|
Greetings Friends! Welcome to the Bowie City Activist
website.
ROBINSON GETS A BIG WIN!
Bowie Mayor for life, Mayor G. Frederick Robinson, not only won in last Tuesday's
City election, but he also won big! After 20 years, it was Robinson's first big win in a contested election.
Let's
give Fred Robinson credit where credit is due.
G. Fred Robinson, renamed here at the Bowie City Activist website as
Gee Fred Flintstone, has never had a big win in his political career in a contested election. In the late 1980s and early
1990s, Fred Robinson ran unopposed in his South Bowie ward races. He was a PG County Police officer, and I suspect he intimidated
anyone from running against him. So, those earlier ward races in which he ran unopposed really don't count as big wins.
He
left the City Council in the mid 1990s to run twice unsuccessfully for County Council.
In 1998, he ran for mayor in
an open race which turned out to be the closest in modern Bowie history winning with a slim margin of a few hundred votes.
Michael McArdle challenged Robinson in 2000, and broke a City mayoral election record that I previously held with the most
votes against an incumbent Mayor. Councilman Paul Ellington challenged Robinson in 2002, and came within 600 votes of unseating
Robinson.
In 2005, Robinson ran unopposed because I allowed him to run unopposed when I discovered the collusion between
the City administration, the Blade News and the Chamber of Commerce to provide Fred Robinson with free publicity the week
before the City election with the State of the City Address. Robinson won big in the uncontested Mayoral race, although 1,000
voters did not pull the lever for Mayor.
In 2007, he soundly defeated District 4 Councilman D. Michael Lyles by
over a 4,000 vote margin. I think the popularity of the City Police Force implementation helped Robinson tremendously. The
PR move with city police officers stationed at every polling place was to remind voters that Robinson followed through on
his promise of a City Police force.
More importantly, with the Police Department implementation, Fred Robinson had
his first - and, perhaps only - major accomplishment as Mayor of Bowie. Readers of the Bowie City Activist website know that
I was somewhat indifferent to the police question in 2005, although I made remarks to the effect that intuitively Bowie was
the largest city in America without its own police force. The Bowie City Police force is popular in Bowie, even with this
blog writer, despite the intimidation I have personally experienced.
Additionally, this website mis-predicted Robinson's
long political career to be finally over following Robinson's 48 vote loss to Ingrid Turner in 2006. WRONG! The magnitude
of his 2007 Mayoral re-election was enormous.
The mark of a true winner is someone who bounces back following a setback
or defeat. Fred Robinson fits that description with his 2007 Mayor win following his 2006 County Council defeat.
The
Bowie City Activist website congratulates "Mayor for life" G. Fred Robinson in his very first big win ever in a contested
election!
BOWIE BLADE NEWS CLEANS UP ITS ETHICS ACT IN 2007
Perhaps the best part of the 2007 city election
was the Bowie Blade News. It appears this website has had an impact in influencing the newspaper to clean its ethics act up
during the 2007 city election. The election editorial coverage resembled more of what we were use to reading in the Blade
News back in the 1990s.
During the 2007 election, Blade News writer Gerard Devlin did not accept any campaign payments
from Jim Golato or any other candidate as we saw in 2005. There were no Councilman candidate treasurer/spouses writing columns
for the Blade News. Now, how obvious was that?
And no strange "editorial slates" such as the strange Brady/Jenkins
editorial where Rouse the louse combined two separate races into one special separate editorial. I can tell you he had never
done that before, but it showed all of Bowie the extent Rouse the louse will mis-use the Blade News for his favored candidates.
Lastly, the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce moved the Bowie Blade News sponsored "State of the City" Address to
January, 2008 - after the election.
People in Bowie are spending tremendous amounts of time, effort, money and energy
on city election campaigns. They don't need their efforts thwarted by the editorial whims of an employee of Capital Gazette
newspapers. I can tell you it was enough to discourage me from running for mayor in 2005 with the "State of the City Address".
Why anyone would think that I would run on such an unleveled playing field is beyond me.
