Seeking Sunshine in Pocomoke

Hindsight

2010-05-12T11:28:00.012-04:00

I keep seeing conservative Republicans praise Ronald Reagan's presidency.

For the record:

The Reagan gang were so corrupt, they would sometimes rack up more convictions and forced resignations in a single day than the Clinton Administration managed in its entire eight years.

Clinton had fewer convictions and forced resignations than any two-term adminstration since Teddy Roosevelt, making it the cleanest administration of the 20th century.

Reagan's administration was:

the first administration in American history to have a sitting cabinet member indicted.

the first administration in American history to have an Assistant Secretary of State indicted.

the first administration in American history to have an Assistant Secretary of Defense sent to prison.

the first administration in American history to have over 100 members of an administration charged with crimes.

the first administration in American history to have more members of his administration charged with crimes than the cumulative total of all other presidents in the twentieth century.

There is a growing realization that the starting point for many of the catastrophes confronting the United States today can be traced to Reagan's presidency.

Reagan slashed income taxes for the wealthiest Americans with his "supply side" economics, which held falsely that cutting rates for the rich would increase revenues and eliminate the federal deficit. Reagan's budget director David Stockman once blurted out the truth, that it would lead to red ink "as far as the eye could see."

Bush's Reagan-esque tax cuts for the rich blew another huge hole in the federal budget and the Reagan-esque anti-regulatory fervor led to a massive financial meltdown that threw the nation into economic chaos.

Lets not repeat these mistakes. Cutting taxes without first cutting government operations will result in even more red ink.

For an interesting read, check out Ronald Reagan's Legacy at http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ronald_Reagan/Ronald_Reagan_Legacy.html
Also check out The Myth of Ronald Reagan by William Kleinknecht, summarized at the same site.

Also interesting is this chart showing debt as a percentage of GDP:

National debt by president

U.S. president Party Term Start End Increase ($T)Increase debt/GDP
(in percentage points)
Roosevelt/TrumanD 1945-1949 117.5% 93.1% 0.05 -24.4%
Harry Truman D 1949-1953 93.1% 71.4% 0.01 -21.5%
Dwight EisenhowerR 1953-1957 71.4% 60.4% 0.01 -11.0%
Dwight EisenhowerR 1957-1961 60.4% 55.2% 0.02 -5.2%
Kennedy/Johnson D 1961-1965 55.2% 46.9% 0.03 -8.3%
Lyndon Johnson D 1965-1969 46.9% 38.6% 0.05 -8.3%
Richard Nixon R 1969-1973 38.6% 35.6% 0.07 -3.0%
Nixon/Ford R 1973-1977 35.6% 35.8% 0.19 +0.2%
Jimmy Carter D 1977-1981 35.8% 32.5% 0.28 -3.3%
Ronald Reagan R 1981-1985 32.5% 43.8% 0.66 +10.8%
Ronald Reagan R 1985-1989 43.8% 53.1% 1.04 +9.3%
George W. Bush R 1989-1993 51.1% 66.1% 1.40 +13.0%
Bill Clinton D 1993-1997 66.1% 65.4% 1.18 -0.7%
Bill Clinton D 1997-2001 65.4% 56.4% 0.45 -9.0%
George W. Bush R 2001-2005 56.4% 63.5% 1.73 +7.1%
George W. Bush R 2005-2009 63.4% 83.4% 2.63 +20.0%
Barack Obama D 2009-2013 83.4%

(Source: Whitehouse FY 2011 Budget - Table 7.1 Federal Debt at the End of Year PDF, Excel)

Please note the large increases when Republican presidents were in office. Check out the website www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/ The blogger word processor doesn't like charts.

Transparency in government

2010-05-11T08:02:00.010-04:00

One of the sets of promises made to us by McDermott was improved transparency and accountability in Pocomoke government, specifically televised council meetings and a website. I am grateful that Pocomoke government now has a website, but it is not kept current and is way under-utilized. Council meetings are still not televised on public access television.

I have been researching transparency in government and found a wonderful slide presentation developed by UNPAN, the United Nations Public Administration Network:

http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan012062.pdf

This presentation provides clear, concise information about governmental transparency.

What is transparency:

Transparency is citizen access to a government's information to facilitate understanding of its decision making processes.

