds, into the ponds and then they run off from there, ultimately to the Wicomico River.

As I'm sure you'll be hearing lots more about this in the near future, I contacted the MDE and they have yet to return my call. How much do you want to bet they'll be calling in about an hour or so? Nevertheless, between the Salisbury WWTP and the Wicomico County Landfill, it's time everyone crack down on the MDE and get them working. dpushkar@mde.state.md.us is one of the main contacts.

Stories like this come along and must be taken seriously. Obviously this person is in the know, just like my source two years ago referencing the Sludge Pit at the WWTP. It doesn't mater WHO they are. It simply matters that something is done about it. I chose to publish this letter for accountability purposes. I want to make sure everyone is aware of the problem and locations so nothing can all of a sudden change.

This information is in the hands of the County Executive and the Sheriff. So why are people coming to Salisbury News first, rather then the Daily Times? Because we not only report it, we get something done about it as well.

Should The Red Flags From Last Year Been Recognized?

Although we had a new County Council come in last year with no experience of the County's Budget, some numbers should have sent up a red flag.

The Solid Waste Department, (GET THIS) went from $250,000.00 a year to $500,000.00 a year for oil & gas!!!!

The Roads Division went from $1,000,000.00 a year to $1,300,000.00 a year for oil and gas.

It was a difficult and confusing time for the Council because you not only had several newcomers on the Council, you also had oil and gas on the rise, (not really) and several people not knowing what the history was.

Looks like we're going to have to do some more serious digging and find out just how bad things were.

Breaking News

I received a message from County Executive Rick Pollitt last night referencing the Auditing Firm and some possible changes some time today. I received a call around 7:30 AM this morning asking me to listen to the Bill Reddish Show and I caught the very end of Rick's interview. He again mentioned something would be happening today referencing the accounting issue.

If I were to guess I'd say they are making the right move and hiring a Firm well outside the Salisbury area simply to protect their own hides. In one of mt conversations yesterday with someone who would make decisions on this matter I said, Rick's crooked, he's on the take, he's known about these problems for years and he hired this Firm knowing they would do what he says. They replied, COME ON JOE, you know that's not true. I replied, yes, I do know that's 100% not true. However, to people like Billy Duvall and other Rick Pollitt haters, that's what they're going to fire back and put into the minds of other taxpayers. Do you want to answer to that once the Accounting Firm is finished?

So you see, this thing can become more complicated than you think. My hope, (for Rick's sake) that he's seen the light and has made some changes? Time will tell. More to come later.........

Prince Georges County Reports 2 Foreclosures For Every 1 Home Sale

In the fourth quarter of 2007, Prince George’s County reported 2,732 foreclosures, the highest in Maryland. However, during the 4th quarter in Prince George’s County only 1279 sold according to the MRIS.


Basically, the number of foreclosures was double the number of houses that sold.

You don't hear the National Association of Realtors talking about figures that while they run ads on TV saying real estate ALWAYS goes up in value.

The housing bust in the Washington, DC area is far from over. This year a rising inventory of foreclosures will put significant downward pressure on prices.

People on the Eastern Shore think that they are ’special’ and while property values are dropping everywhere else things are still going up here. The reality of the situation is the bubble on the shore peaked November 2005 and property values have dropped 40% to 60% across the board.

C’mon who is going to pay $80,000.00 for a Pocomoke City lot in White Oaks next to a stinky clam processor and the train tracks? $485,000.00 for a rancher outside Salisbury or Berlin in what was a soybean field two years ago? People who are selling homes just need to get real and stop sucking on the crack pipe of phantom equity.

Two foreclosures for every one ‘regular sale’ is a sad statistic and could very easily take root right here on the Eastern Shore if people don’t get a grip on reality with prices or simply sell for auction values. The list, price, hold & defend that price method is broken, it can't be fixed and will soon be dead and gone the way of the Dodo bird.

The public wants open transparent real estate transactions, just like they want open government.

There are alternatives to foreclosure and Maryland is leading the nation with legislation to require lenders to report on their loss mitigation programs, but for many homeowners its simply too little, too late.