The good news is the Blade
News, in general, behaved responsibly in the 2007 city election. Hopefully, the Blade News ethics act clean-up will continue
in future city elections.
BOWIE POLITICAL BRIEFS
- Geraldine Valentino-Smith struck a cord with nearly everyone
in the community. Her well run campaign and her message touched nearly everyone in Bowie, and her vote total reflects it.
Her "I love this City" message rang genuine and true with many voters in this city. I attended the Long Leaf Candidate Forum
and listened to Valentino-Smith, and I found myself nodding my head in agreement with everything she said. She was right to
imply a Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Dimensions Health Care may afford an opportunity to spin off the Bowie Heath Center into
its own separate entity.
- The Bowie City Activist website extends best wishes to At Large Councilman Kevin Conroy.
Kevin is a good man, passionate in his beliefs, and served Bowie well during his one term on the City Council. Conroy will
be missed, but former political ally Diane Polangin is a welcomed addition to the City Council. I suspect District 2 will
finally learn what it is like to have a city council person as outgoing Councilman Jack Jenkins was unknown in my Kenilworth
community.
- I was a little surprised to see Councilman Michael Lyles receive a smaller percentage of the mayoral
vote than I received in my first mayoral run in 1992 when I ran against Mayor Logue - 23% Lyles versus 28% Dahms. In vote
total, Lyles received 1,825 versus my 1,475 in 1992.
This tells me the grip of the local political monopoly has
tightened since 1992.
|
|
|
DID BOWIE'S CODE ENFORCEMENT FAILURE CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAGIC
DEATH OF BRIAN GRAY? (Added 12/17/07)
At the Bowie City Activist website, we ask the really hard questions. You know,
the critical questions editor and City Hall apologist John Rouse "the louse" would never ask down at the Bowie Blade News.
Brian
Gray, 20, died tragically on December 10, 2007 in a fatal 7:15 a.m. auto accident at the intersection of Belair Drive and
Beaverdale Lane. According to the Blade news, the marked PG County Police cruiser, driven by an off-duty officer, was traveling
on Belair Drive. Gray was at the stop sign at the end of Beaverdale Lane, which intersects with Belair in a "T." Gray "failed
to yield the right of way" while making a left turn onto Belair, said Officer Henry Tippett, a county police spokesman.
Gray's
mother, Mary, who was driving in a separate vehicle behind her son and witnessed the crash, contradicted that information.
She said she believed the police car was going too fast to brake in time to avoid hitting Brian with great force. "I saw Brian
pull out. The cop was going very fast. He was flying but he didn't have his lights or siren on," she said.
Why didn't
Brian Gray see the speeding police officer?
I am very familiar with the "T" intersection of Beaverdale Lane and Belair
Drive. If a motorist stops at the stop sign on Beaverdale Lane and is about to make a left hand turn onto Belair Drive, as
Brian Gray was about to do on December 10, the driver's visibility of Belair Drive to the left is severely obstructed by overgrown
bushes - a code violation in the City of Bowie. Add fog and a speeding off duty PG County police officer, and you have the
ingredients for a fatal accident.
Did the overgrown bushes to the left of Beaverdale Lane and Belair Drive obstruct
Brian Gray's line of vision onto Belair Drive so that he did not see the speeding officer until it was too late - after he
had pulled into the intersection? Did the overgrown bushes factor into the accident?
This is not too far fetched. For
you see, last summer I had a near collision with a Bowie City Police officer when I unknowingly pulled out in front of the
officer at another city street intersection. The visibility of the street that the Bowie Police officer was traveling on was
obstructed at the corner of the intersection by overgrown corner bushes. I didn't see the officer as I pulled out into the
intersection. Who cuts off a police officer knowingly?
Back in the old days, Bowie Code Compliance use to rigorously
enforce overgrown bushes particularly at the corners of city streets. City Code Compliance continues to be mis-managed after
many years. Here on Kavanaugh Lane, we had the Kenilworth "Rat House" that had uncorrected code violations for over 15 years.
