Punk's Backyard Grill--They're Grillin'--You're Invited!

The first location of Punk's Backyard Grill, and what may one day be a regional or even national chain, is open in the new restaurant row of Westfield Shoppingtown. Punk's? Yeah--Punk's! Wanna make something of it? Punk was the beloved uncle of one of the restaurant's founders and his backyard was the scene of many great grilling parties. His namesake restaurant may evoke delicious memories for you too. They say "Punk is our presiding spirit. Someone who’s neighborly, warm and welcoming."

Punk's fits that slightly-odd class of being a casual or fast-casual restaurant but a few things make Punks different--and I think better than many other casual family restaurants. Punks actually grills your food to order at a big, flaming grill and then a server brings it to you on a real plate with real metal utensils, to your table which is set under an umbrella on a patio-like floor. If I could lift up he place and drop it in my backyard--I'd be all set....'cept for the pool.

When you enter Punks, you come to the counter to order. It's easy because they have large vertical signs at the entrance with the menu, unlike some other places where you can't read what's on the menu until you get up to the cash register. To the right of the counter is the big, monstrous grill! And you can't help but notice that there's a lot of people working there. That adds up to quality dining and service. In fact, Punk's says, "We believe that the best food starts with honest, quality ingredients. That's why our freezer is small, and our staff is large. From the aioli to the veggie burgers, we make most everything in house using only the freshest ingredients." It's true.

Before I get into the menu, a few words about the drinks are in order. There is beer. There is wine. But it's the gourmet sodas that sparkle. The serve-yourself fountain sodas are made with real cane sugar, not with yucky corn syrup and are delicious. You can choose birch beer, cola, creme soda or my favorite-black cherry, and they even come in diet, and they're caffeine-free. The sodas come from Boylan Bottling Co. Now you know that I loved the sodas, on to the food.

We're talkin' sandwiches and meat grilled on skewers to order. We're talking salads--not standard iceberg fare, but real salads with real mixed greens and a wine vinaigrette. When they bring it to you on your plate, it's presented like it's nouvelle cuisine. I'm not making this up. I got skewered shrimp with a tangy mango salsa and a salad. The shrimp were grilled (pardon the cliche') to perfection and the food looked like a dish you'd get in a fancy and pricey place. I had to look around to be reminded I was in Punk's Backyard. My son had skewered chicken with a slightly sweet, and slightly hot barbecue sauce. This very hard-to-please middle-schooler pronounced it to his liking and although at first he protested (what no french fries?), he even liked the macaroni and cheese side dish, made with real cheese and a beuchamel sauce.

Ms. CP enjoyed tender cubes of lamb skewered with herbs and a fine salad. In addition to the salad, entrees come with grilled pieces of flat bread. No french fries here! For dessert, we shared slices of key lime and pecan pie washed down with more sodas of course. The pie fillings are made on location--and you can taste it. Unlike many pecan pies which seemed based on corn syrup, this was based on lots of real pecans--with just the right kind of crunchiness, and not overly syrupy sweet. The key lime pie tasted equally fresh and had just the right combination of citrus "bite" and sweetness.

Here is a sample of other items on the menu: flat-iron steak skewers, veggie skewers, grilled artisanal sausage and of course burgers--and a veggie-burger, homemade with their own recipe. Five kinds of salad entrees round out the menu including Chesapeake Cobb and Thai Flank Steak. There are eight kinds of sides including Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad, Sweet and Sour Cucumbers with dill. The folks at Punk's tell me they make the corn salad with fresh corn, no matter the time of year.

Punk's meats come from specialty producer Vande Rose Farms in Iowa and their take-out boxes are made from natural and compostable, sugar cane fibers.

Finally, a word about prices. Expect to spend more than fast-food of course, but less than you might expect considering the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Entrees run between about $7 and $11 dollars. Apparently, Punk's has already been discovered. We were there on a Thursday night and ran into three sets of friends, of all ages. It's already a neighborly gathering place--like Punk's Backyard--and why not? After all, Punk's serves up quality food and value in a pleasant setting.

