Confederate Flag

Updated Letter Against Confederate Flag License Plates

June 25, 2015

Secretary Pete Rahn
Maryland Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
7201 Corporate Center Drive
P.O. Box 548
Hanover, MD. 21076

Milton Chaffee
Motor Vehicle Administrator
6601 Ritchie Highway NE
Glen Burnie, MD 21062

Dear Secretary Rahn and Administrator Chaffee:

As you know, the Supreme Court held last week in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans that states can exclude the Confederate flag from government specialty license plate programs. Consequently, we request that you use your authority to reinstate Maryland’s previous policy of not including the Confederate battle flag in specialty license plate designs.

The Supreme Court determined that these programs reflect expressions of government speech and therefore do not constitute an open forum for private speech within the meaning of the First Amendment. Our high court has thus transformed the meaning of messages contained in our specialty license plates into Maryland government speech, and these plates now inevitably carry the imprimatur and symbolic prestige of our state government and our people.

Given this understanding, we should not include the Confederate battle flag—the nation’s leading symbol of secession, armed rebellion against the U.S. government, slavery and racism–in our specialty license plate program. To be sure, every symbol has multiple connotations, and not everyone who displays the flag means the same thing by it. But there is no doubt that for millions of Marylanders, the Confederate battle flag’s meaning is reasonably and uniquely identified with the history of slavery, white supremacy, and racial violence. In the 20th century, after Brown v. Board of Education was decided, the flag was resurrected as a symbol of Jim Crow segregation and violent opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.

The policy question of whether to issue Confederate flag plates arose in Maryland in 1996. Back then the Motor Vehicles Administration decided to recall Maryland license plates that had been issued with Confederate flags on them. This action was struck down by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on free speech grounds in a decision now effectively overruled by the Supreme Court. We therefore urge you to work with the MVA to reinstate its former policy on this issue and exclude the use of the Confederate insignia on state license plates.

We hope that you will undertake a prompt review of the situation and conclude that the state of Maryland has both the legal authority and a clear reason to disassociate ourselves from a symbol that may reasonably be regarded as a “badge and incident” of slavery within the meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment.

Sincerely,

Senator Jamie Raskin
Senator Catherine Pugh
Senator James “Ed” DeGrange
Senator Brian Feldman
Senator Bill Ferguson
Senator Lisa Gladden
Senator Guy Guzzone
Senator Susan Lee
Senator Cheryl Kagan
Senator Nancy King
Senator Jim Mathias
Senator Nathaniel McFadden
Senator Rich Madaleno
Senator Roger Manno
Senator Karen Montgomery
Senator Anthony Muse
Senator Shirley Nathan-Pulliam
Senator Paul Pinsky
Senator Victor Ramirez
Senator Jim Rosapepe
Senator Bobby Zirkin

Delegate Barbara Robinson
Delegate David Moon
Delegate Angela Angel
Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary
Delegate Ben Barnes
Delegate Erek Barron
Delegate Pam Beidle
Delegate Al Carr
Delegate Jill Carter
Delegate Mark Chang
Delegate Luke Clippinger
Delegate Bonnie Cullison
Delegate Kathleen Dumais
Delegate Eric Ebersole
Delegate Diana Fennell
Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo
Delegate Bill Frick
Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez
Delegate Anne Healey
Delegate Shelly Hettleman
Delegate Sheila Hixson
Delegate Anne Kaiser
Delegate Ariana Kelley
Delegate Tony Knotts
Delegate Marc Korman
Delegate Ben Kramer
Delegate Clarence Lam
Delegate Karen Lewis Young
Delegate Brooke Lierman
Delegate Eric Luedtke
Delegate Aruna Miller
Delegate Marice Morales
Delegate Dan Morhaim
Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk
Delegate Shane Pendergrass
Delegate Andrew Platt
Delegate Kirill Reznik
Delegate Shane Robinson
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg
Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes
Delegate Will Smith
Delegate Dana Stein
Delegate Charles Sydnor III
Delegate Jimmy Tarlau
Delegate Frank Turner
Delegate Kris Valderamma
Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith
Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher
Delegate Alonzo Washington
Delegate Mary Washington
Delegate Pat Young
Delegate Craig Zucker