Some examples of ways to promote transparency:

Freedom of information acts,
Televised governmental meetings,
Published audit reports,
Free, fair elections.

Impediments to transparency:

Excessive rules,
Discretion without accountability,
Lack of timely, publicized information,
Information not available,
Lack of service culture.

Why is transparency important?

Provides accountability,
Serves as check against mismanagement and corruption,
Promotes public confidence,
Allows informed participation of citizens.

Transparency implies a PROACTIVE effort to make information accessible to citizens.
Transparency is a indicator of a government that is citizen-focused and service-oriented.

I will look at Pocomoke's government in the next several posts with these key points in mind. I welcome your comments as well.

It has been very disappointing

2010-05-03T08:27:00.004-04:00

I will not be voting for Mike McDermott in his run for state delegate. Not even if he is the only candidate in that race.

I can remember being so excited when McDermott won the position of mayor in Pocomoke. I was sitting in my hotel room in OC where I was attending a training. I saw the news about his win and had to call Lynn Boyd, my very dear friend. We celebrated. She is now deceased and I know she is very disappointed too.

I was excited because I believed his promises. That is what is so disappointing. In my view he has not fulfilled his promises. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice - not happening.

Yes, Pocomoke City now has a website. It is not kept current. Biggest problem is there is no allowance for citizen feedback. None. Rather than deal with negative feedback they choose to deal with none. If you really value good communication, you have to allow for feedback. Yes, set ground rules for civility but don't prevent feedback from happening.

As Mayor, Mcdermott developed a blog to keep us informed. This was a good initial effort, but he has not kept it up. More telling is that it is not linked to the Pocomoke website or vice versa.

McDermott now has a blog for his candidacy, ElectMikeMcDermott, and a facebook page of the same name. Negative comments have been deleted and now it appears that comments are not allowed. McDermott says he values communication. He has many times said he wants "intellectual honesty."

There are two intellectually-honest debate tactics:
1. Revealing errors or omissions in your opponent’s facts
2. Revealing errors or omissions in your opponent’s logic

You cannot do either if negative statements are not addressed appropriatedly. Deleting them is not addressing them. McDermotts actions speak louder than his words.

Remember when?

2010-04-12T15:16:00.000-04:00

Newcomers sweep polls in Pocomoke - Worcester County... - [Cached Version]
Published on: 4/7/2005 Last Visited: 4/8/2005
POCOMOKE CITY -- Calling the results "a new day in Pocomoke," Michael A. McDermott and Bruce Morrison were swept in by a near record turnout in the Pocomoke City municipal election Tuesday.
...
McDermott, 43, a newcomer to city politics and a supervising detective in the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, received 632 votes while incumbent mayor Marion L. Butler, 79, got 343 votes.
...
Following the announcement of the results, McDermott said, "I think the voters have spoken, loud and clear.I look forward to working with the council to see things through."

He added, "I will be the mayor of all the people."
...
During the days leading up to the election, McDermott had said that one of the key issues would be the manner, style and character of leadership that will govern Pocomoke City.

"It is leadership which will allow access in the decision making process ... " he said."The size and nature of our growth will either be determined by a few people or by the collective dreams of all the people ... All of the other issues rise or fall on our leadership."

McDermott said in a previous interview: "How much we want to grow will have a great impact on all secondary questions.

Control issues

2010-04-05T08:16:00.001-04:00

Being a police officer does not mean you are not an abuser. Years ago I taught at a business college. One of my students was a beautiful young woman in the process of divorcing her husband, a state police officer. She told me about being beaten by him repeatedly and then raped afterward.
A number of cops are not cops to help people. They are cops for the power trip. They do not view themselves as civil servants. They are there because they can tell you what to do. They like to be in control.
An clear example is the recent beating of the Maryland college student by police officers on horseback and swat members. Thank goodness the video came to light and that his family had the ability to push the matter. And this addiction to power and control is not unique to some cops. It is also can be present in appointed and elected officials, such as mayors and city managers.
Hence the need for transparency and accountability in government. Just as someone had to forethought to tape the assault by police on the student. shouldn’t our officials work hard to have meetings televised or make the meeting audio tapes available through a website. Shouldn’t the website be kept current. They could use YouTube very easily.

District 2

2010-02-27T10:24:00.006-05:00

Current council member Honiss Cane

In a class by himself - a class I hope no future Pocomoke council member would aspire to reach.

