Rouse's point: Defending county's politicians can be a hopeless task By JOHN ROUSE for The Blade-News
I was sipping a cool drink, munching an exotic canape and admiring the scenery at a recent bash in an out-of-Pee-Gee-County area when someone asked me where I was from.
"Bowie," I replied.
"Isn't that in Prince George's County?" the questioner responded.
"Yep," I said.
"Does anything work there?" the questioner continued, eyebrows raised quizzically.
"Um, er," said I.
My new acquaintance said he had been reading all the news stories of county dysfunction - the recent raids on county officials' and former officials' offices and homes by the FBI over alleged development hanky-panky, the multimillion-dollar shortfall in the county operating budget, the involuntary financial furloughs of county workers, a struggling hospital system, the idiotic drug raid and shooting deaths of two pet dogs at a county mayor's home on the part of the sheriff's department, the bizarre antics and incompetent management at the county jail, a flawed county police department hierarchy, and, last but not least, the sad tests scores and dropout rates in county schools. He was right on target, though he didn't mention the recent questions about the Prince George's County superintendent of schools' doctorate. Missed that one, I guess.
Others joined in, asking in tones of mock horror how I could possibly live in a place with so many big problems and ethically challenged politicians. I told them I was pretty sure that if a new, more competent, county government gets elected in 2010 things might improve.
"Ah," retorted one smirking lady. "You said might. In other words, it's not a certainty." I said that I was relatively sure it would happen, though I had to admit that I wouldn't bet the house on it, not even the door mat. I added, haltingly, that I knew several good people were pondering runs for county executive and County Council and that Prince George's residents are so fed up with the incompetence and shady dealings in Upper Marlboro. Thankfully, the county executive can't run again because of term limits.
But I had to admit, as I am wont to do, that hope springs eternal.
I also told the gathering crowd of the curious that Bowie was a totally different story. It had a decent mayor and council, an efficient city staff led by a very able city manager, and good (mostly) representation at the state level. I asserted that the voters of Bowie would not tolerate any questionable behavior on the part of its elected or appointed city officials and are appalled at the odious antics on display at the county level. And guess what? The city, unlike the county, has a budget surplus, not a serious shortfall. There will be no furloughing of City Hall staff or police.
Bowie, I said, is an oasis of competence in the midst of a virtual desert of ineptitude. "What about your county representation?" asked someone. I excused myself to answer my cell phone without responding to that one and escaped from the curious group. No one could pay me enough to try and defend Prince George's County to the public!
The Olympian hubris of county government was vividly illustrated last week in two vapid mailings that found their way into my mailbox.
The first, an expensively and colorfully printed "newsletter" from County Executive Jack Johnson hilariously titled "Gorgeous Prince George's" was about as far from reality as "The Wizard of Oz." Created and mailed at taxpayer expense by Johnson's department of creative writing, it featured an enormous photo of him on the front page celebrating a new bond rating for the county which, by the way, was quickly followed by a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall and a plan to debit the salaries of county workers, including emergency personnel, for two-week stints. There was no picture of that announcement, of course. The rest of the "newsletter" featured enough verbal pabulum to feed a small country for a month. Oh, yes, and there were several more photos of Johnson feverishly toiling away on behalf of his constituents.
The second newsletter, again in full color and mailed from the County Administration Building, arrived a few days after Johnson's. This one was from County Councilwoman Ingrid Turner, Bowie's purported representative in Upper Marlboro's corridors of power. Turner's mailing was a tad more verbose than Johnson's, but about on the same par in the political enlightenment category. All sunshine, few clouds. No mention, for instance, of the on-again, off-again new high school for Bowie which every other elected official in the city supports.
Turner, ironically in the midst of a county financial challenge, detailed the swift flow of money to assorted projects. And, of course, there were several color photos of her smiling merrily away at a variety of events as well as a picture of her over-the-top five-person staff. What they all do is unclear to many, I'm told. State Sen. Doug Peters, who toils mightily for this city, has a staff of one full-time aide and a part-timer. That's hardly equitable. I assume Turner's troupe of assistants, like the employees of the police and fire departments, and others, will be foregoing two weeks' pay to help ameliorate the county's financial shortfall.
Particularly amusing was a blurb announcing that Turner is now accepting grant applications from local nonprofit organizations. Umm, wait a minute; couldn't this money be better used elsewhere, perhaps to keep a cop or firemen on duty? Is this really the best time to be doling out dollars from the county treasury to local organizations? It seems a bit bizarre to me, and as a very heavily taxed resident of this county, I'm incensed that these elected officials are spending big chunks of tax revenue to mail these self-serving Pollyannaish "newsletters" in an effort to polish up their wilting images among county voters. The charisma-challenged Johnson, by the way, even includes a self-promoting "message" in our property tax bills. More frippery. He never loses an opportunity for that sort of thing. I can almost imagine a press release announcing that Route 301 has caved in but Johnson exclaiming how he had upgraded the parking lot and planted flower beds at the County Administration Building.
By the way, in these hard financial times for the county (and the nation), I trust the county executive is trimming back his "security detail" and putting some of the cops back on county streets where they belong. For the life of me, I still can't fathom why Johnson needs a security detail. Previous county executives managed very well with a single police officer as a driver.
Next time someone asks me if I'm from Prince George's County, I'll just say, "Oops, excuse me. Nature's calling" and make a hasty exit.
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The writer is the retired editor of this newspaper and can be reached by e-mail at jrouse@bladenews.