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Anne Arundel

Maryland’s Confederate Connection: Councilman Michael Peroutka

Michael Peroutka will remain an embarrassment to Anne Arundel County and the Republicans as long as he sits on its Council. This is a man who led people in the “national anthem” of Dixie next to the Confederate “Stainless Banner.”

The “Stainless Banner” includes the Confederate battle flag in its canton. The white was meant to express the Confederate fight for the supremacy of the white race. Peroutka did his proud rendition of Dixie at the national conference of the League of the South, a secessionist hate group. In 2012.

Peroutka got money for his campaign from a variety of source. I suspect, however, that not many Marylanders, can claim that Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore gave them $1000, as did Associate Justice Tom Parker.

Moore is the jackass who was removed from the bench unanimously by his colleagues for violating the Constitution and his refusal to comply with a federal court decision. He spoke to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), the group that inspired Dylann Roof, but claimed not to consider them a “white supremacist” group.

(Weirdly, Republican Primary voters rejected Moore in gubernatorial bids in 2006 and 2010 but Alabama returned him to the Alabama Supreme Court as its Chief Justice in 2012 on the Republican ticket. But even Moore is backing away from the CCC.)

During his campaign, Peroutka refused to leave the racist League of the South or give up his on its Board. Yep, and this guy is an elected official in suburban Maryland.

Peroutka also received $1000 from Scott Scharf of Scott’s Gunsmithing in Glen Burnie. Scott’s Gunsmithing specializes in custom firearms and gives explicit instructions on how to get around Maryland’s gun laws to build a gun called “the Urban Broom.” No doubt Dylann Roof would approve.

As the unacceptability of the Confederate flag goes national in the wake of the nine assassinations in Charleston, many in both parties have looked to see how we can make Maryland a more inclusive place. Refusing to condone the acceptability of Peroutka and his politics would aid that effort.

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Confederate Flag

Bipartisan Support for Confederate Flag Removal in Maryland

CFHogan

Letter from Forty-Two State Legislators

June 23, 2015
Secretary Pete Rahn
Maryland Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
7201 Corporate Center Drive
P.O. Box 548
Hanover, MD. 21076

Milton Chaffee
Motor Vehicle Administrator
6601 Ritchie Highway NE
Glen Burnie, MD 21062

Dear Secretary Rahn and Administrator Chaffee:

As you know, the Supreme Court held last week in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans that states can exclude the Confederate flag from government specialty license plate programs.  Consequently, we request that you use your authority to reinstate Maryland’s previous policy of not including the Confederate battle flag in specialty license plate designs.

The Supreme Court determined that these programs reflect expressions of government speech and therefore do not constitute an open forum for private speech within the meaning of the First Amendment. Our high court has thus transformed the meaning of messages contained in our specialty license plates into Maryland government speech, and these plates now inevitably carry the imprimatur and symbolic prestige of our state government and our people.

Given this understanding, we should not include the Confederate battle flag—the nation’s leading symbol of secession, armed rebellion against the U.S. government, slavery and racism–in our specialty license plate program.  To be sure, every symbol has multiple connotations, and not everyone who displays the flag means the same thing by it.  But there is no doubt that for millions of Marylanders, the Confederate battle flag’s meaning is reasonably and uniquely identified with the history of slavery, white supremacy, and racial violence. In the 20th century, after Brown v. Board of Education was decided, the flag was resurrected as a symbol of Jim Crow segregation and violent opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.