On Thursday, February 19 from 5:30 – 8 p.m., Punk’s Backyard Grill hosts a grand opening evening with proceeds benefiting the YWCA of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County. Guests can enjoy a variety of Punk’s menu items, and a grilling package will be auctioned off to benefit the YWCA. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and brief remarks at the event by various local officials. Tickets are $45 per person and can be purchased by calling Emilia Poiter at the YWCA of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County at 410-626-7800, ext. 115.



To learn more about Punk's, visit punksbackyardgrill.com.

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County Councilman Cohen Will Run For Mayor

....he's just not quite ready to announce....but that will come late this winter or early spring. Cohen expressed these sentiments at a recent Democratic Central Comintern, I mean Committee meeting this week and confirmed with CP today.

Last year I begged to be kept in the dark about this until June or so, and here it is barely February and we have a handful of Democrats, an Independent and Republican Alderman Dave Cordle who is apparently preparing to announce soon.

What a year! Charter referendum or maybe, referenda--perhaps as early as this summer--but maybe not until the election this fall--and there are compensation recommendations...and let's see what "invisible" hands with which the mayor and her cronies may be preparing to mess around.....

P.S. (Cohen wrote this to me in September....) Seriously, it's true that several people have asked me to run in recent weeks. While I'm not ruling it out, my focus is and has been to continuing serving and to run for re-election to the County Council. Lesley and I had our second baby girl 7 weeks ago and frankly in this haze of diapers and burp cloths we're in no position to seriously consider another campaign right now.

I wonder what changed his mind?...

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Breaking News: Former Historic Annapolis Director Greg Stiverson To Run for City Council Ward Six Seat

(CP Notes: I have been associated with the subject of this article for quite some time and have worked with him at different levels. He is also a regular participant in our Sip N' Blogs. It is not my policy to endorse..at least not yet...and maybe never...I just try to be fair and provide useful information.)

Long-time community leader and historian Greg Stiverson is making his first run for elected office as a Republican for the Ward 6 city council seat. Current Alderwoman Julie Stankivic is likely to not seek re-election.

Stiverson is perhaps most well known for taking the helm of Historic Annapolis Foundation which during his tenure, opened the History Quest facility near City Dock. Before that he been head of the Historic London Town and Gardens and recently he served as president of Envisioning Annapolis, which devoted two years to "exploring ways to make Annapolis a better and more effective 21^st-century city." He also has served as president of the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, the Annapolis Opera, the Annapolis Symphony, and other volunteer organizations.

Stiverson acknowledged that there is a lot of public housing in his ward, sometimes referred to as "lower Eastport". He pledges to "work hard to increase public understanding of our city’s public housing needs while supporting efforts to reduce crime through effective policing and programs that encourage youth education and economic opportunity." He also said he will work for "better public transportation to serve the city’s public housing communities, including better maintenance of equipment and more frequent bus service.”

While I am pleased with his recognition of the importance of our bus system, I am more than a little concerned that Stiverson says that its purpose is to serve public housing communities. I believe its purpose is to serve everyone, and if that is done effectively, it can accomplish many of the goals he and many others want for the city. I also think we always have to be careful about jumping to mention public housing and crime in the same sentence. While there is a correlation, they are not one and the same.

Stiverson’s priorities include “solving the Market House mess,” working for professional management of the city, and making City Dock into a “place for people, not cars.” He also pledges to support fiscal restraint and prudent budget oversight. “Annapolis is not immune to the economic difficulties that face the nation. We must trim the City’s budget and lower taxes for city residents. I’ve managed tight budgets and will bring that experience to a careful review of the City’s finances.”

Stiverson does bring a wealth of managerial and budget skills as well as experience in working with boards. He certainly is aware of the city's rich history and historical resources. He understands many of the issues and challenges confronting the city and is especially familiar with crucial downtown and Ward One issues. I am pleased that he sees the value of City Dock in something other than a parking lot. While his experience in working with arts, preservation and cultural organizations as well as dealing with this city's government is impressive, it remains to be seen how tuned-in he is to the concerns and needs of impoverished residents and the crisis in public housing.