It is perhaps best if I relay incidents I have observed and been told over the last 17+ years.

You will recall that the former Pocomoke police chef was found guilty for obstruction of justice in office. A Pocomoke police officer fixed tickets for Mr. Cane's son. Mr. Cane said he did not ask for the tickets to be fixed. I worked in Pocomoke city hall during the time of this trial and I know differently. In essence the former police chief "took the fall." I heard much discussion of this during that time in the city manager's office. Mr. Cane should have insisted that the tickets be paid. As a council member he should have known better than to allow the tickets to be fixed on his son's behalf.

Mr. Cane purchased a home in another district yet maintained that he still lived in District 2. Yet his neighbors say he in fact lives in this new home. Perhaps his not running again is his acknowledgement of this.

Further, when called on this during a council meeting, he verbally attacked the citizen doing so and berated her for having unpaid medical bills. Unbelievable!!
Especially so if you consider that he was always at least 2 years behind in paying the taxes on his Pocomoke properties during the time I was in city hall. He was drawing a city salary! He apparently felt entitled to be delinquent. The same was true for the city manager and another council member. All of them should have known better.

My thoughts on current Pocomoke council members

2010-02-25T19:49:00.012-05:00

For what it is worth (may not be much) I offer my opinions of our current council members, starting with 5th District, my district.

Rob Clarke
The one council member I trust. He is honest, respectful, forthright, intelligent, logical. I trust him far more than his predecessors. He listens to me and considers my opinions. This does not mean he agrees with me. But he listens. I think he would do this for any Pocomoke citizen without bias. He does not play games like his predecessors did and does not let emotion or favoritism get in the way. What you see is what you get. Very decent man. State Forester for Worcester County.

District 1, Robert Hawkins
Basically a good man. But he has been there too long. Goes along to get along. The fence sitter. Needs more backbone. Not as straight forward as I would like. Retired from NASA.

District 3, Bruce Morrison
Another basically good man. I lived next door to his mother for seven years. She was very kind to me and a good mother. Based on that I believe he cares about Pocomoke.

District 4, Tracey Cottman
I have limited knowledge of Tracey, just what I read in the paper and council minutes and what I observed on election day in 2009. She was the director for the Local Management Board in Somerset and is coordinator for Somerset Safe Schools, Healthy Students. She reportedly does very good work there. Rob Clarke tells me she is not in Cane's back pocket. But even the mayor was quoted as saying she was not always responsive to her constituency.

And last, District 2, Honiss Cane . . . .

More later.

Hoping to see real change

2010-02-19T11:13:00.003-05:00

Getting to be time for another Pocomoke City election. Thank the Lord we have new faces in both districts up for election this year. I am especially thankful that Honis Cane is no longer in the picture. Now maybe there will be some semblance of proper elections.

I wish the new candidates well in their efforts. I hope those that are elected will truly remember they serve the people and their focus to that end is maintained while in office. Hopefully they will not buy into the old status quo as our current mayor has. Hopefully they will remember their promises to citizens throughout their term(s) in office.

I pray it is so.

Practice what you preach

2009-07-05T14:15:00.003-04:00

The following is from the Sunday Salisbury Daily Times, July 5, 2009

Is it important to celebrate the Fourth of July as the birthday of our nation?

Independence Day serves to remind us who we are as a people. Our Declaration of Independence, delivered to King George, provided insight into our collective soul. No longer would we beg for crumbs from the king's table. What we "declared" to the king we must continue to declare to each other -- chiefly, that government exists to serve the people, not for people serve the government. We declare our rights are inalienable and given by God, not the product of government. Yet we did not stop there; we put all future government on notice that we would not suffer the yoke of bondage as a free people. From the day we declared it until now, we have been a vigilant guard of liberty's torch. Let us remind our children that we celebrate with fireworks that which is secured by the blood of patriots past, present and future.

This is the response to the posed question by Michael A. McDermott, Mayor of Pocomoke.

I cannot help but find Mayor Michael A. McDermott comments both insincere and not credible. One of the freedoms we celebrate on July 4th is the right to express our opinions, whatever they might be. Yet he stood on the steps of Pocomoke's city hall and told a candidate up for election and her husband they should stop their blog, the Pocomoke Tattler, and should move away because he does not like their opinions. He says the "right things". His actions, however, just do not back up what he says. How are we to believe him!

