Ellis Tinsley writes
"I'm mad.
My neighbors are mad.
I live on Clay St and many of us been talking about this scandal. I don't like talking for people, but I will make an exception this one time. The general consensus in my neighborhood (Clay St area) is... why did this news regarding Zina "conveniently" not see the light of day until AFTER she won the primary? Also, what's the point of registering to run for mayor if no one does any background checks to see if you're even eligible? Who's job is that?
Yes, many people in my neighborhood feel that the news only broke after she won b/c of her race. I can't counter argue that. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
Scandalous.
But are my neighbors wrong?
Now I'll speak for only me... I am so fed up with the Democrat Party in Annapolis. Scandal after scandal, lies after lies, cronyism, money scandals, lawsuits, etc, etc. I can't even figure out the saints from the sinners anymore. I see politicians day after day selling their souls and integrity for money. I see the people being ignored. I've seen friends called names by elected officials. I've seen lives disrupted by really bad political agendas.
I AM DONE! No votes from me will ever go to any Democrat in this City for quite some time. The party is bloated with worthless politi-heads with no aspirations to lead. They just wanna skim the pot of gold we call "taxes" like their predecessors did. They wanna be a part of some useless group of a-holes that do nothing but take questionable money from developers or "societies" or special interest groups. And year after year, they rape the wallets of citizens with useless taxes or tax hikes. It's disgusting. It's deplorable. It's unacceptable.
It has to stop.
Annapolis Citizens need to get off their lazy asses and start VOTING. They need to start participating in their local government. They need to clean house... NOW. "
Dear Ellis
Thanks very much for your thoughtful letter. We both wish citizens would get more involved and vote--and we both wish more people would write in--and sign their names as you have done. There is much to be upset and angry about with this whole thing, but the real responsibility must be with Ms. Pierre. She said that yesterday--although with too may qualifications. We could argue all day about whether her 18 run-ins with the courts were simply minor things or not, but I say they were not minor and they are relevant. We could argue about where she lives or does not live and where she claims her primary residence and gets a homestead exemption and where she votes...and she may still have to answer about that, but at the end of the day, I think Ms. Pierre needs to get her own house in order and she needed to tell us--all of us--about it a long time ago. Had she done that, she might still be the Democratic nominee.
We can point fingers at the Dems, the news media and at election officials all day long--and we'd be right--but it's Zina Pierre who created her background and nobody else. Now, that does not address the question as to why people who may have known about this long ago, did not come out with it until just after the election. Of that, we can only speculate. As to those who may believe that Ms. Pierre has somehow been singled out or treated in a special way, my observation is that if she was treated in any way special, it was to have not taken her seriously and to have overlooked her as a viable candidate. As it turned out she was a viable candidate--or would have been, had her record not been so questionable--which only came to public scrutiny much later than it should have. However, one person for sure knew all about this long before anyone else did and of that, there can be no speculation.
CP
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15 Comments:
Let me clarify something... I like Zina. The little that I do know about her, I like. She's not a bad person and I feel she would have been a fine mayor for our city.
I'm fed up with the politics of our city. I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand controversy after controversy.
Why was Zina never informed she was unqualified to run for mayor? Whats the point of registering to run for political office if no one bothers to do background checks on the candidates to determine if they're qualified? It's unfair to ZINA just as much as it's unfair to the people who voted for her. If she had been informed of ineligibility, she could have stepped down gracefully, rectified her personal situation, perhaps endorsed another candidate and then ran again in the future with a clean record. Furthermore, those that voted for her could have voted for someone else.
If Zina ever runs for any office in the future, this whole fiasco will follow her.
People voted for her. And now those votes are worthless. We now have a large number of people in Annapolis who will not be represented from the primary. It's unfair to everyone how this whole thing played out.
I don't blame Zina at all. I'm in agreement with some of my neighbors that the timing of the news being released is really "sketchy".
Ellis
Ellis I like Zina Pierre too, but that's not the point. Who has ever concluded that she was unqualified to run for mayor? Are you speaking in a legal sense? Has that been determined? The sad fact is it has not and why? Because there are so many questions but Ms. Pierre is not answering them. If you are referring to where she lives and where she votes, that may be an issue, but she is the one who needed to know that and must take responsibility. She also knew her robocall using a former president needed an authority line--or is that the fault of someone else?
I believe you may not be fully aware of the evolution of this unfortunate episode. Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but what is this ineligibility of which you speak? Has that been determined? You'll have to ask her why she stepped down. But there are many questions and she is not saying. Yes it is unfair at how it has and will be played out, but it is also unfair that a candidate has a history of lapses which the candidate kept from the public. We cannot get around that. You say you don't blame Zina at all and I strongly disagree with you. Read all my posts and you'll see why I believe that. Whether or not the timing of the news getting out is "sketchy", well, yes it does seem odd but I also explain why I think that happened as well. There may be some conspiracy and orchestration, but it seems implausible. I don't know, but I do know Ms. Pierre's record and I do know that she did not tell us about any of it. Yet with all that, you write "I don't blame Zina at all." Why is she not responsible for her actions, even though she said she takes "total, total, total responsibility"????
