Annapolis Capital Punishment

From Eastport Gunfire to Annapolitans United Against Crime...Now They Look at Our Budget....

As the Eastport Taskforce to Stop Gunfire flexes its muscles and finds that indeed, mayoral and city council mismanagement is not just limited to crime and law enforcement, they have taken on the city's budget. Below is a recent communication on behalf of the group by Stanford Erickson. CP provides this unfiltered for you as a public service. Remember, CP is beholden to no special interest groups...except the residents of Annapolis:


We are working very hard for accountability by the Mayor and the City Council. But few of our Alderpeople will go on the record with the newspapers to criticize Mayor Moyer. Naturally we need to start demanding that of our Alderpeople. For example, Dr. Classie Hoyle, Chairman of the Finance Committee, called for a meeting of her committee to review the Mayor's proposed budget at 7:30 am on May 7, without sufficiently notifying the public and without informing the press so they could attend. This is illegal.

We Annapolitans United Against Crime had been attending the Finance Committee meetings attempting to know how much money was being spent on crime. We might assume that Dr. Hoyle attempted to hold a closed door meeting so that we could not attend and the press could not report on the meeting.

Two our our Alderpeople took issue with Dr. Hoyle and refused to participate in the meeting, even going so far as clarifying with the State's Attorney General's office that what Dr. Hoyle was attempting was illegal. Finally Dr. Hoyle backed off and announced to the public and the press that a Finance Committee meeting was to be held at 7:30 am May 12, which five members of the Steering Committee for Annapolitans United Against Crime attended. No press got up at 7:30 am, which is probably what Dr. Hoyle sought. Naturally that is my speculation but 7:30 am is not a convenient hour.

Also, the Mayor had sought a vote on the Budget for May 12. In my opinion she wanted to "steamroll" the budget before properly vetting it with the public. Again Dr. Hoyle and the Mayor were informed that because the meeting of th Finance Committee took place on May 12, at 7:30 am, a vote by the City Council on the budget could not take place earlier than May 19, which is what Dr. Hoyle and the Mayor have now proposed. A vote is not needed until June. But if you want to "steamroll" a budget the sooner the vote the better.

I have informed reporters at The Capital and the Baltimore Sun of all of this. But to date, no Alderperson will go on the record with the press to say it all happened. I am not saying that the press has systematically polled all the Alderpeople, but I do know for certain at least one Aldereperson on the Finance Committee refused to be quoted on what Dr. Hoyle attempted.

In other words, it appears that few Alderperson is willing to take the wrath of our Mayor Moyer or Dr. Hoyle or maybe both.

Remember when we spoke up against the crime situation in Annapolis, the Mayor dismissed us as "rhetorical bomb throwers." It took her four months and several killings to admit there was a problem. It appears that no Alderperson is willing to take on publicly that same rhetorical wrath by the Mayor. The mismanagement of our city is evident as well. But so far only Annapolitans United Against Crime and a few others are willing to contest the Mayor on her proposed budget.

This is why members of Annapolitans United Against Crime must speak out and must ask the media for help. The media attempts to be honest brokers but if no Alderperson will agree to be quoted they cannot write the story.

It is important to e-mail or call The Capital and The Baltimore Sun and ask them to write about what Dr. Hoyle attempted and the "steamroll" way this budget is being handled. It is also important to demand of our Alderpeople that they speak out and protect the residents against backroom manipulations by those in power.

Stanford Erickson