City Manager Deutsch continues to fail to enforce city codes in Bowie unless, of course, it involves taking down the political
signs of Fred Robinson's opponents while ignoring Robinson's own sign violations at the exact same locations in the County
Primary election in 2006.
Just like litter in our streets, nobody in City Hall seems to care anymore. In a conversation
with Mr. Deutsch last summer, he informed me that litter wasn't a municipal issue. WRONG MR. DEUTSCH.
Perhaps this
is yet another example of why it is time for a new City Manager in Bowie. Not only is a long continuance in the Executive
Branch of government dangerous to our liberty, as stated in Article 34 of our Maryland State Constitution Declaration of Rights,
neglect of duty and failure to enforce city codes can also be a factor in causing death as we saw with young Mr. Brian Gray.
David Deutsch needs to go, and he needs to go soon!
EDITORS NOTE (Added 12/20/2007): I have received several
e-mails. To clarify the overgrown bushes in question, they are the large green overgrown bushes along Belair Drive and not
to be confused with the overgrown bushes along Beaverdale. Before I wrote the blog entry, I personally drove to the intersection
to view it myself and STOPPED at the stop sign.
If you obey the law and stop at the stop sign, you have an obstructed
and limited view onto Belair Drive if you are turning left as Brian Gray was doing. The off duty PG police officer was speeding
west on Belair Drive coming from behind the bushes. They appear to be original Levitt bushes that have overgrown - a code
violation in Bowie. Add a speeding police car and fog, and you have all the ingredients for a fatal accident. I hope Councilman
Marcos reads this message as it is my understanding Mr. Gray worked for him at T.J. Elliotts.
How complacent the
bureaucrats in City Hall have become! Time for a new City Manager!
BOWIE BRIEFS (Added 12/17/2007)
- The
August, 2007 issue of Money magazine featured their top 100 Great American Towns. Congratulations to nearby Crofton, Maryland
for making the list at #72 based on 5 or 6 factors including housing affordability, quality of life, safety and diversity.
Of course, missing on the list is nearby Bowie.
- The Bowie Star recently featured a story, "The storms blow in and
the power goes out" written by Megan King. Frustrated by the outages, some Bowie residents turn to generators. The article
quotes Assistant City Manager John Fitzwater as stating, "..Bowie has averaged about 70 power outages per year in the last
three years". Unbelievable! But, I believe it having experienced many of them myself. Great minds do think alike - the article
states District 2 and District 4 City Councilpersons Diane Polangin and Isaac Trouth have installed generators, along with
former Bowie City Councilman Dick Padgett shown in the photo. I, too, have installed a whole house generator system.
- For many years I wrote letters to the editor of the Bowie Blade News stating how we in Bowie pay more and receive less than
nearby Crofton. Taxes are lower in Crofton compared to Bowie, and this was before Bowie implemented the City police department.
Power outages in Crofton are more rare compared to Bowie. Therefore, $8,500 whole house generators are less needed in Crofton
compared to Bowie. We pay more for duplicative services and receive less in Bowie. Oh, perhaps this is another reason why
Crofton is listed in Money Magazines top 100 Great American Towns, and Bowie is not.
- I have been greatly sadden
and upset by the tragic death of Brian Gray. On Monday morning, December 10, 2007 at approximately 7:20 AM while I was driving
to Crofton, I saw the accident scene moments after it happened as I stopped my vehicle at the stop sign located at the intersection
of Kendale Lane and Belair Drive. I saw a couple of vehicles already stopped to offer assistance. My condolances to Brian
Gray's family.
- Every time I think of Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone's "landslide" election win, I think of Richard
Nixon's 1972 re-election "landslide" win. The majority is not always right, but democracy rules and I am certainly pro-democracy.
When I think about it, Gee Fred Robinson, on a much smaller scale, and Richard Nixon both have similar character traits, i.e.
"the ends justify the means", both thinking that they are above the law, the political dirty tricks they both employed, etc.
President Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace in August, 1974 less than two years following his "landslide" victory.
