Showing posts with label transparency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transparency. Show all posts

Thursday, August 29, 2013

JuiceBlender: Stand Your Ground in Maryland, Transparency Critique, Non-English Speakers & Tribute to Gwendolyn Britt

Below Maryland Juice writer Dan Furmansky provides a mish-mosh of items on various tidbits of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: WASHINGTON POST HIGHLIGHTS MARYLAND COUNTIES WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS - While the state is considering making political participation more open and accessible to Marylanders, I wonder if it might consider how to do so for non-English speakers, or those for whom English is not their primary language.

The Washington Post has an interesting map of U.S. counties and what percent of residents speak a language other than English at home. In Maryland, the counties with more than 10% of residents speaking qualifying are below. Montgomery County has nearly twice as many people in this category as the next jurisdiction, Howard County. And each of these counties cites Spanish as the most common language:
  • Anne Arundel County:    10.1% of 4498,228 residents
  • Frederick County:         11.9% of 216,672 residents
  • Baltimore County:        12.6% of 754,586 resident
  • Prince George’s County:    19.8% of 799, 245 residents
  • Howard County:         21.9% of 266,255 residents
  • Montgomery County:     38.1% of 895,929 residents

JUICE #2: DAN FURMANSKY CALLS OUT TRANSPARENCY PROBLEMS IN MARYLAND POLITICS - If there’s one thing Maryland isn’t known for, it’s openness in its political process. As just one example, when I was a registered lobbyist, I can’t tell you how many times I was told I couldn’t sit in on a voting session because “it was frowned upon,” and there would be repercussions if I bucked this unspoken protocol. There were also countless times when bills would be held up in committee day after day in an attempt to kill them by the ticking clock, but finding out who voted to hold the bill up was like solving the mystery of crop circles. It’s refreshing to see some positive changes — to some degree — over the past few years with the increasing use of social media. And it looks like more change is on the way.

There was an interesting editorial in The Baltimore Sun last week regarding OpenGov’s involvement in making Maryland government more transparent and participatory using technology. California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, started the OpenGov Foundation—but let’s not hold that against this very noble project. Here’s a snippet from The Sun (excerpt below):
BALTIMORE SUN: OpenGov released the results of a survey last week showing that large majorities of Maryland voters are dissatisfied with the level of information they now get about state government and would like better advance notice about proposed laws and taxes that affect them.

OpenGov suggests an easy solution: Politicians should adopt social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, which are free and already in use by most of their constituents, and those who do should stop using them to post endless photos of ribbon cuttings and start telling people what they're actually doing. If voters know when their senator or delegate is working on an amendment to a bill they're interested in, they have a chance to give meaningful and constructive feedback.

A more ambitious solution is software that OpenGov has tested in Congress that makes it easier for people to see bills as they are introduced and marked up and provides tools for them to make comments or suggestions on how the proposed laws should be changed. The foundation is developing a Maryland version of the software, called Madison, that it hopes to have in place when the General Assembly returns in the fall....
We here at Maryland Juice are curious to hear from all of you as to which Maryland politicians you feel make the best use of social media as envisioned by OpenGov. In other words, which elected official manages to bring citizens further into the legislative process and demystify politics? Email your thoughts: dan@marylandjuice.com. To learn more about OpenGov, check out this report from WJZ-TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aewhvgI36no


JUICE #3: HELP ME HONOR THE LATE SENATOR GWENDOLYN BRITT // WE'RE TRYING TO RAISE FUNDS FOR A PORTRAIT  - When I was executive director of Equality Maryland, we were fighting an uphill battle for marriage equality, and vocal support in Annapolis was few and far between. During those years, a remarkable legislator became my ally, supporter, friend, and inspiration. As many of you readers know, State Senator Gwendolyn Britt, who represented District 47 in Prince George's County, was no ordinary individual. She was a bona fide civil rights hero — a freedom rider who played a pivotal role in ending Maryland’s enforcement of segregation, risked her life in the deep south registering fellow African Americans to vote, and even spent 40 days in a maximum security prison for her activism. Sen. Britt stood by the LGBT community’s side time and again. When I asked her to be the lead sponsor of our marriage bill in the Senate, she did not hesitate. It was clear she was proud to be honored with such a request. She took the responsibility seriously, and became a passionate champion for the freedom to marry. That’s simply who Gwendolyn Britt was—a social justice leader who believed strongly in the cause of civil rights for all people.

