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Maryland Asian Caucus Members Call for Changing State Song

By Adam Pagnucco.

Eight Maryland state legislators comprising the General Assembly’s Asian Caucus are applauding the removal of the statehouse’s Roger Taney statue and calling for changing Maryland’s disgraceful state song.  Their statement appears below.

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Maryland Asian Caucus Members Applaud Removal of Taney Statue and Call for Changing State Song

As members of Maryland’s Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus, we applaud the recent decision to remove the statue of Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney from the State House grounds and further call on the General Assembly to revise or replace our state song.

The Taney statue and the state song celebrate aspects of Maryland history in which we take no pride. The Confederate and Nazi themed white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia have reopened wounds from our nation’s history of slavery, segregation, and racial inequality. There are other ways to educate the public about this painful history without glorifying one of the worst rulings in American jurisprudence.

The State House grounds has room for only two large statues. Maryland has but one state song. Let us use these three unique opportunities to highlight a Maryland history that makes our entire population proud. Let us relegate the more sordid aspects of the past to museums, history books, and other formats more appropriate for conveying the divisive evolution Maryland has witnessed over the decades. The threat of backtracking on America’s progress on race relations make this a more timely history lesson now than ever before.

Senator Susan Lee

Delegate Kriselda Valderrama

Delegate Aruna Miller

Delegate Clarence Lam

Delegate Mark S Chang

Delegate David Moon

Delegate Kumar Barve

Delegate Jay Jalisi

### End ###

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Adam Pagnucco, Cheryl Kagan, George Leventhal, Term Limits

Leventhal Blames Term Limits on “Right Wing Populism”

By Adam Pagnucco.

In a post on Senator Cheryl Kagan’s Facebook page, Council Member George Leventhal has blamed the voters’ passage of term limits on “right wing populism.”  Yes folks, you read that correctly!

On Sunday, Senator Kagan posted an innocuous account of the number of reusable bags she has accumulated in the wake of the county’s use of a bag tax.  (Your author and many others can relate!)  Her post had nothing to do with term limits and she even stated her support of the bag tax.  Nevertheless, Leventhal replied within ten minutes.  “Constituents have told me the bag tax was a primary reason term limits passed. I support the bag tax too, but I’m just letting you know that you walk a thin line when you associate with right wing populism by identifying yourself with term limits.”

First, Kagan did nothing to identify herself with term limits or with right wing populism of any kind.  No reasonable person would make those leaps of illogic by reading her post.  Second, while Robin Ficker and Help Save Maryland may have gathered signatures for the term limits charter amendment, 70% of the county’s voters (and a majority of Democrats) voted for term limits.  Third, at the same time that “right wing populism” was apparently sweeping the county, those same voters supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by 75%-19%.  The alleged right wingers also voted for Chris Van Hollen and Jamie Raskin by more than 50 points each.

Large majorities of every part of the county except Takoma Park voted for term limits.  Is right wing populism running wild in MoCo?

Part of what is going on here may be a reaction to Kagan’s consideration of a run for County Executive, an office which Leventhal is seeking.  Potential rivals are right to fear Kagan.  She is an outstanding candidate who is a veteran of two recent hard-fought Senate races and has many fans inside and outside of her district.  She is also plenty tough, having sent out mail against her 2014 opponent showing him “gallivanting around as a Republican elephant masquerading in a Democrat donkey mask.”  She is unlikely to be intimidated by unfriendly statements on Facebook.

There are many reasons for the passage of term limits: the giant tax hike of 2016, declining local media coverage, falling voter turnout, unhappiness with nanny state laws and, in some areas, dissatisfaction with recent master plans.  These factors and more combined to produce the biggest political revolt in MoCo in fifty years.  But there is no evidence that right wing populism played a decisive role here.  Leventhal’s remarks are reminiscent of his equating term limits supporters with Brexit voters and his branding of the entire effort as “dumb and unnecessary.”  His views do not appear to have changed.

