Annapolis Capital Punishment

The Capital, our number two source of news and information (hey I'm the underdog here, like Avis, so I try harder...) has done us all a great good with its latest editorial titled "City needs to move from brainstorming to realistic action." It starts by quoting a DC business leader who says our crime problem is directly related to public housing! Yes--keep saying it and keep working on it. The editors write, "To do it justice, the panel did pinpoint three of Annapolis' central needs: better mass transportation, smarter waterfront redevelopment and improved public housing." Yes, yes and more yes. However, please don't refer to it as mass transit as we are a small town, a community and it is more appropriate to call it public or community transit and really what we need is overall improved transportation anyhow--not just with buses.

Imagine that!!!! CP readers know that I have repeatedly bemoaned the totally inappropriate use of our waterfront downtown for parking, the pressing needs of our transportation system and the crucial issue of public housing. When CP ran unsuccessfully for City Council, I campaigned on three major themes which were our Cars (transportation), our Creeks (waterfront)and our City Management (including who oversees public housing). My successful opponent, Ross Arnett, essentially took those same themes on after he beat me in the primary (with the exception of the City Manager issue and he had originally campaigned without any substantive issues). So it is gratifying to know that while I lost the battle, we may be winning the war--slowly but surely. Even Ross and others are now talking seriously about the need for restructuring government....which brings me to the next point.

None of these things will take place with this administration or with a City Council that usually prefers either to side with the Mayor, avoid tough issues, argue among themselves, or focus on non-essential issue or even issues that they have no business working on in the first place. But mainly they have little power because we keep their hands tied and give it all to the mayor.

These urban experts and The Capital are right. However, we will soon enter a real mayoral race, and I expect we'll hear all kinds of proclamations and promises, but who will stand up and tell us what we need to hear and not what we think we want to hear? Who'll be the next in line? Based on experience locally and nationally, we'll be afraid to elect the soothsayer and would rather vote for the ones who will speak glibly.

Read The Capital's editorial here www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_10-19/OPN, and tell them to give CP a little credit or referral once in a while--that would be a real public service!