- Congratulations to District 3 City Councilman Todd Turner for his appointment as Mayor Pro Tem. The Bowie City Activist
website recommended Mr.. Turner's appointment, and I am very happy to see his appointment. For the record, Todd Turner is
the first Bowie African-American Mayor Pro-tem. Although the Mayor Pro Tem title is merely ceremonial, Mr. Turner's selection
is still significant.
- Special note to Nancy F. - I have been in communications with Jane M. and I've made several
recommendations, one of which provided immediate help.
- The Bowie City Activist crossed paths with former City Councilman
Kevin Conroy recently. Old Bowie blood is thicker than water (and, boils faster too). The Conroys and Dahms families have
"Bowie blood" going back to modern Bowie's original Levitt Bowie origins. The Conroys have long served Bowie, and I have several
childhood memories of Kevin's late father and War hero. Kevin Conroy looked in good spirits when I saw him a couple of weeks
ago.
- Approximately where IHOP now sits at Freestate Mall is where I hit my first (and, only) home run with the
Belair Boys Club at Boswell Field in the mid 1960s. My team was sponsored by Tidewater Realty well known in 1960s Bowie. It
was also at Boswell Field where Kevin Conroy's older brother Ed struck me out on three pitches. And, that moron we have for
a mayor, Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone, thinks I hold grudges! Go figure!
- Sharon Harley is due back in Court with the
incompetents at the Housing And Urban Development (HUD) on January 3, 2008. Oh, this time it is District Court in HUD's latest
effort to evict Sharon under a Landlord/Tenant action. How incompetent since there is no real landlord tenant relationship
between HUD and Sharon Harley. And, if HUDs new official position is that Sharon's home is a rental property, then why has
HUD failed to operate lawfully in the City of Bowie by applying for a City of Bowie rental license?
- The Bowie City
Activist website notes the success of Geraldine Valentino-Smith's At-Large election win outpolling longtime pre-NAACP legal
threat incumbents Gee Fred Flintstone and the hapless Dennis (Yawn!) Brady.This could set-up an interesting 2009 Mayoral contest.
Let's not rule out a comeback by Kevin Conroy - the comeback kid. If 2009 is an open Mayoral race (I really can't imagine
another two years of the moron, Gee Fred Flintstone), then Dennis Brady is a shoe in. Right? After all, he boasted in the
Blade News that he thought he could win in a three way 2007 mayoral race with Freddy Flintstone and Michael Lyles. Yeah, right
- and pigs fly.
- The Bowie City Activist noticed District 1 Councilman Jimmy Marcos on Channel 28 Comcast news makers
supporting the Bowie Health Center. Marcos looked good and made a good presentation. And, Marcos didn't sensationalize the
Bowie Health Center matter with election year scare tactics like the moron Robinson did during the 2007 election. Well, sensationalizing
the matter paid off for Robinson, just like lying to Bowie about stopping Bowie Town Center in 1998.
- Reflecting
on Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone's 2007 election landslide win, it appears obvious to me that most people in Bowie have voted
with their feet since 1998. The amount of turnover in people fleeing from Bowie has been enormous since Robinson narrowly
took office in 1998. Even Robinson himself has plans to skip town and retire to his Berlin, Md. retreat after he has milked
Bowie for all he can get, and leave the rest of us to deal with his aftermath. His mentor, Mayor Dick Logue, did the same
thing.
- Someone informed me that the moron Gee Fred Flintstone can't do anything else in life, so he needs the
Bowie Mayor job unlike the multi talented D. Michael Lyles who has many different options in life. Well, OK, if you want to
consider Gee Fred Flintstone as Mayor to be a city welfare basket case, then that is one way to look at Robinson as Mayor.
- Kudos to the Bowie City Police Department which held a Crime Prevention Forum in City Hall. The
sparsely attended forum was good government in action. I suggest doing it early in the season next year for better attendance.
To quote Police Chief Perez, "This is not your mother's Bowie". Unfortunitely, my mother agrees!
The Bowie City Activist
can be reached at richarddahms@comcast.net. The Bowie City Activist is brought to you by The Dahms Group, LLC as a public
service.
Notice: Content on this website may not be copied or reproduced without permission.
© 2007 – The Dahms
Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