As one might expect, he was not immune from criticism while running Historic Annapolis, traditionally a job fraught with controversy. Stiverson was the driving force behind Envisioning Annapolis, a worthy but sometimes seemingly loosely-focused project that brought high-profile thinkers to town to help our citizens explore our collective future. Despite its unique and innovative format, it received mixed reviews, but did attract interest from many thousands of residents and brought many issues to the fore (and even to the Foer...).

A native of Washington State, Stiverson holds a Ph.D. in American History from The Johns Hopkins University. A resident of Annapolis since 1975, he and his wife have three children.

Stiverson will be our featured guest at the Sip N' Blog on Thursday, March 12th.

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Heard on National Public Radio Today

The interviewee on Kojo's show discussing the crisis in newspapers said, "We need investigative reporters. They're expensive, they take time and they need editors." Sigh.....

Also,  a report about a conference with religious leaders about theology and evolution that included an interview with an Annapolis pastor who supports evolution. How refreshing.
 

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Get me Rosie at Dispatch--"It Looks Like There's Nekkid People in The Car"...do we have our own "Ellliott Spitzer" case on our hands??

"It looks like the County Executive's vehicle.....standby 10-4....(garbled--looks like the county executive in the backseat)....yeah I copy, said unfounded......"

The caller calls back to say the police overlooked the car....ahhh, questions, questions, questions....

Thanks to The Capital for getting this tape and providing it on its website. You can listen at tapeofallegedsexualactivity

So the county cops that engaged in the recent chase to get a really bad guy, get reprimanded and here we have county cops who apparently, seemingly ignore the County Executive messing around...or doing something. If the county executive really was engaging in hanky panky in his official vehicle in a public place, well, at least he's not doing it with interns in the Oval Office. Did you get the name of the dispatcher? It's Rosie.


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Capital Punishment's Thursday Sip N' Blog Features Scott Bowling

Join us at CP's Sip N' Blog this Thursday morning at Ahh, Coffee! in Eastport (Did you see this Dan?). Our next featured guest on February 12th will be Ward 3 Aldermanic Candidate Scott Bowling. Following Bowling on February 19th will be mayoral candidate and current Ward 7 Alderman Sam Shropshire.

SEE YOU THERE!!!

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Check Out The New and Improved Market House

..the source of our collective, municipal midlife crisis.....Thanks to regular reader Regular Schmoe for bringing this to our attention....The company that leases the Market House has a fancy web-site all about our downtown disaster...with positive spin of course.
Here is their version of recent history of the Market House:


2005: City of Annapolis chooses Site Realty Group as Master Lessor of the Market House
2006: Grand Re-Opening of the Market House at the City Dock

Not a word about the lawsuit, ventilation problems or....uhhh...well...the middle-of-the-night disappearance of most tenants. They even show a nice photo of folks dining outdoors on the sidewalk on a sunny day--of course it's Maria's, the Italian eatery across the way....But to be fair, the homepage says, "After a devastating flood in 2003, and a political maelstrom which left this local landmark vacant for nearly two years, the completely refurbished Market House is once again ready to open for business and serve the needs of Annapolitans, the downtown business community and tourists to this beautiful City."

Ready and open...indeed. Just like Iraq and Afghanistan are ready and open for investment. But it gets funnier. For example, did you know that its current tenants include:

•	Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes & More
•	The Fresh Stop
•	Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop
•	Gourmet Commissary
•	Galway Bay
•	Lee’s Ice Cream
•	Market Galley/American Grill
•	Waterside Pizza
•	Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
•	Fractured Prune
•	What the Fudge
•	BankAnnapolis
•	Outdoor Vendors'

Oh? You did not? Neither did I.

Most upsetting of all is this---under their local links to learn more about Annapolis, they have excluded CP!!! Hello--??? Oh well. If they still want to tell the world that they have all the above tenants, we can see that accuracy is not their strong point. So which is it?? Political maelstrom? Vacant? Or full of all the above tenants? Check it out at markethouse midlife crisis .