Maybe he should realize this incongruence between his words and his actions does not support his seeking of “intellectual” discussions. Pocomoke certainly could use an elected Mayor that understands “that government exists to serve the people, not for people serve the government,” to use McDermott’s words. The understanding of this concept is a rare occurrence in Pocomoke’s City Hall, at least when you disagree with City Hall.

Independence Day 2009

2009-07-04T08:49:00.004-04:00

Here it is already, July 4, 2009. How time flies! Time to pause and reflect on the value of our freedoms and the hard fought efforts, which continue even today, to preserve them.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel (http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_12752907) has an excellent piece on the Declaration of Independence. The article is a modern day version of pertinent sections of the Declaration.

As Pocomokians we would do well to read the Declaration of Independence more often. Especially the powers that be in our City Hall.

Sections especially pertinent to us in Pocomoke:

"... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ..."

...that God created every person equal, and He gave each person specific unchanging rights that should never be trampled upon...

"... that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness ..."

these include the right of the people to live life in freedom without undue harm, and pursue their dreams and goals.

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..."

The very reason we have man-made governments is to protect these rights, not to interfere with them. Furthermore, whatever power and authority governments have are given by the people's permission and limited to their protection.

"...that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it ..."

When any government starts to undermine the very purpose of protecting the life, freedoms, and happiness of the people, then they have the right to change the government or even to pull the plug on the government if things get too bad.

"...and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

The people have the right to set up a new and better government based and organized upon tried and true principles that protect, rather than threaten, their safety and happiness.

"and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

And, in fact, history shows that people are more likely to put up with unbearable evil they even get used to it!, than they are to correct the problem. In other words: Put a frog in hot water and he'll jump out. But put him in cool water and gradually turn up the heat, and he'll fry to death.

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

But when a government becomes tyrannical and abusive with consistent, repeated violations of the people's rights, with the intent to make them slaves of the state, then the people have the right -- in fact, the duty -- to revolt and put new safeguards in place to protect their future rights.

Yes, there is still some work to be done in Pocomoke.

Value of the Internet

2009-06-18T10:05:00.002-04:00

The CBS Early Show news had a story about cyber censorship in Iran this morning. The Iranian government is attempting to block opposition websites and the use of social networking sites such as Twitter to control the flow of information about what is happening in Iran.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante went on to say the impact of Twitter hasn't been lost on the U.S. State Department, which called on the company to put off planned maintenance to enable that Web site to stay up.

WOW! A government entity that recognizes the value of the internet and the free flow of information on a global, macro level!

Lets go micro with this concept. In Pocomoke our officials try to control and, in fact, block the free flow of information and opinion when it is negative. We should learn from the U.S. State Department.

Value of All American City designation

2009-06-18T09:32:00.007-04:00

For a good post of the value of All American City designation, go to

http://www.globalerie.com/blog/2009/06/15/does-erie-really-need-all-america-city-honor/

The comments are very insightful, particularily the June 16 one by Jim.

Wouldn't it be a better use of our officials time AND Pocomoke tax revenue if they redirected the efforts and funds being used to seek this award to addressing issues here. They can start with an open discussion and re-write of Pocomoke's election policy and procedures.

The need for changes in Pocomoke

2009-06-01T04:10:00.001-04:00

I have been reading and studying State’s Attorney Joel Todd’s Report on the Pocomoke City Election in April 2009.

Wrong doings, or irregularities, were found. None were deemed to be criminal. The report put us, both the Pocomoke citizens and the Pocomoke public officials, on notice that at least one of these irregularities must to be corrected before the next election. So now is not the time to let this issue go.

No, Stephanie Burke did not win the election. Yes, the report found no criminal activity with respect to her specific complaints. However, Stephanie won on a much more important level. The need for changes in how Pocomoke conducts its elections is clear in the findings of this report. Why is it we equate coming in first with the only way of being successful. By that measure most of us would be failures most of the time.

Thanks to Stephanie pushing forward with her complaints, we now have outside confirmation that change is needed in how elections are conducted in Pocomoke. I do not believe this would have happened had Stephanie not made her complaints. Indeed, she tried to raise these issues by filing a formal letter of complaint with the town. She has yet to receive a response to this letter. The shame of it is that it took an outside party looking at these complaints for Pocomoke’s public officials to see and, hopefully, face the need for changes.