If you are one of the many who cannot make their payments you do have options, call your lender or visit the Maryland HOPE website

Jermaine S. Wright Released

"Yesterday Jermaine S. Wright was released from ECI. He is a 33 years old, 5'7" tall, black and about 170 lbs. his physique is muscular. his registered address is West Road in Salisbury. This man is VERY dangerous. In 1992 he raped and killed a girl at one of the under 21 clubs in Ocean City. The dna evidence somehow became compromised so they had to let him go. He fled to NC where he raped two more women. he spent 3 years in prison down there. During that time, a circumstantial case was built against him for the rape/murder in 92. He was convicted of that and has spent the last 7 years at ECI. now he's free. he is considered a sexually violent predator. the authorities are 100% sure that his actual history involves many more rapes and possibly murders than are listed above. He seems to prefer white women with no particular pre fere nce to age or physique. he also entered the home of one of the NC victims during the day through an unlocked door. The warden is asking us to put the word out to all of our friends/family/everybody, to please be careful. Women need to keep their doors locked if they are in the house with no adult males. They need also refrain from going anywhere alone at night. this is a rapist and a murderer who has been locked up for the last 10 years. Statistically speaking, it is VERY probably that he will strike again within the next 30 days."

OFFICE OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY FOR WORCESTER COUNTY

PRESS RELEASE

ONE WEST MARKET STREET SUITE 208

SNOW HILL, MARYLAND 21863

410-632-2166

FAX: 410-632-3250

Michael W. Farlow Paul T. Haskell
Deputy State's Attorney Deputy State's Attorney
Circuit Court Division District Court Division

PRESS RELEASE

To: All Local News Media

From: Joel J. Todd

Re: Appointment of Special Prosecutor

Date: February 27, 2008

Worcester County State’s Attorney Joel J. Todd announced today his intention to have Thomas M. Degonia, II Esquire, of Venable LLP in Rockville, Maryland as special prosecutor for the case of State vs. Davis R. Ruark, State’s Attorney for Wicomico County. Degonia was formerly an assistant state’s attorney in Montgomery County.

A special prosecutor will be used due to the longstanding professional relationship between Todd and Ruark. Both the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office declined to provide a special prosecutor - the former because this is not an alleged case of public corruption and the latter because of a conflict of interest of their own.

It is essential that the public have confidence in the process, although we are all sometimes dismayed at the result. Some of what has been reported has been inaccurate. Todd has stated that he knew as soon as he received the call about Ruark’s arrest that he would seek a special prosecutor. He told police then to treat Mr. Ruark just like any other drunk driving suspect.

Other than to answer questions about the law, Todd’s office has kept itself out of this case. When contacted by Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino about the alleged handgun violation Todd was asked only what the appropriate law was. He did not direct her to charge or not charge for this crime nor did she ask for such advice. Todd made it clear to Chief DiPino that he was seeking a special prosecutor and could not advise her whether or not to charge.

In addition, it has been reported that Todd’s office prosecuted Ruark’s son’s case. This is also untrue. A special prosecutor from another county handled that case.

The justice system will handle this case objectively through the independent prosecutor. The public should be mindful that Mr. Ruark is, as is every other accused, innocent until proven guilty.

The Audit Nightmare

Although Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt has hired the accounting firm, Twilley, Rommel & Stephens to help save the day and hopefully uncover the balance of any wrong doing, WHAT IF ONE OF THE PEOPLE/COMPANIES ARE ONE OF THEIR CLIENTS?

I was in a deep conversation with a good friend of mine last night where we were discussing this exact issue and he said, why the hell did they hire someone local? They should have reached out across the Bridge to a firm who would be completely neutral? I couldn't agree more.

I placed a call to the Executives Office and brought up this concern, one in which hadn't been thought of. There was a silence once I mentioned it. I then suggested that IF there are ANY businesses involved, they should get written confirmation from this firm stating they do not, nor ever have done ANY work for these companies. The better answer would be, hire someone else outside the Eastern Shore. Someone who wouldn't give a damn either way what anyone thought of their end result findings.

WATCH PAC14!

Ladies & Gentlemen, last Monday night I picked up on something no one else caught. If you watch the re run of the Council Meeting, soon after the Fire Department accepting a donation, Louise Smith brings something to a vote.

Now, what's unique about this is that I had to take a double take when I personally heard it. I then leaned over to Greg Latshaw, (a reporter from The Daily Times) and I said, did you just hear what I just heard? He replied, I think so but I'm not sure. I said, Louise Smith just said, "All those in favor say I, I. All those opposed say Nay, Nay."