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Guest Editorial--CP Welcomes New Annapolitan Andrew Waldman

CP is pleased to welcome Andrew Waldman as a guest columnist. Waldman commutes by bus to Washington where he writes for a National Guard publication:

I've been familiar with Annapolis for a long time. My girlfriend hails from this city, and I made many trips from my home in Ohio to see her. I didn't notice much about the city during those visits beyond what a tourist might see: colonial-era architecture, a quaint downtown, a beautiful statehouse and a lot of places to eat, drink and go boating. It was a nice little town that seemed like a welcome change from what I was used to in Ohio.

When I got a job in Washington a few months ago, it was an obvious choice to live in Annapolis. My girlfriend was here, and the size of the city was such that a small-town Ohioan could navigate easily and get used to it. For me, it was a definite upgrade -- at the most basic level, it had more than the two grocery stores and one movie theater I was used to, and it had all the things you think a capital city would have.

I am happy about this move. I've already met quite a few great people and I hope to continue to expand my social network and get involved in this community. People here are generally friendly, and the city has plenty to offer.

When I moved here, I didn't know anything about the city's economy, other than that property was way overpriced. But over the last few months I've become aware of several unsettling problems in Annapolis evident from even my still-uninformed view. There is an obviously growing gap between the very-rich and very-poor, a transit system that won't get you anywhere you want to go (like the airport after 5 p.m.), and traffic congestion so great it's confusing. It seems as if nearly every one of the 36,000 people in this town each have their own car--or more than one! Is that possible?

A few weeks ago, during an online news search, I found out about CP, and e-mailed Publisher Paul Foer, asking him what motivated him to write so much. I was intrigued that someone would make such a concerted effort on their own (outside of a newspaper newsroom) to cover local events and important topics. Through that conversation, he asked me to contribute to the blog. Paul was especially interested in hearing about my experience commuting by bus. As a former daily newspaper reporter, I jumped at the opportunity.

I plan to reflect on my observations about the things I'm noticing as a new resident -- maybe not every week, but as much as possible. Please feel free to send in your comments. A.W.


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Mayor Ellen "O" Hosts Deputy Head of Mission at British Embassy---Praises Bloggers!!

The mayor hosted a party in honor of the 344th birthday of Queen Anne, our city's namesake. Dominick Chilcott, Deputy Head of Mission for the British Embassy made a speech and the following is taken right off of our official city web-site:

"The sixth connection between past and present concerns the nature of political debate then and now. Queen Anne's reign saw a great flowering of free speech, through the custom of individuals writing and publishing pamphlets on the issues of the day. Jonathan Swift is the perhaps the most famous pamphleteer of the era.

Pamphlets were the Internet of Queen Anne's age. Had Swift lived today, he would have been a blogger, railing in cyberspace against the tyranny of landlords in Ireland and other injustices. The vitality of British political discourse, with pamphlets being the main vehicle, seems to me to be very reminiscent of the liveliness of the bloggosphere (sic)today."

Ahh, what a brilliant man that Mr. Chilcott must be. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that party. Well-so there you have it Mayor Moyer!!! Your esteemed host compared little old me to Jonathan Swift in your presence and in your honor!!! Oooh, the ironies! Are you ready to stamp your royal thistle and rose on my blog now? (After all, I am a thorn in your side.)

Mr. Chilcott also said, "Because Mary died first, William reigned as widower and king for eight years. And after eight years of W, as he was not affectionately known, the British people wanted change." Hmmmm.....

Read the speech and see the lovely photos at Queen for a day .

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Hope is Restored....City Manager to Referendum

Annapolitans for a Better Community

City Manager Referendum Launched.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

While the City Council didn’t have the votes at its February 9 meeting of the Annapolis City Council to pass the bill (CA-04-08) sponsored by Aldermen Ross Arnett, Dick Israel, Sam Shropshire and Alderwoman Julie Stankivic to create the position of City Manager, the Annapolitans for a Better Community (ABC) announced today it is immediately launching a petition drive, that will put the issue in front of voters in the form of a referendum. The outcome will be to shift day-to-day administration of the City, from the Mayor to a professionally-trained and experienced City Manager.

