Worth the price of a ticket

by David Grand
March 14, 2007

Wouldn't you know it, of all the meetings I've attended over the years open to the public I missed the one recently held on the proposed bond bill that had an element of excitement to it.

Fortunately, I saw a video of it, which confirmed what I'd heard from several people who were there when it erupted into a heated exchange between the newcomer on the board, Michael Zimmer, and Dean Minnich (who are as far apart in age as they are in their thinking).

I knew it was only a matter of time until that happened, given that Zimmer had built his campaign around questioning the competency of the three incumbents, and with his confederates stooping so low as to attack their personal integrity.

And I also knew, that Minnich, who was still seething over the undeserving low blows struck at Perry Jones, in particular, was just aching for a chance to bring him down a peg or two.

That opportunity came when the proposed bond bill was being discussed, with Minnich dumping on Zimmer for his sneaky maneuver in communicating his opposition to that portion of the $80 million earmarked for the construction of a new building to house Carroll's Public Schools headquarters directly to the county's delegation, without first making his teammates (or the public) aware of his "end run."

That he would show such disdain for keeping the public in the dark about his position on the bill is ironic, considering (1) that he attempted to do the same thing earlier on a task force he sat on, arguing that the public's presence would inhibit free and open discussions among its members; and (2) that he'd said in a letter to the editor of the Carroll County Times last month "how much he had learned during an educational session on the importance of open government at the Maryland Association of Counties conference." But who knows, he might have dozed off during it or lost his notes?

In a perverse sort of way, I think it's good that any pretense of the board members being able to work together harmoniously has now quickly disappeared as if into fairyland, and that the initial fray was only a forerunner of what lies ahead.

My heart, though, goes out to Gouge who sits between 'em and who is faced with the task of acting as referee and keeping the decibel level of the discussions down to a roar. Hopefully, she'll seriously consider using that Indian "taking stick" I gave her sometime ago, which allows only the person holding it to talk at any one time. Made out of solid oak, she could also use it to conk anyone speaking out of turn.

But my fondest hope--for the county's sake--is that Zimmer will soon come to the realization that he is and always will be during his term the odd-person-out, like Gouge was on two previous boards.

That not to say, however, that he should resign himself to being seen but not heard, for he can still speak out in opposition to any issue before the board in the newspapers and at public forums. And certainly nothing would prevent him from continuing to confer with Sen. Larry "the silver fox" Haines, his mentor and ardent supporter on his visits to Annapolis. I wonder if he thought they went unnoticed?

Now, short of my dying or being disabled, there's no way I'll miss another public meeting. Watching those two gamecocks having at it  would be lots of fun, especially if one of 'em were to walk out in a fit of temper.