Senator Britt passed away in 2008 of a heart attack, at the young age of 66. In the years since, I have become close with her husband, Travis. When Travis contacted me about the idea of having a portrait of his wife placed in the legislative halls of Annapolis, and let me know Senate President Mike Miller was committed to finding a place for such a portrait, I was honored to work with Travis to make the idea a reality.

Together, we are launching the Senator Gwendolyn Britt Portrait Project—a tremendous opportunity to honor her contributions to equality for all people. For those of you who respected and admired Senator Britt as much as I did, I am asking you to please join in this effort. Click here to learn more about the project and to make a contribution: www.gwensportrait.org



JUICE #4: DEL. PAT MCDONOUGH PUSHES "STAND YOUR GROUND" LAW IN MARYLAND // BALTIMORE CITY COUNCILMEMBER PROPOSES FLORIDA BOYCOTT OVER SAME LAW - Del. Pat McDonough, who no doubt had heartburn after seeing how many households in Maryland don’t speak English at home, is also upset that Maryland doesn’t have a Stand Your Ground law on the books, so he plans to introduce one. The Baltimore Sun recently reported on the development (excerpt below):
BALTIMORE SUN: McDonough said Maryland is one of a minority of states with a duty to retreat.
“The duty to retreat is the weakest form of protection for crime victims and their families,” he said. “Maryland citizens are being placed in harm’s way in a state where assault and violent crime are numerous.”
The “stand your ground” concept is widely supported by gun rights advocates but its chance of winning the support of the Democratic-dominated Maryland legislature are all but nonexistent. 
McDonough’s sponsorship is not a good sign for its prospects. The conservative delegate has seen few of his legislative proposals become law since he was elected in 2002....
Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby introduced a resolution that, if passed, would mark the first attempt at economic sanctions between U.S. cities. Here’s a piece of news that slipped by me but was pointed out by a reader: Afro.com reports that the proposal is a response to the Florida "stand your ground law" that was the subject of debate during the Trayvon Martin case (excerpt below):
AFRO: During an Aug. 13 city council meeting, 7th District Councilman Nick Mosby proposed a measure that would limit the city’s commercial and financial ties to Florida and encourage all city agencies refrain from doing business with companies in Florida.

"The idea is to ask city agencies to look at any opportunities of diverting business from corporations from the state of Florida," Mosby told the AFRO.

Mosby said he hopes that the Florida stand-your-ground law is amended. He said while the Zimmerman defense did not employ the stand-your-ground law in its self defense strategy, the judge in the case spelled out the law in her instruction to the six-member panel before they deliberated on the second-degree murder case.

"I think the application of the law should be looked at and changed,” he said. “I want to insure that it stays on the forefront of their legislatives minds and hopes that we can maybe get a more perfect policy down there. I never want to see another Trayvon Martin incident again in my lifetime."
The resolution calls for: "Divestment from the State of Florida FOR the purpose of requesting that the City of Baltimore review and minimize it's business dealings connected with the State of Florida, and municipalities in Florida, in protest of that state's 'Stand Your Ground' law."

The resolution made news across the country, but it doesn’t appear likely it will move. Some people have publicly condemned Mosby for “wasting time.” Call me an idealist, but I can’t help it—I appreciate a legislator who is willing to use his soapbox to promote dialogue on key issues. As long as a legislator is effective at promoting and passing innovative public policy and supporting their district and constituents’ needs, then I say more power to him or her for creatively weighing in in such a fashion on an issue that should concern us all.