Disclosures: Your author is a big fan of Kagan, has done campaign work for Roger Berliner in the past and publicly supports Berliner for Executive.

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Adam Pagnucco, Takoma Park

Certain of Victory, Candidates Move to Takoma Park

By Adam Pagnucco.

Real estate agents in Takoma Park report that home values in the City have doubled in the last month as local candidates swarm in to buy houses.  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said local realtor Walt Simonson.  “They say they want to win their next election and they’re beating out all other bids!”

The candidate frenzy is driven by a surge of media coverage about Takoma Park’s dominance of the County Council.  City residents occupy three of the four at-large seats.  Also, Congressman Jamie Raskin, Comptroller Peter Franchot and DNC Chairman Tom Perez live in Takoma Park.  As a result, a home in the City is seen by many as locking down a victory for elected office.

“If I can just get that house on Poplar Avenue, I know I’m gonna win,” said County Council candidate Evan Glass, who was relocating from Silver Spring.  When shown data illustrating that the city’s dominance of the council was temporary, Glass didn’t believe it.  “Fake news!  I believe in winning.  Don’t you?”

Some incumbents who represent districts in other parts of the county are renting second homes in Takoma Park just to increase their chances of reelection.  Your author witnessed District 17 Delegate Kumar Barve, who is facing a challenger, signing a lease for a Maple Avenue apartment.  On being asked what he was doing, Barve replied to your author, “None of your business!”

Political observers believe that Takoma Park residents will win ten council seats in the upcoming election.  That’s noteworthy since there are only nine council offices at present.  “We are installing a tenth council position reserved for Takoma Park.  It will have veto power over the other council seats,” said Seth Grimes, a former City Council Member running for County Council.  “In the unlikely event you elect non-City residents to the other seats, it won’t matter.  But good luck anyway!”

Takoma Park’s dominance of local government is manifest in the regular shipments of gold bullion it receives, all stamped with the Montgomery County Government seal.  When your author noticed a new shipment being unloaded into the city’s treasury vault, Mayor Kate Stewart said, “You’re not supposed to see that.”  Workers proceeded to drape tarps over the bullion as it was hauled in.

The City is greatly aided in its mission to control world politics by its Takoma Park Political Domination School, established in 1890.  Enrollment in the school is mandatory for all residents.  Students are taught the fine arts of door-knocking, money-raising (except from developers), campaign rhetoric and opposition to conservatives.  Many residents enroll their children in the school shortly after birth.  “We start them young,” said employee Flo Steinberg, who works in the school’s Political Daycare Center.  Two-year-old Marcy was seen receiving language training from Steinberg.  “Liberal,” said Steinberg.  “Lib-wuhl,” replied Marcy.  “No, no.  Lib.  Err.  Al.”  The school’s success is proven by U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that 82% of Takoma Park’s residents are current, former or future elected officials.  The other 18% are recent arrivals.

Xerxes Z-1, commandant of Galactic Fleet 26 from Planet X, agreed that the City dominated Earth politics.  “When we came to this planet, we did not go to the White House.  We are not interested in discount golf club memberships, financial transactions with Russian oligarchs or Cheetos.  We asked to be taken to your leaders and of course that meant coming to Takoma Park.”  The alien commander spoke from the grounds of the Takoma Park Political Domination School, where he had enrolled immediately upon reaching Earth.

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Adam Pagnucco, Larry Hogan, mike miller, Rich Madaleno

Miller Causes a Huge Headache for Maryland Democrats

By Adam Pagnucco.

Democrats all over the country have lately been demanding that Confederate statues and other monuments celebrating slavery be taken down.  That extends to Maryland, where Baltimore Mayor Cathy Pugh had four Confederate monuments removed in the middle of the night.  But when Maryland Democrats demanded that an Annapolis statue of former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney also be removed, they ran into opposition from arguably the state’s most powerful Democratic politician: Senate President Mike Miller.