The policy question of whether to issue Confederate flag plates arose in Maryland in 1996.  Back then the Motor Vehicles Administration decided to recall Maryland license plates that had been issued with Confederate flags on them. This action was struck down by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on free speech grounds in a decision now effectively overruled by the Supreme Court. We therefore urge you to work with the MVA to reinstate its former policy on this issue and exclude the use of the Confederate insignia on state license plates.

We hope that you will undertake a prompt review of the situation and conclude that the state of Maryland has both the legal authority and a clear reason to disassociate ourselves from a symbol that may reasonably be regarded as a “badge and incident” of slavery within the meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment.

Sincerely,

Senator Jamie Raskin
Senator Catherine Pugh
Senator Susan Lee
Senator Cheryl Kagan
Senator Nathaniel McFadden
Senator Rich Madaleno
Senator Karen Montgomery
Senator Paul Pinsky
Senator Victor Ramirez

Delegate Barbara Robinson
Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary
Delegate Erek Barron
Delegate Pam Beidle
Delegate Al Carr
Delegate Luke Clippinger
Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo
Delegate Bill Frick
Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez
Delegate Shelly Hettleman
Delegate Sheila Hixson
Delegate Anne Kaiser
Delegate Tony Knotts
Delegate Marc Korman
Delegate Ben Kramer
Delegate Karen Lewis Young
Delegate Brooke Lierman
Delegate Eric Luedtke
Delegate David Moon
Delegate Shane Pendergrass
Delegate Andrew Platt
Delegate Kirill Reznik
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg
Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes
Delegate Will Smith
Delegate Dana Stein
Delegate Charles Sydnor III
Delegate Jimmy Tarlau
Delegate Kris Valderamma
Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher
Delegate Alonzo Washington
Delegate Mary Washington
Delegate Craig Zucker

Letter from Sen. Jamie Raskin and Del. David Moon

June 22, 2015

Brian Frosh, Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202

Dear Attorney General Frosh:

We hereby request an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General on whether the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) can, without legislation, exclude the Confederate flag from specialty license plate designs.

This week the United States Supreme Court held in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans that Texas can exclude the Confederate flag from its government license plate programs. In 1996, the Maryland MVA similarly decided to recall Maryland license plates that had been issued with Confederate flags on them, but this action was struck down by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision has now been effectively overruled by the Supreme Court.

We therefore seek your confirmation that the MVA may now take steps to recall previously issued license plates with the Confederate flag and may exclude the Confederate flag from future specialty license plate designs.

Very truly yours,

Jamie Raskin
Senator, District 20

David Moon
Delegate, District 20

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Chevy Chase

Bickerman Denies Fiduciary Responsibility

BickermanJuneVice Mayor John Bickerman

Town of Chevy Chase Mayor Al Lang and Vice Mayor John Bickerman continue to face questions regarding their roles in orchestrating the stealth write-in campaign for Fred Cecere.

Disclaiming Responsibility

The Town’s Election Board and Ethics Commission were charged by the Council to make recommendations about future elections based on this past election. Indeed, Bickerman actually made that motion (see why that is important below).  As part of their research, the Board and Commission asked all councilmembers about when they learned of the stealth campaign and what role they had in it. Three councilmembers immediately responded to the request.

Lang has refused to answer and has been silent on the issue.  Bickerman has refused to answer the question publicly (he says he Cecere Junewill privately) but has been far from silent on the issue. According to Bickerman, it is none of anyone’s business and he denies that he had any duty to let his neighbors know about the orchestrated campaign even though the Town had sent out an official communication about who was running.

When pressed about whether he had a fiduciary responsibility to Town residents, Bickerman in a public statement said that he does not. Period. This would seem to counter the Maryland Constitution’s Declaration of Rights which states:

That all persons invested with the Legislative or Executive powers of Government are the Trustees of the Public, and, as such, accountable for their conduct.

One must wonder why, even if he feels he has no fiduciary responsibility, he won’t just answer the question about his involvement posed to him by the Board and the Commission. If he believes his actions in the campaign were “ethical” and “proper” rather than shameful, why not disclose fully instead of making technical (and plainly incorrect) legal arguments?

