Regardless of party, Candice and Al are people for our community. Did Charles County waste countless dollars when they were in office last time? NO. Candice and Al were both educated on the issues and made decisions for our county. It is unfortunate that if they are elected that they will spend upmost of 2 years fixing everything that the 5 bozo’s have done over the past 5 years. Candice and Al bring to the table honesty, integrity and character. They actually do their homework on the issues. They never made stupid replies to reporters that in hind sight notifying neighbors of a community in which they planned to build affordable housing may have been a good idea…...that is just stupid.
Unfortunately, many who vote cast their ballots based on nothing but party affiliation and they are just as much or more ignorant than the 5 idiots they elected 4 years ago.
Candice and Al have my vote no matter what party they run. Parties do not matter, the people do. The sitting commissioners have done nothing to earn a vote in this county and in my opinion should move out of the county.
I will say that on a personal level, I like Al and Candice. They are both good people but at the same time, it is still hard to agree with some of their choices. They were both part of that 8 million dollar bail out called the Capital Clubhouse that we as a community are still saddled with and dump money into it each year. Who knows, maybe they have learned from their mistakes. It is funny how as time goes by, we tend to forget things that have happened in the past.
Speaking of party, all of us need to get past the politics of political party. The county should not be run nor governed based on the philosophies of a political party but on the basis of what is right and just for the people. That is definitely why term limits would not be such a bad idea. If elected officials only had a small time to act, they might be more concerned about what is best for the county and less about being reelected.
I believe that Al Smith and Candice Q. Kelly will help cleanse the county government of this cancer that has infiltrated from other counties,and totally decimated the work force morale.
Al Smith.. REALLY??? He lost the election and left town. NOW he wants to come back like Mighty Mouse to save the day? If he really cared about the County he would have stayed in the county and stayed involved. I don’t care what party he is in, he isn’t committed to Charles Co. As for how well he and CQK would work together, didn’t he name one of his mules after her?
We are fortunate that there are some pretty good candidates running from both parties…CQK, Ken and Rick Campbell. Lets not saddle them with the ego of Al Smith.
In a December 28, 2006 Washington Post article Mr Smith said that he had found “heaven”, had purchased a ranch and was moving permanently to South Carolina. In the article he thought there might be a good chance of his becoming Mayor of heavenly Hemingway SC.. I don’t know why that didn’t work out for him, but it would appear that Mr Smith is more interested in seeing himself elected to run a community, any community, than he is to the people he hopes will elect him. Charles County deserves better.
Al’s day has come and gone. Charles County needs serious people who can compete for business with Fairfax, Alexandria, Montgomery Co., and even Silicon Valley! Is Al that guy? Hardly. Does he project an image of which Charles County can be proud? I think not. Image is important. If your daughter brings home her new boyfriend for the first time and he has dozens of facial piercings, hair down to his butt, tons of bling around his neck and a bumper sticker on his 1974 Chevy van that says, “Don’t bother knockin’ if this van’s rockin’”, are you going to give him a fair shake? C’mon, be truthful!! He might be a perfectly respectable guy but impressions matter. In a room full of business people and government executives, Al Smith would not be taken seriously. Fair or not, that’s the way it is. Besides, he’s had his shot.
“If your daughter brings home her new boyfriend for the first time and he has dozens of facial piercings, hair down to his butt, tons of bling around his neck and a bumper sticker on his 1974 Chevy van that says, “Don’t bother knockin’ if this van’s rockin’”, are you going to give him a fair shake? C’mon, be truthful!!:
YES I WOULD. It is not appearance that makes a person good or bad. You can ask both of my children and they will tell you I accepted all. Our resent guest for the last 2 years has major tats- earrings, wears all black- has a shaved head and is the kindest most tenderhearted guy I know- he even picks up spiders inside and places them outside. I have found in life that sometimes the ones that are best dressed (best car and best house) are the true skunks (we know people who are billionaires (my husband lived in the same neighborhood and grew up and went to school & socialized with them) as well as the homeless).
Character isn’t found in how you speak or how you dress.
I kind of agree with Francis on this, at least the part where it states “his time has come and gone”. I have a hard time with Smith and CQK as both jumped ship, and now are running as Dems. Both of them were in office when we (Joe Taxpayer) took on that nightmare we call the Capital Clubhouse. That place is a disaster (financially speaking). Are we just supposed to sit back and give them a free pass because we don’t like the current board? I really don’t know. I will vote for CQK in the primary as I feel she is the lesser of 2 evils, but I think I will vote for Mr. Cheseldine in the general election. Just one woman’s opinion.