Democrats’ objections to Taney are rooted in his authoring of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, which held that descendants of Africans imported as slaves into the U.S. could not be American citizens.  In 2015, Governor Larry Hogan defended the Taney statue in Annapolis in the Washington Post.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) says he is opposed to a change in the state song and likened the effort to calls for removing the statue of Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, author of the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision, from the grounds of the State House.

“It’s political correctness run amok,” Hogan said in an interview last week. “Where do we stop? Do we get rid of the George Washington statues out here and take down all the pictures from all the people from the Colonial era that were slave owners? Do we change the name of Washington County, Carroll County and Calvert County?

“You can’t change history, and we’re not going to be able to rewrite history,” Hogan said. “And I don’t think we ought to be changing any of that.”

After Democrats including House Speaker Mike Busch pushed back this week, Hogan changed his mind and agreed to remove the statue.  The Governor was one of three members of the four-member board with jurisdiction over the statue to vote for removal.  But one member of the board objected to the process of deciding the issue by email: Senate President Mike Miller.  In his letter, Miller argued that Taney opposed slavery and “freed his slaves early in his life,” joined an “anti-kidnapping society” to protect free blacks and remained loyal to the Union until his death.  Miller also cited support for the statue from former Baltimore City Delegate Pete Rawlings and a descendant of Dred Scott.  We reprint the letter below.

Whatever one thinks of Miller’s opinion, it’s a big headache for Maryland Democrats.  Much of their strategy to oppose Governor Hogan has been to criticize him for silence in the face of actions by President Donald Trump.  That strategy has affected the behavior of the Governor, who just said that Trump “made a terrible mistake” in his comments on the white supremacist invasion of Charlottesville.  But what of Miller?  If his comments on the Taney statue had come from Hogan, Maryland Democrats would be swarming all over him.  What happens when such sentiments come from one of the most powerful Democrats in the state?

One Democrat who did not blanch from criticizing the Senate President was Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), who is running for Governor.  Madaleno wrote on Facebook that Miller “is wrong.”

The rest of the Democrats now have a choice.  They can be intellectually honest and take on one of the leaders of their party.  Or they can ignore Miller and look like hypocrites.

As with Hogan on Trump, silence is not an option.

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Adam Pagnucco, Frederick County

Delauter Responds to Seventh State

By Adam Pagnucco.

After our post on Frederick County Council Member Kirby Delauter’s views on the Civil War, Delauter reached out to your author on Facebook and requested an interview.  Your author agreed, but when I stipulated that the interview be on the record, Delauter balked.

Below is the exchange with Delauter on the Western Maryland Politics Facebook page.

We have often gone off the record with sources in the past.  But Delauter is different.  He is the only local elected official we know of who has threatened to sue a news publication for “unauthorized” use of his name.  We remind Delauter (and any like-minded politicians) that truth is an absolute defense to libel and defamation lawsuits, and that includes citing public statements made by public figures.  Accordingly, while we are happy to communicate with Delauter, we will only do it on the record because of his history of threatening litigation.

One more thing.  While Delauter may have been mocked by some for his threat against the Frederick News-Post, we take him very seriously.  He has enthusiastic supporters, is an able fundraiser and represents a red district that is a good base for a GOP candidate running county-wide.  Delauter may very well be Frederick County’s next Executive.

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Larry Hogan, Rich Madaleno

Madaleno Releases Video Pointing Out Hogan and Trump Made Same Points on Statues

This morning, Richard Madaleno’s gubernatorial released a video demonstrating how Trump’s words on Tuesday defending white supremacists in Charlottesville parallel closely similar statements made previously by Gov. Larry Hogan. Sen. Madaleno has been Hogan’s strongest critic in the General Assembly, and his campaign now reveals the same willingness to go after the Governor.

On Tuesday, Trump stated:

So this week, it is Robert E. Lee, I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop.