It may be that democracy, while not always pretty, involves a choice between public candidates. And, even he cannot make a case that a sub rosa campaign for a stealth candidate in which only the “right” people were let in on the secret in order to tamp down turnout by others is the right way to bring about change.

Attacking the Election Board and Ethics Commission

So instead of answering the question, Bickerman has repeatedly attacked publicly the independent Election Board and Ethics Commission for investigating the campaign. Funny, as they are doing exactly what he charged them with him when his own motion passed. Now that the questions are directed at his own conduct, he says that what they are doing is “unconstitutional.”

He is also trying to subvert the work of the joint commission by bypassing their work and passing his own set of recommendations before their report is finalized. Moreover, his recommendations–hidden from the public so far–focus serendipitously on rendering the actions he took during the campaign legal, belying his claim that were “ethical” and “legal.”

More Bickerman Disingenousness

Perhaps most incredibly, Bickerman is now defending the seemingly overnight replacement of Election Board Member Anthula Gross by Robert Charrow–done without a public call as was the past Council’s practice.  Charrow, by the way, likely gave legal advice to the stealth campaign about the role of the Election Board. Yes, this is messy.

Bickerman neglected to mention in an email to residents defending Charrow’s appointment that Gross resigned only because Lang, an interested party, conveyed that she could well be sued personally for her actions on the Board and that the Town would not defend her acts as a public official. Unfortunately, not the last effort to bully the Election Board, as Bickerman’s repeated jabs at them have shown.

Finally, Bickerman has made another call for a “joint effort to work together.” I assume he means by that that the “wrong” people should just sit back and let the “right” people, and probably the minority of residents, move their agenda forward without making a fuss. If he thinks that is going to happen, he has underestimated the outrage that his and others actions have engendered in the community.  It is going to be a long year.

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Larry Hogan

Gov. Hogan Has Advanced Cancer

The Washington Post reports:

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan disclosed Monday that he has been diagnosed with “a very advanced and very aggressive” form of cancer.

Hogan (R), who was sworn into office in January, said he would soon begin aggressive chemotherapy treatments, and would rely on Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford (R) to fill in for him on state business as needed.

He described the cancer as a lymphoma, and said it had spread through his abdomen and was “pressing up against my spinal column.”

I’m sure everyone joins me in wishing the Governor and his family strength and success as they fight this illness together and a speedy a return to good health.

UPDATE: Gov. Hogan in his own words:

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Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland, turnout, Western Maryland

Analysis: Van Hollen Wins Rural Straw Poll

Chris Van Hollen received 80% support in a straw poll for the U.S. Senate primary held at a summit of rural Democrats. So far, only Van Hollen and his colleague in the U.S. House, Donna Edwards, have jumped in the race for the Democratic nomination.

In heavily suburban Maryland, how important are rural voters in a Democratic primary? The following table shows the share of all Democratic primary voters in Maryland’s three rural regions in the 2008, 2012, and 2014 Democratic primaries:

RuralPDemFor purposes of this table, Western Maryland includes Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll Counties. Southern Maryland is Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties. The Eastern Shore includes the nine counties east of the Bay. (Of course, these counties also include some urban and suburban areas.)

Together, these three regions hold approximately one-sixth of Maryland’s Democratic primary voters. Despite their reputation as mostly Republican turf, no candidate will want to ignore this many voters. Moreover, the media market centered on Salisbury is also far cheaper than the other Maryland markets.

Democratic primary turnout in rural Maryland has differed by 2.1% or less than the State as a whole and has not been consistently higher or lower than the rate for all Democrats:

RuralPDemTOThe difference hasn’t varied that much regardless of the overall level of turnout. However, the 2012 results suggest that, perhaps, rural voters are slightly less likely to stay away in low turnout contests. In that race, rural turnout exceeded the rest of the State by 1.5%. In contrast, rural Democratic primary turnout was lower than the State as a whole in the higher turnout 2008 and 2014 primaries.