JUICE #5: MARYLAND WON'T LEVERAGE RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ANTI-GAY OPPRESSION - Across the world, people are protesting at Russian embassies, urging a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and dumping Russian vodka out in the streets. Why? The Duma’s recent passage of frightening, anti-gay legislation that bans “propaganda” of “non-traditional relationships.” In other words, speaking out for gay rights, assembling for a rally, or even coming out of the closet too publicly, could now be construed as grounds for incarceration. People have already been arrested under the law, including tourists. This follows years of escalating attacks on LGBT people and their public assembly — attacks that have been violent, and fomented by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In addition to the traditional boycott tactics, LGBT activists across the country are urging U.S. cities to sever “sister city” relationships with Russian counterparts. Lansing, Michigan voted unanimously last week to adopt a resolution urging the city to sever its symbolic relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia.
Bernard Cherkasov, Equality Illinois CEO, said in the press such a move by Chicago would be one of "many small but meaningful steps" that could lead to "a national and then an international consensus will grow and ultimately, we believe, force Russia to change its behavior toward its gay citizens and visitors," the Chicago Phoenix reports.

Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith wrote to St. Pete, FL lawmakers, saying “These laws send dangerous messages that LGBT people are not fit to be full members of society with all of the freedoms afforded to everyone else; that their mere existence is a danger to children.  While Saint Petersburg, Florida joins so many other communities in guaranteeing workplace and family equality, ending hate violence, and celebrating our diverse community, we cannot stand silently by while close partners of our pursue policies of hate and violence.”

According to Metro Weekly, Maryland has a partnership with the Leningrad Oblast region of Russia, the capital of which is St. Petersburg, through Sister Cities International, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to foster relationships and understanding between different communities across the globe. The partnership has been in place since former Maryland Gov. Donald Schaefer (D) and Alexander Belyakov, the governor of the Leningrad Oblast region, signed an agreement in June of 1993. As part of the program, both "sister cities" are expected to maintain diplomatic relations; foster the exchange of business, cultural or educational ideas and values; and co-sponsor events aimed at creating and maintaining strong relationships.

In addition, Maryland has far more leverage than just a ceremonial sister-city relationship. The Gazette reported just last week that Russia is the #2 recipient of Maryland exports, and the fastest-growing market, “with exports from Maryland rising in the first half to $248 million, or about five times as high as they had been in the first half of 2012.” But the Metro Weekly reports that  it doesn’t look like the Governor wants to jump into the fray or, perhaps, harm Maryland’s economic interests (excerpt below):
METRO WEEKLY: In a statement to Metro Weekly, Peter Fosselman, the deputy secretary of state for Maryland, indicated that the state has no plans to sever ties with its sister city in Russia.

"This program, run through the Secretary of State’s Office, is really more about establishing connections from people to people, not from government to government," Fosselman said. "By strengthening relationships with others, we can educate people and share with them our values as they pertain to human rights."

Russia isn’t the only country with a frighteningly repressive atmosphere for LGBT people, but having the world’s negative attention turned on Russia of late is having a positive impact elsewhere. Late last week, the national police in Armenia withdrew a bill it had previously submitted to the Armenian government, banning any public promotion of “non-traditional sexual relationships,” reports the LGBT-themed blog Towleroad.

No doubt these resolutions to sever sister-city ties are little more than symbolic, but together, all actions calling attention to repression add up. And it certainly doesn’t take more than a few minutes of time for someone in the Governor’s press office to issue a letter of concern to St. Petersburg and promote it in the press.


#MyTwoGayCents

- Dan Furmansky

Monday, August 13, 2012

RUH ROH: Rushern Baker's Financial Disclosures Under Fire // Rightwing Alleges Prince George's Executive Omitted Employers

OH BOY: The conservative bloggers over at Red Maryland have a scorching blog post regarding Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker. They published an investigative piece about the politician's financial disclosures from Marta Mossburg, a fellow at the rightwing/libertarian oriented Maryland Public Policy Institute, an anti-regulatory/"free market" think tank in Rockville, MD. The piece is beginning to spread among Maryland politicos.

The article is basically a compilation of a series of purported inconsistencies in Rushern Baker's public financial disclosure documents. Every story has two sides, but taken at face value, the allegations could prove embarrassing for Mr. Baker. He is, after all, in the midst of pushing for a controversial new casino in his County, and he has also been working to try and turn around public impression of Prince George's politicians, after a series of high-profile scandals involving public officials.