Defending the statue of Justice Taney, author of the infamous Dred Scott decision, on Lawyers Mall in the heart of the State Capitol complex, Hogan said similarly:

What you say let’s take down the Taney statue. We have Thurgood Marshall on this side and Taney on that side. They’re both part of our history. We just opened a couple days ago the Old Senate Chamber. Where George Washington resigned his commission. George Washington was a slave owner. Should we remove him from the State House?

In other words, Hogan showed himself able even earlier than Trump to make facile, benighted comparisons between the father of our country and other more contemptible figures because both are “part of history.” Should we put up statues of traitorous Benedict Arnold? What about corrupt Spiro Agnew? They too are a “part of history.”

As Eugene Robinson explained well, despite their imperfections, founders like Washington and Jefferson  “laid out a set of principles, later codified in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, that transcended their flaws.” In contrast, the centerpiece of Taney’s work was a decision widely considered the worst in American history for its denial of the basic humanity of black Americans and declaring that they remained property even if they escaped bondage and found refuge in free territory.

It’s sad that Hogan could not see the difference until this week.

[Note: I am a supporter of Madaleno’s campaign.]

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Adam Pagnucco, Frederick County, Race

Delauter Says Civil War Was About “True Freedom,” Not Race

By Adam Pagnucco.

Frederick County Council Member Kirby Delauter once threatened to sue the Frederick News-Post for using his name without permission.  That statement wound up spreading all over the country, making Delauter by far the most well-known politician in Frederick.  But now, Delauter has accomplished an almost impossible feat by topping that quote.  On Facebook, he has declared that the Civil War and current social disruptions were not about race, but “about true freedom.”

In a Facebook post yesterday, Delauter wrote, “Growing up I never really understood how Americans could fight each other in a civil war…….. I’m starting to understand how that happened…….and how close we are to repeating history.”  Many people might agree with that statement.  But then he followed up with, “And it wasn’t about race then and it’s not about race now. It’s always been about true freedom.”

Actually, the Civil War was all about race since the primary reason the Southern states seceded was to protect slavery.  This is a proven fact given what the Confederate states themselves said in their declarations of secession.  States’ rights, the argument for the war which was subsequently made up in an attempt to whitewash history decades later, does not appear in the declarations but slavery is mentioned over and over.  Georgia and South Carolina specifically criticized the federal government for not forcing Northern states to send back escaped slaves and punish those who aided them.  This is an argument AGAINST states’ rights and certainly against “true freedom.”  Here’s a sample from the declarations.

Mississippi

In the momentous step which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.

Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery– the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.

Texas

Texas abandoned her separate national existence and consented to become one of the Confederated Union to promote her welfare, insure domestic tranquility and secure more substantially the blessings of peace and liberty to her people. She was received into the confederacy with her own constitution, under the guarantee of the federal constitution and the compact of annexation, that she should enjoy these blessings. She was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the institution known as negro slavery– the servitude of the African to the white race within her limits– a relation that had existed from the first settlement of her wilderness by the white race, and which her people intended should exist in all future time. Her institutions and geographical position established the strongest ties between her and other slave-holding States of the confederacy. Those ties have been strengthened by association. But what has been the course of the government of the United States, and of the people and authorities of the non-slave-holding States, since our connection with them?

The controlling majority of the Federal Government, under various pretences and disguises, has so administered the same as to exclude the citizens of the Southern States, unless under odious and unconstitutional restrictions, from all the immense territory owned in common by all the States on the Pacific Ocean, for the avowed purpose of acquiring sufficient power in the common government to use it as a means of destroying the institutions of Texas and her sister slaveholding States.