This is not the first time an outside source has had to be brought in to help Pocomoke see its problems. Maybe this time will cause us all, both citizens and public officials, to be more proactive in the future and correct things BEFORE they become bigger problems.

To be proactive, we cannot afford to discredit or disregard those that raise negative issues. Negative complaints are opportunities to make things better. Every citizen has something valuable to offer and the right to offer their opinions and suggestions, even those people we may find annoying or that we do not like. This is another place Pocomoke needs to change.

Getting and being informed

2009-05-26T07:37:00.005-04:00

Recently I got a call from some one asking what he could do to change things in Pocomoke. He is upset because he had written the mayor about how bad the water is in Pocomoke and had not gotten any response. He stated that his water in Pocomoke was undrinkable and could not be used for cooking because it had bacteria in it. He had been told by someone that the only way to correct his problem would be cost prohibitive because the old water lines need to be replaced. He said he had lived many places and this is the first place he has lived where he could not drink the water.

I advised him to visit the city’s website (cityofpocomoke.com) to read the charter and the council minutes and then read the Pocomoke blogs and comment. I also suggested he attend council meetings. Solving problems starts with identifying and discussing them.

Turns out there may be some good news for my caller.

I saw the May 20, 2009 Daily Times article about Stimulus funds skipping Worcester County. The last paragraph of the article is “Grants to Pocomoke City for an enhanced nutrient removal system for the town's wastewater treatment plant and local public safety services and $97,000 slated for Ocean City in justice assistance funding make up the rest.” How much being granted is not stated.

Then I did what I suggested my caller do – I checked the city website and found the following in the April 9, 2009 council minutes.

“Mrs. Debbie Underhill, of 1509 Princess Anne Lane, to discuss water quality problems
Mrs. Underhill and Charlotte Lee (neighbor) stated that the water had an odor and if they washed their white clothes, they become discolored. They asked if more could be done to correct the water problems in their neighborhood.
Mayor McDermott stated that the City is currently planning on pigging the lines and that looping of the lines was just completed. He hoped that would correct some of the problems. He continued to state that at this time the City could not replace all the water lines in the area and he knew that pigging the lines was putting a band-aid on the problem. He thanked the ladies for coming before the Mayor and Council with their concerns. Mayor McDermott stated that they could contact Congressman Katovil and the Senators to let them know that Pocomoke is asking for money though the Stimulus Plan to help with the water infrastructure within the City.”

In a very nice post on May 24, 2009, CL Marshall followed a list of good things about Pocomoke with “But with all this going for us we seem to always shoot ourselves in the foot.”

One way we shoot ourselves in the foot in Pocomoke is by not being better informed. We as citizens have responsibility to be informed. There are things that our city officials could do better to help us be informed. The council meetings could be telecast or recorded and streamed on the internet (using You Tube would be low cost). The city’s website we now have is good but could be much better used to keep us informed. More frequent updates would be helpful. Responsiveness by the mayor to citizens concerns is also helpful.

I would like to hear other ideas on this.

Good questions - got answers?

2009-05-26T06:34:00.003-04:00

CL MARSHALL commented.

What do I see in Pocomoke?? Potential. There are basic elements that can lead to viable economic and societal successes. Look at what we have done lately...New firehouse (top shelf), Discovery Center opening, the Marva showing cool movies, HARDWIRE, Freddy Mitchell back where he belongs, Schers still at it, our own skatepark, and numerous other positive things on tap.

Something/some people here are getting things done.

But with all this going for us we seem to always shoot ourselves in the foot. Wiretapping allegations by the mayor, special investigations on issues ranging from last months election to the Frank White issues of ten or so years ago, and many others. It's always something. Repeated I am asked by folks from the northern part of our county the same question, "What the hell is going on down there?? Is it that bad?" My attempts at deflection and whitewashing are beginning to fall on deaf ears.

As a community we need to find a true identity. "Friendliest town on the Shore"..What the hell is that?? Who gave us that designation?? How did we earn it?? Time for an update??

Just who are we as a community?? What do we as a community stand for?? What will we not tolerate?? What will we represent?? Key questions whose answers will determine our future.