I believe Louise Smith Voted Twice! Once she heard Gary Comegys say Nay, she said Nay as well, after saying I originally. We have people watching the CD of it right now to confirm I did in fact hear what I heard but I'm very confident I'm right.

I didn't want to say anything till now so there was no chance to edit the original. I cannot receive PAC 14 so I cannot tell. However, listen carefully and see for yourself just what Louise Smith is up to. I was paying attention because I thought I had heard her do so in the past.

That being said, the Council President isn't even supposed to vote, unless necessary. If you watch County Council President John Cannon, he rarely ever votes. Perhaps Louise is so used to a 2-2 vote on 99% of everything they vote on anyway, she throws in her say. However, she would do so after everyone votes and she would say, "the chair votes I, or Nay."

One Year Ago Today

Can you believe it? It was one year ago today voters opted for Gary Comegys over Tim Spies in the primary? Louise Smith was voted in as a scam allegedly from the Mayor. While many held signs in support of Louise Smith, who would have known at that time everyone was being set up? Victory is bitter sweet.

The question is, do you want to do something about it now? Get involved in recalling the Mayor for starters and send the right message out.

Green Drinking and Driving

I just couldn't resist. Today's Daily Times has an editorial written by Carrie Samis, formerly of the Zoo. She writes a rather lengthy letter about how the latest "thing" in environmental news is to have meetings at local bars/pubs. The statement she says, "What a great idea-gather at a local pub to socialize, share concerns, discuss solutions-and enjoy a beer. The first meeting will take place a Seacrets in OC in March.

Now I have to ask a few questions. Number one, is that the only way to get folks to hold a meeting on going "green?" I'm wondering if other organizations could follow that lead? How about having open bars in Churches where attendance has dwindled? How about an open bar at City/County Council meetings? Man imagine how much livelier they would be! Of course your going to need to hire bouncers for the occasional brawl that might break out. Just imagine the pictures I would be able to post then. Can you say blackmail material?

In light of what our own States Attorney is going through at the moment is it a good idea to encourage people to go out for a drink? I'm sure Layton Moore isn't desperate to have the business, but it doesn't hurt either. Is there going to be a green cab to drive those drinkers home afterward?

The scenarios are endless along with the laughs. The true shame of it all is that the only way to encourage people to get together to discuss "green solutions" is to lure them into a bar. How sad.

Perhaps these folks that are fighting so strongly to encourage going green should get more involved in the sewage spills and discharges into our rivers and bay. Where were they when local municipalities are steadily running huge pipes from our streets right into whatever local waterway is closest? Going green is more then just talking about it and patting yourself on the back about educating people. You have to get people organized to fight what local governments are doing to do the exact opposite of green. And that should have to happen with a beer in your hand.

One of the organizations that is involved in this going green stuff is D LITE, the organization that former Zoo Director Jim Rapp is heading. These are the same people that allowed illegal sewage to run right into the River polluting it. The MDE told Rapp to STOP doing so and the very next day, (once the MDE was gone) Rapp opened the pipes again to drain into the River and the MDE returned and forced them to cap the pipe. Hypocrites!

Once The Mayor Is Gone

There have been many statements about what might happen should the recall against Mayor Barrie Tilghman be a success. Here's the answer to your question.

First of all, they have 90 days to get 3,500 registered voter signatures. On a side note, I'd get every signature possible, including non registered voters. The reason I say that is, this Mayor should know how many people out there feel ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. If someone tells you they're not a registered voter, have a secondary sheet for them to sign and thank them for their support.

After they have received more than 3,500 registered voter signatures and Brenda Colegrove confirms the recall has been successful, the City has another 30 days to set up an election. Voters will then be asked to come out and vote to recall the Mayor.

Once she's been voted out, then it is up to the City Council to appoint a new Mayor of their choosing and this person has to accept the position, obviously. It's my understanding that 47 News will have a piece on this today, perhaps at Noon?

Hopefully this helps everyone to better understand what's involved to get this done and how they'll move forward. ARE YOU READY?

WHOOPS!

OK, I had the biggest laugh yesterday when I was reading The Daily Times. Under "CORRECTIONS" they had screwed up something so bad, well, look and see their correction.