Georgia

The faithless conduct of our adversaries is not confined to such acts as might aggrandize themselves or their section of the Union. They are content if they can only injure us. The Constitution declares that persons charged with crimes in one State and fleeing to another shall be delivered up on the demand of the executive authority of the State from which they may flee, to be tried in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed. It would appear difficult to employ language freer from ambiguity, yet for above twenty years the non-slave-holding States generally have wholly refused to deliver up to us persons charged with crimes affecting slave property. Our confederates, with punic faith, shield and give sanctuary to all criminals who seek to deprive us of this property or who use it to destroy us. This clause of the Constitution has no other sanction than their good faith; that is withheld from us; we are remediless in the Union; out of it we are remitted to the laws of nations.

South Carolina

We affirm that these ends for which this Government was instituted have been defeated, and the Government itself has been made destructive of them by the action of the non-slaveholding States. Those States have assume the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions; and have denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by the Constitution; they have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery; they have permitted open establishment among them of societies, whose avowed object is to disturb the peace and to eloign the property of the citizens of other States. They have encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books and pictures to servile insurrection.

As for what is happening now, it’s all about race.  Anyone who doubts that should watch this video made by a reporter who embedded herself with the racists and anti-Semites who marched in Charlottesville.  Listen to what they say and what their intentions are.  They leave little doubt about their agenda.

It’s hard to commit a bigger gaffe than Delauter’s threat to sue a newspaper for “unauthorized” use of his name.  But Delauter has accomplished the impossible by claiming that the Civil War and current social disruptions are about “true freedom” and not race.  Delauter is currently running for County Executive.  Frederick County voters will have several choices for that office in both parties who are vastly superior to Delauter.  Hopefully they will end his political career once and for all.

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health care, unions

Standing Up for Quality Care at Holy Cross Hospital

Today, Seventh State is pleased to present a guest blog by Suzanne Mintz, a registered nurse working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Holy Cross Hospital and a leader of nurses’ effort to organize with National Nurses United.

It was a sweeping victory. A National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge ruled decisively in July that the registered nurses (RNs) at Holy Cross Hospital (HCH) in Silver Spring had been unlawfully harassed, intimidated, surveilled, and retaliated against by the managers of the hospital [ed. note: decision posted at bottom of post].  On countless occasions, management illegally interfered with our important efforts to organize a union to protect our patients and improve working conditions.

I love the work I do as a neonatal intensive care (NICU) nurse. My fellow nurses and I care for the most vulnerable patients – premature and/or critically ill babies. Together we help struggling infants survive, grow, and thrive, and we are dedicated to giving each of them the best start in life we possibly can. Unfortunately, conditions in the hospital can make it unnecessarily difficult to do so.

It wasn’t long after I started working at the hospital almost six years ago that I began to notice problems that put patient care at risk: significant and regular under-staffing of nurses, shortages of supplies, and dirty spaces. Every parent expects the best care, support and setting for their vulnerable babies, often fighting for their lives, and every child deserves a high level of care.

Consider this:  How does an individual RN properly monitor and care for multiple babies when she is also responsible for a baby born at 23 weeks, is the size of your hand, with skin that comes off with the slightest touch, requires six different medications plus daily blood and platelet transfusions? If you are the parent of that 23-weeker, wouldn’t you be upset if you found out that your baby’s nurse is not able to dedicate 100% of her time to your precious child?  And what about this:  As a parent wouldn’t you be shocked to hear that the reason the NICU floors are filthy and the trash is overflowing because the hospital has cut back on their housekeeping staff?  Yes. That’s right.  At a hospital.

That’s why registered nurses decided to organize at Holy Cross Hospital with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.  Starting with the NICU, and then moving throughout the hospital, we galvanized hundreds of nurses to advocate for patient safety and improved working conditions for nurses.  Every step of the way we have been attacked, followed, and intimidated by senior administrators, unit managers, and hospital security. The hospital has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on outside union busters who have targeted pro-union nurses. RNs have left employment at the hospital in big numbers for reasons that include the hospital’s lack of attention to patient safety and unfair working conditions, and others have buckled under the anti-union campaign of management and its huge parent corporation, Trinity Health.