Pocomoke's Threats

2009-05-22T08:08:00.004-04:00

I have been enjoying the comments and the memories you have been offering. So I am reluctant to move on to threats or obstacles to realizing some of the potential of Pocomoke to be a truly welcoming community where the opinions and views of all are valued. But here goes.

The last leg of our assessment of Pocomoke is to look at obstacles or threats to Pocomoke developing as the citizens wish.

What roadblocks or obstacles do you see for Pocomoke?

Some would argue that negative comments are detrimental. I take a different view. How can you address a problem unless you first name it, quantify it.

There is a model of management theory known as forming-storming-norming-performing. These four stages are considered necessary for growth and development. The forming stage is coming together and getting to know each other. We are doing this now.

We have also entered the second stage, storming. The storming stage is necessary for growth. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to those who are averse to conflict. So we need to be tolerance of all comments and our differences. I don't know if we will come up with viable, positive solutions. I hope we will. So all views are welcome at this point.

Pocomoke's Potential

2009-05-14T08:42:00.003-04:00

Third prong of our assessment of Pocomoke - Where do you see opportunity or unrealized potential?

First potential I see:
As you may be aware, fiber is being laid in Worcester thanks to the efforts of the County Commissioners and a group of forward thinking individuals. This fiber goes up route 13 from Wallops and will also go up route 113. There is a connection point (a POP) at the intersection of 13 and 113 and another on 13 at the bridge over the river. Fiber runs from the POP at the 13/113 intersection past the high school and elementary school to Broad Street and up Broad Street to Hard Wire.

If this fiber were extended from Hard Wire to the pop at the bridge, the loop would be complete. There is tremendous potential to attract technology based businesses that would bring highly skilled, high paying jobs.

Second:
The river. Snow Hill has 2 very nice parks on the river that are reasonablely well maintained and used often for a variety of purposes. I have often had lunch in the pavalion near the district court.

Third:
The Pocomoke City website. FINALLY, Pocomoke has an internel presence, but it is way underused to provide information to the public. It is very static and unchanging.

What opportunities do you see?

Traveling

2009-05-10T16:42:00.004-04:00

I am traveling this week so do not be discouraged if you do not see your comments posted right away.

This weekend I am in Charlottesville in the foothills of Virginia. I love to come to Charlottesville, especially in the spring. Its such a beautiful city with lots of diversity and hospitality. And with both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joes not that far away. If you ever get a chance to shop in one of these groceries, do it!

Since I am here I am taking some time to check out the city government and its website. I will report what I find later this week.

Its a beautiful sunny day here and I can see the Blue Ridge!

Enjoy your days. I am.

Pocomoke's Weaknesses

2009-05-07T06:45:00.003-04:00

In a way I was not surprised to not get many strengths.

I am a new blog so people have not found me yet. As a culture we generally find it easier to criticize than to praise.

And a lot of Pocomokians have become resigned or cynical. That's my first weakness - a great deal of citizen apathy.

I am going to limit my list of weaknesses for now or my post will get very long.

Stagnation due to too few people staying too long in public positions in city hall. And yes, I include the city manager in that group. One reason city managers typically do not stay in one position more than what is average is because they grow in their careers. Cities and towns also grow and change. Except Pocomoke.

Totalitarian tendencies in city hall. City officials attempt to suppress and/or discredit critics of city hall and city officials. I have observed this in the town elections over the last 15 years. Any challenger to the status quo and those currently "in power" faces considerable efforts to discredit them.

Because there are these totalitarian tendencies, people in Pocomoke are afraid to speak out. A relative works in city hall, so their job may be in jeopardy if their mom or dad speaks out. Small business owners fear having difficulties.

Pocomoke is not friendly to small business. Prior to moving to Pocomoke I owned a small, successful business in what at one time was a small town that is now part of Hampton, VA. I have lived in Pocomoke 30 years now and there is no way I would have a business in Pocomoke. There is too much interference from city hall, among other issues.

That's enough from me now.

What is wrong about Pocomoke? What needs to stop or be fixed?

Pocomoke's Strengths

2009-05-04T08:27:00.004-04:00

I can think of several:

The water has gotten better over the 30 years I have lived in Pocomoke. When I first lived on Walnut Street the water was often pink and had a strange odor. Later the water would at times smell like rotten eggs. This was due to the use of sulfur to remove the high iron content. This odor persisted even after making the recommended change in our water heater. Now the water has no odor. It is still hard water.