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Larry Hogan, purple line

Rahn Weakens Hogan’s Hand on Purple Line

Robert McCartney in the Washington Post broke the story on Wednesday that Secretary of Transportation Pete Rahn has recommend building the Purple Line:

Rahn urged his boss to go ahead with the light-rail project in the Washington suburbs providing that the price tag is trimmed by about $300 million from the estimated $2.45 billion cost and that Montgomery and Prince George’s counties pay a bigger share, one of the officials said. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because while they have been briefed on Rahn’s action, they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

I tend to give credence to the story because of the response from the Governor’s office:

Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said he could not confirm that Rahn had urged the governor to back a less-costly version of the project, rather than postpone it or kill it outright.

“As far as I know, no final recommendations have been made to the governor,” Mayer said. He declined to say whether Rahn had delivered a preliminary judgment.

If Rahn had yet to deliver his judgement or it was negative, wouldn’t Hogan’s spokesman issue a flat denial instead of a “no comment” in response to these questions?

Assuming that’s the case, the story places Hogan in an awkward position. If Hogan moves forward with the project, he looks weak and pushed into it by Rahn, despite the strong opposition of many Republicans. Alternatively, if Hogan nixes it, he looks like he has ignored the advice of the Secretary he charged with it and transit advocates will beat him over the head about it.

Either way, Hogan doesn’t look good. Rahn also cannot be happy that the press got a hold of this story. It portrays him as the indiscreet member of administration that has had strong message discipline. It also doesn’t aid his future job prospects, as people don’t want to hire someone who speaks out of school.

Side Note: Was Montgomery Council President George Leventhal, quoted later in the article as confirming the story, the source of the leak despite his protestations that:

I really like the secretary, and I hope I haven’t said anything that gets him in trouble. He was abundantly clear that he supports the project, he wants to build the project, and he was getting ready to make his recommendation.”

After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that someone was quoted as confirming their own “anonymous” leak.

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Chevy Chase

Mayor Al Lang’s Cronyism and Plans for Secret Meetings

Cronyism and secrecy appear to be hallmarks of Town of Chevy Chase Mayor Al Lang’s administration.

Cronyism

Previously, I reported how Election Board Member Anthula Gross resigned from the Board after the election due to threats of lawsuits under the Ku Klux Klan Act during the Board’s deliberation over certification of the election. Gross has now revealed that Lang is the one who exerted pressure on the Board.

Lang replaced Gross with Robert Charrow without putting out a call to the community for anyone else to apply, as had been the past practice under the prior mayor that Lang had strongly supported. Charrow has refused to answer questions about whether he was the one who gave Lang advice over the KKK Act or other election law matters, telling the public that it is “none of your business.”

According to a report on the Town’s unofficial listserv, Al Lang and Fred Cecere now want to create some sort of finance or budget committee. Again, Lang also would not agree to allowing advertising the committee publicly and considering other Town residents beyond those he and Councilmember Fred Cecere, his ally, have already identified, so more cronyism appears in the works.

Secret Meetings

Lang and Cecere along with their ally, Councilmember John Bickerman, have  trumpeted their commitment to transparency. In a post-election statement to the Town, Fred Cecere expressed strong support for the Open Meetings Act. During the campaign, Bickerman also emphasized his commitment to transparency, and Lang promised a “new openness” in his 2014 election statement.

Yet Cecere said publicly that he did not think open meetings of the new finance committee would be needed and pointed to a technical exception in the Open Meetings Act. Bickerman, an attorney, also did not express any qualms about the closed meetings. Lang stated that he thought that the committee would be a “working group” and did not commit to open meetings, though said he would consult the Town Attorney.