Despite this pressure, many nurses have stood strong for our patients and our rights, and were attacked for it. Just ask Edith, an oncology RN at HCH who has been helping patients fight cancer for 13 years. Edith was a leader in the nurses’ effort to improve patient safety and care, so she was targeted in management’s union busting. Hospital management fired Edith for no defensible reason – a fact which became obvious when we pushed back and the hospital management was forced to re-hire her and provide 14 weeks of back pay and other compensation.  A major life disruption for Edith is only one of many caused by unfair hospital management practices that have at times prevented HCH nurses from advocating for our patients.

Instead of working with us to improve patient care, hospital management did everything it could to stop us from exercising our rights.  The judge agreed with nurses that management was acting unfairly.  “Credible”, “unrefuted”, “undisputed”– these are some of the terms the judge used to describe nurses’ testimony about the unfair labor practices of management at the May hearing.  And the judge told management to stop violating our rights and required the posting of notices around the hospital about labor law and how it had been violated.

Nurses have been vindicated by the decision.  Despite the challenges posed by the administrators and managers, we continue to work to protect our patients and to organize a union to improve care and conditions at the hospital. All because we care deeply about our patients and providing the care they deserve.

HCH RNs have been deeply touched by the outpouring of support from the community for our patients and our effort to organize to protect them. In February, more than 100 people came out in the cold to stand with us for quality care, including community members, religious leaders, elected officials, and patients. Four area members of Congress, six of the nine Montgomery County Council members, and three quarters of Maryland legislators representing Montgomery County have urged Holy Cross Hospital management to listen to nurses concerns, respect our rights as workers, and stop their attacks on us. Nurses are proud to stand with our community, faith, and elected leaders.

We have continued our efforts to organize a union at the hospital so that we can be effective in our patient advocacy, and can protect ourselves and those we care for.  We urge Holy Cross Hospital management to take this opportunity to stop its unlawful behavior, focus on patient care, and recognize and respect our rights.

Learn more about nurses’ unionization and patient advocacy efforts at www.Facebook.com/HCHNurses.

ALJ Decision Holy Cross by David Lublin on Scribd

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Adam Pagnucco, Minimum Wage

Leggett Backs Away from Junk Science Study

By Adam Pagnucco.

County Executive Ike Leggett, who commissioned a county-financed study on the impact of a minimum wage increase blasted by the Economic Policy Institute as “absurd junk science,” is backing away from its results.  Leggett asked in a letter to the study’s authors that they review the methodology and findings in their report.  He also revealed that his administration had “received word from your firm that there might be a problem with the methodology and calculation of fiscal impact and resulting job impacts.  You have indicated that the job losses might be less than what is expressed in the report.”

Let’s recall that this very same firm prepared a study recommending retention of MoCo’s liquor monopoly – a study that did not include review of your author’s proposal to replace its revenue.  If the minimum wage study is so flawed that the Executive is retreating from it, what does that say about this same company’s work on the liquor monopoly?

It’s worth noting that the Executive’s letter to the study’s authors comes at the exact same time that the County Council is sending him an exhaustive list of questions about the study’s methodology.  The council is set to review the study in public next month.  One line of questioning examines the minimum wage bill’s impact on county labor costs, which could range into the tens of millions of dollars.  That issue is sure to become more prominent in time.

We reproduce the Executive’s letter below.

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Adam Pagnucco, Montgomery County Council

MoCo’s Essential Man

By Adam Pagnucco.

Ever wonder why some politicians stay in office waaaaaay too long?  One reason is that some of them believe they are truly essential and that government would collapse without them.  We will give them this: some politicians really do leave a lasting mark, and even sometimes for the better!  But the true operations of government depend on legions of competent, honest and experienced public servants who are almost totally unknown to the public.  These are the essential men and women who keep the trains of government running on time.  And in Montgomery County, the most essential man of all is unquestionably Steve Farber.