Under current State law, citizens can petition for a public referendum on an issue by collecting signatures from twenty percent of registered voters. With almost 25,000 voters registered, the petition drive will require fewer than 5,000 people to endorse the petition. ABC Co-chairmen, Bill Kardash and Doug Smith have been anticipating that a petition would be needed, although they hoped the City Council would approve the vote.

“We are disappointed the Council did not approve the much-needed change in the City Charter”, commented Doug Smith, ABC Co-chairman. “As we have talked to voters across Annapolis, we find wide-spread support for this change. With a City Manager we get the best of both worlds - the Mayor and Aldermen will continue to make the policy decisions, and we get the benefit of a trained professional to handle implementation. If community response is any indication, we feel confident we can collect the necessary signatures to get this on the ballot in the fall and let the voters decide”.

Bill Kardash added: “We have made every attempt to meet with all the Aldermen and Alderwomen to elicit their comments and views. We said that, if they wanted to leave a legacy of “good government” for the City, this would be a major step in that direction. But that didn’t happen, so the voters will get a chance to decide. That’s what democracy is all about.” ABC also announced that it has been in contact with several major community and civic groups throughout the City and many have volunteered to help gather signatures for the Charter Amendment.

YOU WILL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THIS HERE!!!!!!

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Tonight's City Council Meeting

Confusion. Grandstanding. Posturing. Positioning. It took great, great personal courage and self control on my part not to fall over in convulsions, or at least to stand up and testify about something. But there were too many tough acts to follow. The only one who made any sense was Arthur Kungel. ...and of course City Attorney (can you say "Acting") Steve Kling, prepared and articulate as ever.

Give the mayor more money, more money, more money--and it's not political!!! It's all based on rigorous, scientific analysis. Yeah sure. And the head of the committee is a major Democratic activist and fund-raiser. Another is an opinion pollster. Another is a school system muckety muck. (think about those connections AND the prevailing mentality to spend, spend and pay and pay). Oh yeah! But as the mayor said, it is NOT political. Mayoral candidate Sam Shropshire said when he votes on it, it will have nothing to do with him being a mayoral candidate. I am really sickened by the compensation committee report concerning the mayor. As for the alderman, it seems much more sensible.

Terrible economic depression and we should spend more! Later we heard about waiving fees for a homeless shelter already supported with public dollars. It's only $210,000 per year! One man stands up and says since economic times are so tough, we have to waive these fees! Spend more public money. That's the same "reasoning" we use to spend more public money when times are booming! You're flush--spend it! You're broke-spend it!!! I know that if you paid my bills, the heat would be up to 74 in January and down to 68 in July. But if I pay for it.....

I think the compensation committee managed to do the mayor's dirty work! Push through a package to pay the mayor so much as to virtually kill the city manager issue-now going to referendum. Raise it enough to bring in a certain undecided candidate and voila! Mayor Moyer leaves her stamp for years to come after leaving office. Am I crazy or what? (I know what you're thinking, Ellen "O"...) Here is a little item--the chair of the compensation committee said the one city most like Annapolis which was used to study salaries was Charleston, SC which she noted, had about the same population as Annapolis. When she said that, I shook my head and turned to the people next to me and said Charleston has over 100,000 persons. It turns out that the census estimate for 2006 is 107,845. If the committee can't get that right--or fabricates, well...it makes you wonder...

I am still trying to digest Alderman Paone's points as to why he voted against the city manager amendment. I think he acted reasonably. Voting against the fake city manager bill for the same reason he gave for voting against the real one scored more points in my book for him. I am not sure that he is being fair in saying he is the only one of the council who listened to all the testimony and did not make up his mind in advance. Heck--somebody has to take a position. Somebody has to sponsor a bill. Then it gets read, re-read, amended as it moves through the sausage machine. But if no legislator in deliberative bodies ever took stands and sponsored bills, where would we be? His belief is that this must go to referendum. Okay. We can dissect that, but the charter gives the council the power to amend the charter. If that is wrong, then Paone could have introduced legislation to repeal that right by referendum as well. He and his colleagues are elected to represent us in a republican form of representative government. If he can vote on a budget to spend $81 million dollars, why can't he vote on this? Well, I am not going to take too much issue with this.