The sanitation/trash truck crew does a good job and is reliable.

Communication of changes in trash schedules, bulk trash days, city hall closures has improved with improved use of the comment area on our water/sewer bills.

Pocomoke has a website so the agendas, minutes, other basic information is available.

I would really like to develop this list of strengths and need your help to do that.

Please comment and answer the question - what is good about Pocomoke?

All American City Finalist - An honor?

2009-05-03T08:22:00.004-04:00

Gubby 2 also wondered if the wiretapping arrest is going to affect the outcome of Pocomoke becoming an "All American City" finalist.

I have mixed feelings about Pocomoke being named an All American City finalist and competing for the destinction of being named one of the top ten All American cities for 2009.

Have you ever seen a neighborhood movie set? There is a beautiful façade of freshly painted homes with beautiful landscaping. Go behind it though and you see the 2x4s, etc, that prop up the beautiful façade. The beautiful landscaping involves a lot of potted plants with lots of mulch. It is all pretense. Go deeper and there is no real, lasting substance.

Maybe if Pocomoke citizens had been more aware and involved in the application process, I would feel differently. One of the current mayor’s goals prior to his first election was to maximize citizen input. This would have been a golden opportunity for involving all Pocomoke citizens and seeking their input.

One of our sister 2009 finalists, Salisbury, did this. When you go to the Salisbury website you can see the evidence. A community committee was established early and the input of all citizens was sought. There are periodic reports of the committee’s progress toward developing the application. I hope Salisbury makes their application process part of their presentation in June. It would put the substance behind the beautiful face. The website of some of the other finalists shows the same. Some even have the submitted application available to read.

I can’t find anything about the application process on the Pocomoke website, not even in the council meeting agendas and minutes. Who submitted the application for Pocomoke? Since it impacts all of Pocomoke, shouldn’t the application been presented at a council meeting prior to submission? I think so. That would have been good city management.

Maybe this is the city managers last hurrah before retiring from his much too long tenure. That would make this honor a good thing for me. We can hope.

SWOT

2009-05-03T06:44:00.002-04:00

Seeking Sunshine in Pocomoke objective:
Exploration of municipal best practices by all persons interested in improving Pocomoke City governance. All views are welcome.

How do we go about doing this? How do we, the Pocomoke citizenry, work toward improving Pocomoke City governance?

Be forewarned, I am about to be a bit of a school marm here.

I have had the privilege of working for a boss that makes very effective use of strategic planning. For more than ten years I was the Director of Administrative Services for the Worcester County Health Department. I was part of the management team at the health department and we routinely used strategic management tools. My boss was the Health Officer.

For any organization to be progressive, effective strategic planning is needed. For this planning to be effective, the current situation, or environment, needs to be analyzed. You cannot just look at the positives. You have to consider the negatives. You cannot fix problems unless you acknowledge them and assess them. With the world changing as fast as it does now if an organization isn’t striving to be progressive, that organization is not maintaining status quo; it is moving backward.

I want to introduce you to the strategic planning tool know as SWOT analysis.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths and Weaknesses are the positive and negative internal factors that need consideration to do strategic planning.

Opportunities and Threats are the positive and negative external factors.

In my next posts I want us to start using SWOT. I need the help of all Pocomoke citizens to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Pocomoke City and its government. We will start with strengths.

Hopefully I have not turned you all off now.

Wiretapping and such

2009-05-02T08:39:00.004-04:00

Gubby 2 commented

In reference to Mr. Burke’s arrest for wiretapping which I think is "BS"; Mr. Burke got his point across and opened the eyes of a lot of people locally. It was and still is being discussed at one of the local establishments.

It is good that eyes got opened and I hope the discussion continues because it means people are thinking about the state of things in Pocomoke. I am stunned that the major even thought to confront and blast away at the Burkes like this. It was such an abuse of his position as mayor. I also don’t think it was very smart, especially with respect to self preservation and his interest in seeking other public office. That is regardless of any recording being done.