Take note, this is not an instance of theft or misuse of office, or anything like that. The Republican activists are making hay about Mr. Baker's reporting of his sources of income and discrepancies or oddities on his financial disclosures. These are similar allegations to those that dogged State Senator Rob Garagiola in the District 6 Democratic Congressional Primary last Spring.

We'll have to see what his response is, and whether the accusations prove to hold water, but take a look for yourself at Red Maryland. We provide a couple excerpts below:
RED MARYLAND: Public documents show Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker did not answer county financial disclosure forms accurately....

On the 2010 financial disclosure form, Mr. Baker checked “No” to a question asking if he had outside income during the calendar year. The first line under the title on the form, which Mr. Baker signed under penalty of perjury, is the date of the reporting period....

For part of that year Mr. Baker worked for a then Lanham-based nonprofit, Community Teachers Institute (CTI), according to an IRS Form 990 filed by the group, which is now based in New York. It lists him as executive director, working 40 plus hours per week and earning $60,000....

CTI is not the only potential source of income for Mr. Baker. His campaign biography says, “He became a Senior Partner at Baker & Perry LLP in 1998, where he worked until his swearing-in as County Executive in 2010.” The website also cited his work at CTI....

Also odd is the fact that Mr. Baker notes on both his 2010 and 2011 financial disclosure forms that his mortgage is exactly $350,000 each year. How is that possible?....

What do you think? Big deal or no?

Monday, March 26, 2012

BREAKING: Potomac Resident Files Ethics Complaint Against State Senator Rob Garagiola // VIEW DOCS ONLINE

UPDATE: In comments reported in The Baltimore Sun, the Garagiola campaign responds to the ethics complaint:
BALTIMORE SUN: Sean Rankin, campaign manager for Garagiola, said the filing is an indication that Republicans are looking at Garagiola as the likley Democratic nominee. The district is currently held by Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a 10-term Republican who is seeking another term.

"Randa Hudome and her husband, Mike, who are certainly part of the Who's Who in Washington...Republican circles, just fired the first shot of the general election campaign, which I think confirms that Republicans and Roscoe Bartlett know that they are running against Rob Garagiola in the fall," Rankin said in a statement. The move, Rankin said, "would seem to tip the hand of Roscoe Bartlett and his polling as to our Democratic primary, but as polling and turnout are two different things, we are going to continue focusing exclusively on our field operation and turning out our ID'ed voters for early voting and Election Day next week."       

A Maryland Juice reader has forwarded us news that an ethics complaint has been filed against State Senator Rob Garagiola today. The complaint was emailed to members of the Maryland Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics by Randa Hudome, a 48-year-old Republican from Potomac, Maryland. The nature of the allegations relate to Mr. Garagiola's failure to disclose several years of lobbying income on Maryland ethics forms.

The complaint (copied below) came with the following email message:
From: Randa Hudome
To: norman.stone@senate.state.md.us, brian.mchale@senate.state.md.us, roy.dyson@senate.state.md.us, joseph.getty@senate.state.md.us, nancy.jacobs@senate.state.md.us, nathaniel.mcfadden@senate.state.md.us, jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us, susan.aumann@house.state.md.us, rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us, adrienne.jones@house.state.md.us, a.wade.kach@house.state.md.us, maryann.love@house.state.md.us, william.somerville@mlis.state.md.us, stacy.goodman@mlis.state.md.us

Cc: davisa@washpost.com, wagnerj@washpost.com, ben.pershing@wpost.com, john.fritze@baltsun.com
Subject: Compliant to the Maryland Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics
Dear Members of the Maryland Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics:
Pursuant to Maryland State Code Section 15-515, I hereby file this complaint against the Honorable Rob Garagiola, State Senator for Maryland’s 15th District. As detailed in the attached statement and affidavit, Sen. Garagiola has violated provisions of the ethics laws governing the conduct of Members of the Maryland General Assembly. The citizens of Maryland deserve more transparency and accountability from our elected officials and it is your fiduciary responsibility to uphold the trust of those citizens who elected you. This complaint is transmitted by both electronic mail and certified registered mail (USPS).