His vote would have made it 5-4 either way. When the Supreme Court has a split decision, it influences the sustaining power of the decision and challenges to it for years to come--as a 9-0 or 8-1 vote would do. We can only hope that the citizens will pay attention and vote wisely in this referendum. On the other hand, if he felt all along that this should go to referendum, why did he not say that from the beginning and craft an amendment as such? Finally, if he felt all along that a referendum was in order, why did so many of us bother trying to influence his vote? On the one hand he says he is there to listen and not make up his mind in advance as he listens to citizens. On the other hand, he says in order for citizens to be heard, there must be a referendum.


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Perhaps Coffee Shop Owner Would Do Better With a "Whine" Bar

This hurts. I urge you to read the Sunday column by our local newspaper editor Tom Marquardt at Marquardtsays. Pay special attention to the last portion. Was it good to the last drop?

Did you read it? What did you think of the letter from the local business owner? Do you think he was justified in his anger toward the newspaper? Do you think the editor responded to him in a fair manner?

I agree with and support Mr. Marquardt. I got wind of this letter before it was published and went to see Ahh Coffee's owner Dan McMahon just to confirm that he wrote it. McMahon believes the newspaper owes him something special--everybody does, including me! But I can't understand why he felt his missive would do him or anybody any good. Now that his invective has been amplified through the media (yes--he got his wish) does he think it will result in any goodwill? I think not. Quite the opposite I suppose. Not only that--one of the reporters he abused is a frequent customer in his shop--or at least was. I've even met with her there--twice! One time was for conducting an interview with me and four others for an article she wrote. I doubt she'll spend her money in there again. (Heck--when I was the victim of verbal abuse by the owner of another local place, I vowed not to go there again. Besides, it's dirty, noisy and has poor service...and then there are negatives as well. I would never tell you the name of the place but is located at 49 West St. LOL!!!)

I have even editorialized about how much the excessive amount of free press the local paper has given to coffee shops. As Marquardt shows, Ahh, Coffee! has been the beneficiary of free publicity provided by the newspaper on more than one occasion. In fact, Ahh Coffee has been the beneficiary of beaucoup free publicity provided by this here blog--many times and to much direct monetary benefit to Ahh, Coffee--not to mention the patronage. But has Ahh, Coffee! purchased any advertising from me? No. How shall I stay in business? Should that be the concern of Ahh, Coffee? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

I write this blog as a community service (and possibly for other reasons, but that would be bordering on psychiatry to explain). Do local advertisers support me? Hardly. I write about local issues and businesses all the time and attract lots of local readers and what do I get for it? (besides the anonymous and insulting letters...). I provide free publicity to Ahh, Coffee!, bring in a dozen customers once a week to discuss local issues (often with influential local leaders), meet there with business clients, hold a book signing for an author, announce my candidacy for alderman there and he does not advertise with me. To add insult to injury--the owner writes a mean letter to one local media outlet complaining it does not cover him--and I wonder, what might he do to other local media outlets?

For full disclosure,Ahh, Coffee! gives me a modest discount for coffee....I said modest discount....not free--it's almost not worth mentioning. I even bring my own mug.

AJ Liebling said freedom of the press belongs to those that own one. Ironically, the Capital, which owns a press, found it is less expensive to print on someone else's press, but thanks to cyber technology, anyone can be a publisher today--even the owner of a coffee shop such as Dan McMahon.

I am all with Editor Marquardt when he wrote, "Excuse me if I'm venting, but I grow weary of people who want something for free while expecting others to pay. I doubt Dan gives out free coffee. If merchants like him want a local newspaper to report his arts shows and coffee klatches, they need to support it by buying ads - or there won't be a medium around to write about them. I thank our advertisers who understand this."

