Stop Delegate Pat McDonough and His Anti-Immigrant Agenda!

Sunday, September 30th — 4:00 p.m. — VFW Hall at 8777 Philadelphia Road 

Republican Delegate Pat McDonough will be holding a fundraiser on September 30th to introduce his anti-immigration agenda for the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly.  “Speak English” is his main campaign slogan.  I don’t know about you, but my great-grandparents were immigrants to this country.  And at some point, Pat McDonough’s relatives were immigrants as well, since his name isn’t Kajika or Langundo or Opechancanough or Sitting Bull.   There will be a demonstration outside of his fundraiser beginning at 4:00 p.m.  For more information, check out the Harford County Green Party website (note that there is a place to RSVP).

BBQ Bash experience

I am posting this on behalf of Harford Hon:

This year I attended the Bel Air BBQ Bash.  As I walked past a couple of the Republican venues I was taken aback by the vitriol directed against the Democratic Party and individual Democrats.  Days after the BBQ event is over, I am still trying to sort out some of the misinformation that the Republicans gave to anyone who would stop and listen.  I stopped to listen to a man explain how this current governor has tripled the tax rate for all the people in Maryland.  Funny, I recall the Governor’s budget being balanced without a tax increase in any area.  I was further told that the budget deficit was O’Malley’s fault.  So the questions I asked were: Haven’t we had a structural budget deficit for about six years?  Why didn’t the last governor (a Republican) do something about the deficit if the Republicans are now so concerned with the budget shortfall?  With that question the man shouted that O’Malley promised to fix the problem and it should have been done by now. 

As I walked away from this bitter and angry man I thought of the words of Confucius: “Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause.”

- Harford Hon

Democratic Party Candidate Forums

Come visit the Young Democrats of Harford County this fall for one of our monthly meet-ups!  Our next four meetings will focus on the candidates vying for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.  There will be presentations by representatives of each candidate, and then the floor will be open for debate and discussion of that candidate’s political platform.  All are encouraged to attend and participate.  Is your mind already made up?  Then please come and let us know why!  Frank and open discussion is always welcome (and is preferrable!).   Meet-ups are at 7:00 p.m. at Sean Bolans in Bel Air, and the upcoming dates are:

September 19th: Spotlight on Barack Obama

October 17th: Spotlight on Hillary Clinton

November 14th: Spotlight on John Edwards

January 16th: Mock debate between all candidates…one month before Maryland’s Democratic primary!

We would prefer the opportunity to give ALL of the Democratic candidates an equal chance to make their beliefs and platform known, but due to the relatively short amount of time remaining before the primary, this schedule seems to work best.  We look forward to seeing you at one of the candidate forums!  Please comment here if you have any questions or would like more information.

Harford County Council vs. General Assembly Delegation?

Here’s an interesting article from the Baltimore Sun, June 3rd:

“Lawmakers seek accord” 

Often at odds, County Council and state delegation to meet   

They have sparred in the local press and traded jabs from their respective offices.

Now members of Harford’s County Council and General Assembly delegation are looking to a series of joint work sessions to air their differences and perhaps find a better way to address issues facing the county.

“We are all working for the same county,” said Councilman Dion F. Guthrie, an Edgewood Democrat.

The sessions, which will begin July 24 at the council offices in Bel Air, are a first, said council President Billy Boniface, who arranged the meetings. If officials can discuss legislative priorities and what they would like to accomplish in Annapolis before the 2008 legislative session, maybe they can avoid the acrimony and disappointment that have occurred in the past, he said.

…You can read the rest of the article by clicking on the title, which is a link to the article in its entirety.  It also states that there will be a public hearing on June 12th about the elected school board issue, which is a hot topic right now.  So even though the Generel Assembly isn’t in session right now, keep writing letters to your state delegates and senators; it’s always important to let them know what you think, especially when it comes to county issues.