Maria_ (I am not advocating Al in my statement- it was just the assumption from appearances that I had to speak about) As to CQK and Jack= Have a meeting with both- have a list of questions and ask specifics (you want to do this? how would you finance this? what part of the budget would it come from? can the Commissioners under previous agreements even do what you want to do) Ask both- Doesnt matter if you personally like the person or if they rub you wrong- LISTEN to the expertise and knowledge- then decide.
Barb, I agree. I used to vote strictly party-lines. As I grew older and wiser (watch it Xcitor) I found myself more interested in issues, not parties. My point was it seems Al Smith and CQK are getting a ton of praises on here, and I think some are just because the current board is so unpopular. What if CQK would have won last time? Would we still think the same about her now? Not sure. I have attended some of the candidate forums and will probably decide the day of the election. I personally think it’s time for fiscally conservative candidates. Now is not the time to waste money on projects that are not needed. Would it be nice to say we have this amenity or that amenity? Sure would, but we cannot afford them now. Public Education and Public Safety have to be priorities. Lower taxes for the working stiffs out there is right up on my list as well. Paying property taxes on a $350,000 house and not being able to sell it for $250,000 disturbs me. The list goes on and on…...it’s time for sweeping change. From top to bottom!
that is why I just say be careful- many have improved answers on the Campaign trail- delivery is better- they have developed the 1 minute answer to a question- but do they KNOW? Many can be fooled by how much the campaign coaching has made a candidate appear up to date and knowledgeable; but they really have no clue. Many in the first weeks had no idea why they were running except to say- Ive always been interested in my community. Or becuase Edith is not running , or we need change. Well for this time and place I think we need more than that.
I want someone who knows how it works- the best thing is there are 5- 3 must vote something in- I just would like all 5 to know the intricacy of how Govt works
i find myself in agreement with everything you write. issues, not parties are what it’s all about for me. i believe the two party monopoly needs to go.
Barb: i understand your point about requesting meetings, but i’d be happy with anyone who would agree to put together a budget and release it to the public, online, a minimum of 20 days before voting day. and have it open for public comment. citizens don’t have the final say in that part, obviously, but just as a way to have a feedback loop. maybe a losing candidate can get a better idea as to how to garner more votes next time. as an example, i have visited most all candidates web sites, and i don’t think one of them has taken the county budget freely available online and marked that up. not as source of political capital so they can point out what the other guy is doing wrong, but as an aid to show us the citizens where you intend on taking the county, and with what budget and programs you intend to do it. (if i’ve missed someone doing this, then mea culpa).
this might not be as important for the primary election, but for the general, by mid-October, it would be really awesome to have data like this to review. in my personal opinion, the willingness to do something like this—no matter if they get it right the first time or not—but the mere willingness to open oneself to that level of transparency says a lot more to me about a candidate than their party of choice does.
the party doesn’t matter, we need elected folks at all levels who aren’t bought and paid for.
the ones who have been attending all these hearings and forums have done it- but I think just though scribbled notes- I am helping some Candidates and we have so little time; but it is a good idea; I will check on this.
I found on Rick Campbells web site, under issues (it takes a while to load) short essays on many topics as they came up since he files in August of last year. Many are budget items. See if that helps. I will keep looking for others. http://friendstoelectrickcampbell.com/index.php/campbell/issues/P0/
I think you’re missing my point, Barbara. I was trying to say that first impressions are important in the business world. Right or wrong, people make assumptions based on looks, speech, etc. This is the real world. Unlike you, most people would be skeptical (at first) of anyone trying to conduct serious business on behalf of a government when they show up in a cowboy hat with a nasty sweat ring around the brim. It doesn’t project the image that I think Charles County should be looking to establish.
I don’t care one bit how people dress or look but, if I’m conducting a job interview for a receptionist (for example), and one of the applicants had tons of piercings, unkempt hair, tats of skulls and such, I would choose not to have them represent my company. I would suggest that most people wouldn’t unless it fit the business image. It makes no difference if they are the nicest, most skilled people.
By the way, I thought you said that you weren’t going to debate me anymore because I blog under a pseudonym… ;-)
I found on Rick Campbells web site, under issues (it takes a while to load) short essays on many topics as they came up since he files in August of last year. Many are budget items. See if that helps. I will keep looking for others. http://friendstoelectrickcampbell.com/index.php/campbell/issues/P0/
thanks, Barb. i will take a look.
when i lived in St. Mary’s County, and was a lot more politically active (read: i personally knew a lot more of the candidates, so i could at least bounce ideas off of them easier), i tried to have the candidates do the same thing one year.
basically, no one wanted to unless everyone *had* to. the implication to me was that no one wanted to give away what they had planned for the budget.