If I were Dan's business adviser, I'd be telling him to reflect upon what Marquardt wrote and to give away coffee at his office and buy lots of ads from them to make nice. Of course I'd first tell him to buy ads at Annapolis Capital Punishment. But I am not his business adviser--and he is not my editorial adviser--nor that of Mr. Marquardt. Dan McMahon should read the line in italics below the last line of this and every post at CP. He might just happen to notice the name of his business--as do the many hundreds and hundreds of local readers see on every post. And when I come in next Thursday with all the other customers who come each week because of this blog, maybe he ought to roll out the red carpet and give free mocha-latte-cappuccinos to all of us--for a year. Maybe he ought to give me lots of gift certificates. Maybe he ought to promote CP at his shop. I'm happy to give him all this business and pay full price for coffee. Why won't he spring for advertising?

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Alderman Paone is Critical Swing Vote on Monday's CIty Manager Amendment

We've been writing about this issue since we started publishing two years ago and it has gained momentum and it all comes to a head on Monday night. The vote seems to be 4-4-1 which means that Alderman Fred Paone of the Second Ward (West Annapolis, Wardour, Admiral Heights, Homewood, Clay Street) will be the decisive factor--at least until a full-scale referendum kicks in. That is the likely next step if the vote fails, and it will mean a lot of work and effort to take place fairly quickly. In such a case, the vote will come in the fall at the same time as the election for mayor.

So here is my pitch. If you believe we need professional city management--and two separate polls at this blog have shown 80% favor this, tell Alderman Paone. Send him an email or call him, but it's his vote that will make the difference. Think about it--he was not even an alderman a year or so ago and here he is the crucial swing vote--and he seems to be relishing his role because he has not made his sentiments public. If you live in his ward, please let him know how you feel. If you don't live in his ward, let him know who is your alderman and PLEASE call your alderman regardless--but especially if your alderman is Classie Hoyle, Sheila Finlayson, or Dave Cordle. I would not bother calling the mayor--unless you just want to get in a fight. She has done everything in her power (yes power that we have given her AND power that she misuses and does not deserve to fight this amendment).Yeah, maybe you should call her. And call Sam, Julie, Ross and Dick and thank them and encourage them!!! Do it today.To see the ward map, click here at wardmap .

Two

Alderman Frederick M. Paone (R)

47 Williams Drive Annapolis, MD 21401

443-223-8769 (c) 410-267-7604 (h)

aldpaone@annapolis.gov
and the rest....

Mayor	Ellen O. Moyer (D)	35 Eastern Avenue P.O. Box 3172 Annapolis, MD 21403 EOMoyer@annapolis.gov	410-269-6828 (h) 410-263-7997 (w)
One	Alderman Richard E. Israel (D)	61 Shaw Street Annapolis, MD 21401 aldisrael@annapolis.gov	410-263-5607 (day)
Three	Alderwoman Classie Gillis Hoyle (D)	2089 Forest Drive Annapolis, MD 21401 aldhoyle@annapolis.gov	443-949-7755 (day)
Four	Alderwoman Sheila M. Finlayson (D)	131 Brightwater Drive Annapolis, MD 21401 aldfinlayson@annapolis.gov	410-626-0071 (day)
Five	Alderman David H. Cordle, Sr. (R)	421 Fox Hollow Lane Annapolis, MD 21403 aldcordle@annapolis.gov	410-267-9600 (day)
Six	Alderman Julie Stankivic (R)	906 Primrose Road # 204 Annapolis, MD 21403 aldstankivic@annapolis.gov	443-370-5465 (day) 410-268-2710 (h)
Seven	Alderman Samuel Shropshire (D)	9 Silverwood Circle #3 Annapolis, MD 21403 aldshropshire@annapolis.gov	410-570-7053 (day)
Eight	Alderman Ross H. Arnett, III (D)	529 Sixth Street Annapolis, MD 21403 aldarnett@annapolis.gov	410-295-7531 (day) 410-295-9743 (h)

And finally, if it does go to referendum, we'll need your help! Stay tuned.....please send my regards to Fred when you call him. He is a good and thoughtful public servant and while he may not appreciate that I am encouraging you to call him--well, just consider that why else would he be keeping his intended vote a secret????


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