Time For Spring Cleaning on Housing

Hey y'all. It's spring in Maryland... the grass is turning green, trees are starting to bud, and Mother Nature is throwing out random temperatures like she's picking Powerball numbers. It's also spring in an election year, so local candidates are out and about canvassing, doing interviews, and making social media posts. Which means that the usual myths and bellyaching about housing, adequate public facilities, and school capacity are making the rounds in Howard County's metaverse. So tod...
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Following Up on “Flip Flops”

Whew. A lot has transpired since my last piece on the Citizens’ Election Fund kerfuffle. I won’t be covering all of it in this piece, because it would fill a book at this point, and y’all know how to use Google. But I did want to follow up on some of the details other folks may have missed. This week, the County Council held a public hearing on CB-6, the bill intended to revise the CEF statute and eliminate the verbiage stating that elections will be determined to be contested (or not) on th...
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Flip-Flops and Funding

This week, I've been tracking some consternation in the community regarding the Citizens' Election Fund, Howard County's public campaign financing program. In 2016, Howard County voters voted for a charter amendment via a ballot question to establish the fund, and the County Council introduced legislation instituting the program. Then-County Executive Allan Kittleman consistently and steadfastly opposed the CEF program, saying "our taxes should not go to boost the campaign coffers of any politi...
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Unfair Housing

I live in Howard County District 4, specifically in Harper's Choice Village in Columbia. Like our neighbors in Wilde Lake and Hickory Ridge, our village's socioeconomically diverse population is evident in our housing. Stand at the edge of a cluster of single-family homes, and you can throw a stone across Harper's Farm Road and reach a group of mid-priced apartments. Walk toward our village center - where we shop for groceries, grab a cup of coffee, get takeout, and enjoy Italian ice on hot sum...
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