You're right... I need to take a step back and not let emotion dictate my opinion.
She is to blame for much of it and her excuses for much of the problems seem acceptable. She accepted responsibility for her problems.
It's the residency issue. If she has not lived here in the city for the acceptable period of time to be eligible, why was she not informed prior to the primary election? Who is in charge of verifying a candidates eligibility? THAT is what I don't blame Zina on. No one informed her she was ineligible based on residency alone. Why? Why was she allowed to get this far into the election before being told she was ineligible?
I could run for a political office, despite being ineligible based on my period of residency, and no one would inform me until after I won the primary? Doesn't anyone have a problem with that?
Ellis There are holes and inconsistencies in our election and ethics codes--yes this stuff should be pretty easy for an official body to verify...but that's just the tip of the iceberg...
ELLIS, PLEASE VOTE. As unhappy as you are with the System, it is all we have. If these events causes voter apathy, the ones who usually get hurt are the people who do not vote. Do you really think that Fox or Cordle will be of more help to your neighborhood?
Ellis, I understand your feeling about how politicians can be bought. There is one man that I know that can't be bought and that is Chris Fox who is running for mayor as an Independent. I hope you can vote for him as I am going to. Chris is the first person that will give you the shirt off his back. Please vote for Mr. Fox in November, you won't be disappointed.
Thanks to all the readers....but now I have a dilemma...I have just received an unsolicited endorsement for a candidate...hmm..is there really a Jason Zink in Annapolis? I see this same person is writing endorsement letters online to The Capital...hmmm. Then I see that there is a Jason Zink who owns two bars in Baltimore--doesn't Chris Fox own a bar in Baltimore too?? Is this the same Jason Zink who bought a home in Bywater of Annapolis as recorded by The Washington Post in 2005....ATWATER DR., 319-James Muzik to Jason R. Zink, $236,000....Is that your primary residence? Are you an Annapolis voter...?
So, what's your point? Do you feel special that you can look that up? What's your dilemma? You didn't receive anything--it said "Ellis, I understand...."
Uh Wuh? I did receive something--an unsolicited endorsement from you for a mayoral candidate...I am not sure if these kind of things add a scrap of value to the debate. Okay, you like Chris Fox. Fine. But why? Who are you? How do you know the candidate? Are you a registered voter in Annapolis? Are you a competitor or possibly a partner with Mr. Fox? Anybody can pretty much write in and say go candidate A or booh hiss to candidate b but of what value is it? I published your comment which included "So, what's your point? Do you feel special that you can look that up?" And I ask you, so what;'s your point? Do you feel special that you can write in and say vote for Chris? I mean tell us something useful or helpful about how you know him and why you endorse him. Then I'll publish it and say thank you--great work. These kinds of letters are also often part of organized campaigns to flood the media. If it happens, I'll need to figure out how to deal with it... but thanks anyhow---now send in a real comment please.
To Mick McGuirk Prove to our readers that you are a real person and who you say you are and we will publish your comment thank you...
Ellis,
I would love to talk with you at length about this issue- as well as anyone else!
Dave Cordle
410-267-9600
The below comment comes from an R. Ellis who has been verified as being a real and local person:
During the recent upheaval over Ms. Pierre's nomination as the Democratic mayoral candidate, the role of the press has been at issue. Although the excerpt below from "The Miscast Institution" by Thomas E. Patterson, who was a professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse Univ., is talking about presidential primaries, the insights apply to mayoral ones as well. The bottom line is, like it or not, and admittedly sometimes we don't, the press and nowadays the new media have been handed a political role, and we need to expect and accept this unless we change the system.
"When the parties established a nominating process that is essentially a free-for-all between self-generated candidacies [in the early 1970s], the task of bringing the candidates and voters together in a common effort was superimposed on a media system that was built for other purposes. The press was no longer asked only to keep an eye out for wrongdoing and to provide a conduit for candidates to convey their messages to the voters. It was also expected to guide the voters' decisions. It was obliged to inspect the candidates' platforms, judge their fitness for the nation's highest office, and determine their electability--functions the parties had performed in the past."
Very good points. Yup. reminds me of my days in graduate school. No voter should rely on any one source.
Sort of...uh...scary maybe? Thanks!
Maybe we should start a 3rd party. If you are interested let me know. In the meanwhile I plan on working with whomever becomes mayor.
Ray Sullivan
119 Meade Dr.
21403
781-367-6420
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