Obviously the mayor hates the Pocomoke Tattler and wants the Burkes to go away. But to be so arrogant in confronting them this way is astounding. And to do it when Stephanie Burke is a candidate in a town election tells me he meant to intimidate them as publishers of the Tattler and her as a candidate, thus interfering with the election. This is really stepping over the line. I hope it all comes out. Let the Sunshine in. I hope the judge is wise and finds the mayor should not have any expectation of privacy when berating private citizens and shouting in a conversation on the front steps of city hall with other people passing by.

I cannot fault the State’s Attorney for informing McDermott of the existence of the recording he received from Billy Burke. He was just doing his job. It is interesting that McDermott decided to file a complaint. Oh boy, got ‘em now. Let’s shut down that nasty Tattler.

Things happen for a reason. Now the stage is set. Maybe people will see that the emperor isn’t really wearing any clothes. I agree with the judge in the Salisbury blogger defamation case. If you can't take the heat as a public official, you really do need to get out of the kitchen. It goes with the territory.

It May be Happening Again

2009-05-01T05:08:00.006-04:00

Check out the following May 1st story at www.delmarvanow.com

Sneak peak at voter info is criticized

Snow Hill absentee ballot tactics raise questions

By Jenny Hopkinson
Staff Writer

Excerpts from the article:

"Using absentee ballots, (Eddie) Lee said, is a tactic he has used to win several campaigns in Snow Hill and Pocomoke City, including Councilman Eric Mullins' Eastern District race last year.

"I employ and encourage people to vote absentee who are not going to come to the polls," Lee said. "It's a form of citizen participation in their government. If you have to take the ballot to them, you take it to them -- whatever you have to do to get people to vote, you do it."

With more than 250 absentee ballots applied for in the Snow Hill election, town Mayor Stephen Mathews is worried that widespread absentee voting in Tuesday's election will cast a shadow over the results.

"I've been watching Pocomoke City, and that has been my concern," Mathews said. "I thought about having the council look at it and tighten it up, but when you tighten it up, you create an environment that says if you are around, then you have to come downtown and vote."

At least Mayor Stephen Mathews is concerned and realizes that Snow Hill's elections procedures need to be looked at.

If the trend is increased voting by mail or absentee ballots, government officials have a duty to put in place procedures to assure, to the extent possible, that elections are fairly conducted without voter coercion and intimidation. Having observed Pocomoke elections over the last 14 years, I know it happens. I too have seen voters arrive at the polls and go up to one of the candidates to say "I'm here, now who am I voting for." When I campaigned in 1996 for the District 5 seat in Pocomoke I had numerous citizens tell me about being offered money, drugs, and alcohol for their votes. It wasn't me that made these offers.

While I agree it is good for all citizens to participate and vote in elections, I find the practices discussed in this article and observed by me at Pocomoke elections to be perversion of our rights and duty to vote our conscience. At least one voter in the recent Pocomoke election has said online in a comment that this was the first time they have voted in a Pocomoke election and probably the last time. The voter went on to say they didn't really care about the election. Is this the type of citizen stewardship we want to encourage in getting people to vote? I hope not. What a manipulation of one of our most basic civil rights!

The duty of election officials is to assure fair, honest elections. Unless there are good procedures in place, election officials can't assure this when absentee ballot practice is exploited, as it appears happened in Pocomoke. Hopefully the absentee ballots that will be cast in Snow Hill will receive sufficient scrutiny so the election is fair to all that vote.

Thank You!

2009-04-29T14:22:00.007-04:00

Thank you Stephanie and Billie at the Pocomoke Tattler for the welcome and introduction of Seeking Sunshine! I would not have thought to start an effort to have citizen debate about how our town governance could be improved if there had not been a Pocomoke Tattler.

I also want to encourage comments about the good things about, in and around Pocomoke. What is being done well that we can build on?

I think it will be important to remember that democracy, by its very nature, can be a messy and, at times, a confrontational process. We all have different perspectives so at times we will disagree. And that is okay. This is one of the beauties of democracy.

At this time comments to this blog can be made anonymously without having to register. The comments are being moderated, however. I noticed some comments on other sites are made to attack other posts without any constructive content. The one type of comment that most annoys me is "if you don't like it here, why don't you move." If I am critical of something, that does not equate to I don't like it. Making this comment to a critic of Pocomoke's government is very much like the little boy that owns the ball saying he is going to leave and take the ball if the game isn't played by the rules he wants. Its not fair play and not at all conducive to team work and maximizing citizen input.