Annapolis Capital Punishment

(The below is the contents of an email sent by current Ward One Resident's Association Doug Smith to his members as he takes on his new role as Chief Administrative Officer for Annapolis)

This note is a little longer than my usual short e-mail. I wanted to provide a bit of background on my new role, and then a couple of comments on Ward One. I would much prefer to have this conversation
face to face, but because so many of you have asked about this change, that this is the best way to reach you.

Josh did surprise me by asking me to come in as city administrator. We were on opposite sides of the city manager issue, but I said from the time he announced for the primary that I thought he would be a very good mayor. The issue of city manager was always about structure, not about personalities. And while we might disagree on one issue, that doesn’t mean we can’t work together. More importantly, there is a long list of things where we do agree.


I want to thank all of the people who worked hard on the city manager
petition drive.  It is a very high mountain to climb to get 20% of
registered voters. To the best of my knowledge, we were the first to
get any petition effort this far along – no other citizen’s effort has
been this successful.  I will withdraw as co-chairman and leave all
decisions in Bill Kardash’s capable hands. [As many of you know, it is
Bill’s background in direct mail and his dogged perseverance that keep
the wheels on this engine.]  What we accomplished was to make good
management a core issue of the election. As taxpayers, we deserve to
have our money well spent, and we deserve quality service. In my view,
over the past eight years, our money was not well spent, and we now
have to slim down this $86,000,000 ship and turn it in a different
direction.

Which leads me to the administrator position. The decision for me was
pretty straightforward. I very much enjoy my role in the community and
Ward One. Should I continue to provide comments, participate in
committees, etc., from the outside, or … could I be of more help by
joining Josh’s team and work from the inside? It was an easy
decision.  Josh and I are in agreement that we have to start managing
the city more like a business – and that is something I know how to
do.

I have to say, I am very – very – excited about this opportunity.
Josh is definitely changing the tone and culture of this government. I
totally support his goal of “making Annapolis the best run city in the
state.”  I want to help Josh achieve that goal.  My work will be in
the background, focused on the day-to-day operations, and providing
better information so Josh and the Aldermen can make informed
decisions. The city council will decide the direction they want to
take the city, and I will do my level best to make it happen in the
least expensive way.

In light of this opportunity, I am stepping down as president of the
Ward One Association.  It has been an honor for me to serve in this
role for the past three years.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the work we
have done in Ward One. We have a great organization, and I think we
have made a very positive impact on the city.

We are very fortunate to have Dick Israel as our Alderman, but we
cannot expect him to do all of the heavy lifting. It is important that
residents and businesses maintain awareness of what is going on and be
willing to speak up. I am confident we will have a very positive,
cooperative relationship with Josh Cohen as mayor.  We don’t want to
be ‘ruled,’ we want to be ‘represented’, and I think we have already
seen a much more open, transparent style from Josh, especially as he
has involved some 80+ people in the idea teams.

When I first started as president, I was concerned that there was an
adversarial relationship between residents and businesses. By talking
with the business owners, it was very clear we had many of the same
concerns. We all want safe streets; we all want good restaurants; a
good choice of unique retail shops; and a successful Market House. We
now have about 30 business owners who are associate members of W1.  We
have more work to do – I think everyone recognizes that we need a
vibrant downtown and no one wants to see empty stores – and I can tell
you, the downtown merchants appreciate the efforts of Ward 1, Ward 8
and the Sustainable business alliance to ‘Shop Local.’

I believe Ward One must be active in all parts of city life. We are in
the heart of the city. Simply because of our location, we must be
involved and clear voice about quality of life issues, parking, City
Dock, public safety, historic preservation, permitting/ inspection,
etc.  And I would encourage all of us to think about the whole city.
Think beyond the borders of Ward 1. We have a great alliance with Ward
8, with Vic Pascoe and the Eastport Civic Association, along with the
businesses in Eastport. It would be great to build community alliances
with all organizations across the city.

Thanks for your support these past three years – Karen and I hope to
see you all at the Holiday Party. / Doug

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