The never ending saga

by David Grand
July 10, 2003

Benjamin Disraeli, the British prime minister in the late 19th century once said, that "the word 'finality' is never used in politics." And that is ever so true in Carroll County politics today, where a close-knit group of Commissioner Julia Gouge's detractors continue to pursue her as relentlessly as a fox chasing a turkey, and for about as long as our special forces have been pursuing Osama bin Laden.

The fact that that the State Prosecutor's investigation of the allegations made against her by the county's former ethics commission cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing didn't, however, satisfy her critics, who rejected that conclusion out-of-hand, saying that "it only means she hasn't yet faced appropriate justice."

Now, I'm at a loss to understand just what form of justice they're seeking, nor I doubt if they do. Would they have her resign from office? Give up her position as president of the board? Promise in writing not to run for a fifth term? Give up her parking space? In other words, what punishment or "pound of flesh" would it take to placate them?

One would think the fact that she's openly admitted in the media that she was guilty of faulty judgment, by interjecting herself in the dispute over the costs of installing a sewer extension in front of her daughter's store, would've been sufficient, as it obviously was for the vast majority of Carrollians.

That her popularity never waned among the voters, despite all the verbal garbage her foes threw at her doorstep in both the primary and general elections, was clearly shown by her being the only incumbent to emerge from the primary, and the leading vote- getter in the general election, like she was in the previous one. So much for "the plans of mice and mudslingers."

Undaunted, however, by her sweeping victory and by the state prosecutor exonerating her of any criminal acts, they've hatched a new strategy for keeping the pot boiling. Charles Stambaugh, the contractor who made the initial allegation against Gouge after the tiff he had with her daughter in the spring of 2001, said he intends to file yet another complaint with the new ethics commission, charging her with both a conflict of interest and misconduct. Why he would want to go down that dead-end road once again is beyond me, unless it's for stubborn pride alone.

And I don't doubt for a moment that those who are egging him on is that same cabal made up of large developers, land speculators and land-use lawyers that have never resigned themselves (nor ever will) to the fact that their candidates were beaten handily by moderate Republicans running on a slow- growth platform. To them, that was "the unkindest cut of all."

The only way that they can possibly rebound from suffering such a thorough whipping is by attempting to mount a vigorous, well-funded campaign to beat Gouge (should she decide to run again). As Harvey Tegeler, an outspoken, political activist put it: "Gouge is a person who doesn't deserve the public's trust, and that's something that needs to be on people's minds during the next election."

That's not much cannon fodder with which to build a campaign around. And as far as her not deserving the public's trust is concerned, her 24 years of loyal, public service stands as moot testimony of the voters respect for her and of her trustworthiness.

And as long as the present board keeps steering the county on an even keel, as it has up to now, there's little likelihood the voters would ever choose to return to the ruinous course chartered by the prior administration. Their memory span would have to be shorter than that of a mosquito's to be duped or brainwashed into believing that the old way of dealing with rampant growth was the best way to go.