"A sentence in the story "Local fireman calculate future" in Sunday's The Daily Times should have read "Coincidentally, the town is currently lobbying Worcester County Commissioners for a tax differential on duplicated government services, which could save Ocean City taxpayers about $13 million."

How convenient to SCREW that up and then come back elsewhere with "the fix."

Ron Alessi Inserts Foot In Mouth

Wicomico Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman (R-2) seems to have raised the ire of certain members of the Wicomico County Liquor Control Board. Mrs. Prettyman had the audacity to question a board member, Ronald G. Alessi, performing over $50,000 of work for the board. Good for her, and shame on Mr. Alessi and any other member of the LCB that supports his position.

Mr. Alessi refused to answer questions posed by Daily Times reporter Joe Gidjunis yet doesn't hesitate to engage in a written monologue riddled with factual errors. If Alessi's little op-ed piece in Tuesday's Daily Times is any indication of the board's performance then the public would be best served by more scrutiny, rather than the "leave us alone" attitude of Alessi.

It is true that the liquor control board is appointed by the Governor and does not answer directly to the county government. As an agency operating under a state mandate they are held accountable to state ethics guidelines which hold that behavior such as Mr. Alessi's is highly questionable (at a minimum). Even an appearance of conflict is to be shunned. The very fact that Alessi serves on the board and is then paid to perform work for that same agency is certainly an "appearance" of impropriety. That assumes that everything else which Alessi states is true.

This is a big assumption. Alessi states, "we went to the market at a time when construction was booming and received bids for work to be done that were outrageous". The logical inference from Alessi's own statements is that he reviewed the bids from other contractors and then underbid to get the work. I wonder if the other contractors who bid on this business would have enjoyed having the same benefits as Mr. Alessi?

Not only is such a practice unethical, it may be criminal. IF the other members of the board, Stewart Haemel and Cecilia Dennis, were aware that Alessi was accessing bid / estimate information prior to submitting his own bid they, along with Mr. Alessi, should be forced to resign in disgrace rather than wait for Gov. O'Malley's new appointees to take their seats. At a minimum, the Governor should ask for Alessi's immediate resignation based solely upon Alessi's own statements.

Alessi claims in his piece that ALL profits from the Liquor Control Board are given over to the Wicomico Country treasury. This is simply not true. As Councilwoman Prettyman pointed out at the last meeting of the Wicomico County Council, the profits are split between the LCB and the County based on a formula that must be approved by the County Council. Perhaps Mr. Alessi misspoke, but the factual error remains.

Mr. Alessi makes multiple references to his belief that the Wicomico Liquor Control Board should be run like a business. He and I would both agree on the words, but evidently not on the meaning of those words. I believe that a business should be run to maximize the benefit to its shareholders. In the case of the LCB, those shareholders are the citizens of Wicomico County. Alessi seems to believe that a business is to be run to provide benefit to its shareholders while also helping to line the pockets of the "good old boy network" of which Mr. Alessi is a member. The benefit to shareholders (citizens) is merely a means of keeping the "great unwashed" at bay.

I was amused at Alessi's claim that LCB Chairman Stewart Haemel was "ambushed" at the last County Council meeting. Again misstating facts, Alessi argues that this matter occurred in past years. This is only partially true. When the Council received the audit for FY 2007, it was noted that Mr. Alessi had performed work for the LCB in FY 2007. Mrs. Prettyman also noted that Mr. Alessi had done work in the previous year as well. This is hardly an ambush. If Mr. Haemel wasn't prepared to answer questions about the FY 2007 audit he should never have asked to be appointed in the first place.

Alessi also serves as a member of the Salisbury Zoo Commission. I would hope that the Salisbury Council begins to ask if Mr. Alessi, or any business which he is associated with, has done any work for the Zoo. If it turns out that Alessi benefited from this relationship as well, we will truly know his definition of "public service".

Mr. Alessi's parting comments may tell the greatest tale of all:

Maybe the best way for these council members to serve the citizens of Wicomico County would be to better monitor the assets of Wicomico County, instead of meddling in a business that is so very beneficial to all of the citizens of Wicomico County.

I've got news for you Ron. Real public servants like Stevie Prettyman are doing their job. Since a portion of the LCB's profits go to the County the Wicomico County Council has a responsibility to see that profit maximized. While their "meddling" may not be good for your business, it should prove beneficial to the citizens of Wicomico County.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

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