The Open Meetings Act seemingly prohibits efforts to skirt the law by calling municipal committees “working groups.” It certainly appears to violate the spirit of the law. Even if citizens cannot participate, they have a right to observe this sort of meeting and it needs to be advertised in advance. These are not meetings about contract negotiations, personnel, or legal matters which require secrecy and are normal exceptions under the Act.

Indeed, one wonders why Councilmember Kathy Strom, also an attorney, even had to express her strong concerns about openness and adherence to the law with all of this piety regarding transparency by Lang, Cecere, and Bickerman. Why the hunt for technicalities in the law? However, even after Strom raised it, Lang would not commit firmly to an open process and neither Cecere nor Bickerman urged him to open up the meetings.

Lang and Bickerman continue to refuse comment, let alone publicly own, their participation in the unethical stealth campaign to elect Cecere. Now, all three seem to have the instinct to appoint only their friends to meet illegally in secret for Town business. As Anthula Gross recently put it:

[W]e’ve all just had a wonderful civics lesson. Conduct a secret, stealth campaign, assume office and appoint one’s cronies to continue the secrecy in governing.

Let’s hope the Town Attorney sets them straight soon.

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kensington

Kensington Elects Republican Operative to Town Council

The Town of Kensington held an election for two seats on the Town Council on Monday, June 1. Incumbent Paul Sexton did not run for reelection, so there was an open seat. Two candidates filed besides incumbent Darin Bartram.

Tommy Rodriguez, 27, is a Republican pol who worked advance for Romney and on Ron George’s gubernatorial bid. George came in last in the Republican primary with just 12.4%. Rodriguez was endorsed by Sexton, his cousin, who campaigned hard for him.

The other new contender, Attorney Clifford Scharman, is the husband of former Councilmember Barbara Scharman who served from 1999 through 2003. Cliff Scharman submitted a brief on the locally controversial Costco gas stations case.

Here are the results:

Tom H. Rodriguez, 158 (64.8%)
Darin R. Bartram, 157 (64.3%)
Clifford J. Scharman, 117 (48.0%)

I hear that Rodriguez knocked on more doors than Scharman and generally ran a stronger campaign, including a barbeque in the park on the evening before the election.

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Chevy Chase

Martin’s Additions Ousts Incumbent

The Village of Martin’s Additions, an independent municipality in Chevy Chase, held elections on May 14th for three of the five seats on the Town Council. All are elected at-large within the small town. Two incumbents, John Fleming and Bill Lebovich, sought reelection to second terms. They faced four challengers: Richard Krajeck, Katya Hill, Mark Weiner, and Katie Filipczyk Howard.

The major issue appeared to be the management of the Village by longtime Manager Jean Sperling, a resident of the Village. Hill and Krajeck were supported by the group that wanted change. Krajeck served previously for seven years on the Council, including as Chairman. Hill touted her work as a Project Manager at Fannie Mae.

Krajeck and Hill easily won the first two seats. Lebovitch held on by 12 votes despite winning support from just 36% of Martin’s Additions voters. Town Manager Jean Sperling resigned, as the faction seeking new management now controlled four of the five seats on the Council. Here are the results:

Richard Krajeck, 255 (64.9%)
Katya Hill, 246 (62.6%)
Bill Lebovitch, 143 (36.4%)
Mark Weiner, 131 (33.3%)
Jon Fleming, 123 (31.2%)
Katie Filipczyk Howard, 111 (28.2%)
Write-Ins, 3 (0.8%)

The percentages are calculated out of the 393 valid ballots. There were also 11 rejected ballots for a total of 404 voters.

Unlike in the nearby Town of Chevy Chase, people who wanted new blood in the Martin’s Additions had the novel idea of running candidates openly instead of an unethical stealth campaign backed by two sitting members, John Bickerman and Al Lang, of the Council. In the Town of Chevy Chase, the two councilmembers still refuse to answer questions. In contrast, the Martin’s Additions Council doesn’t face such questions, as they won the old-fashioned way.

Glad to see that the spirit of democracy still lives in part of Chevy Chase.

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