Farber has one of the most mundane titles of all time: council administrator.  At first glance, such a title connotes unglamorous tasks like emptying garbage pails, cleaning windows, wiping the dais and changing toilet paper rolls.  But in fact, the position is crucial to the proper functioning of the County Council and Farber excels at it.  Unfortunately for all of us, he is retiring.

Part of Farber’s job is to be the leader of the council’s Fifth Floor staff.  These employees are not part of the personal staff retained by Council Members in their offices but are rather central, merit system analysts who advise the institution as a whole.  They are subject matter experts, each overseeing the operations of a few departments and/or agencies on behalf of the council.  When legislation is introduced, briefings are held or budget items are considered, the Fifth Floor analyst who covers the relevant subject areas gathers pertinent information and writes it up for the council to consider.  Occasionally, the analyst will make recommendations with the understanding that Council Members have the final word.  At its best, the Fifth Floor acts as a check and balance on the views of the departments and agencies overseen by the council.  It is hugely important for Council Members to have their own independent sources of expertise; otherwise, they might tend to see primarily what the Executive Branch and the agencies want them to see.  The Fifth Floor predated Farber’s arrival, but he expanded their ranks, protects their independence and champions their contributions.

But Farber is so much more than the merit staff’s leader.  He is the ultimate consigliere, the quiet adviser in the shadows who knows all and says little – at least in public.  His immense and largely secret power derives from three sources.

Institutional Knowledge

Farber has been at the council since 1991 and has an incredible memory.  No matter what the council deals with in the present, he has seen something like it in the past and recalls it like yesterday.  Names, dates, policies, documents – whatever it is, Farber either knows it or knows how to get it.  Few people in county government compare to him on this measure and no Council Member comes anywhere close.  That gap in knowledge can put Farber in the driver’s seat when no one can really see that he’s driving.

Cautious Use of Political Capital

Another secret of Farber’s success is that he spends his political capital very carefully.  He is concerned with budgetary and fiscal issues, especially ones affecting long-term sustainability and the bond rating, but it is otherwise rare for him to weigh in directly on legislation or policy issues.  By picking his spots carefully and not squandering his power, Farber maximizes his ability to influence the big picture events that he cares about most.

Finding Money for the Reconciliation List

Every year, the council proposes to add millions of dollars to the Executive’s recommended budget.  Their vehicle is the reconciliation list, which is a ledger of spending additions and reductions that must be balanced out at the end.  One of Farber’s tasks is to find a way to pay for this list.  No one else in the building fully understands how he does this.  His unique, encyclopedic knowledge of the county budget enables him to locate money under the couch cushions that few others know about.  Try as they might, it is impossible for the Executive Branch to hide money from Farber.  He never funds the entire reconciliation list – and constantly warns the Council Members (often futilely) not to overstock it – but he finances enough of it that the council is usually satisfied.  It’s an incredible and invisible source of power.

How does he pull all of this off?  It’s a great mystery, but sometimes there are clues.  First, he never gets involved in politics, NEVER.  He never takes sides in spats between Council Members or tries to steer politically sensitive things like who gets selected as Council President.  Second, he never takes credit for anything.  If you listen to Farber, he has never had a good idea.  Instead, it’s Council Members from the past who have done great things – even if they really originated with Farber.  When he talks to current Council Members, he will remind them of these past accomplishments and suggest similar monumental undertakings.  If a Council Member agrees, then the idea becomes his or hers – and not Farber’s.  The consigliere will then praise the enlightened ideas of the boss!  Third, he never makes arguments based on personal or political concerns, only on facts – of which he is the undisputed master.  And fourth, his discretion is second to none.  The CIA could waterboard every person in the council building and Farber is the one who would never talk.  Everyone knows this.  That’s why they talk to him.  And that’s why the consigliere knows more than the rest of them.

For all his greatness, Farber has had ups and downs like everybody.  For many years, he was a lonely voice calling for fiscal restraint, occasionally joined by Council Members Phil Andrews and Marilyn Praisner.  That earned him the resentment of union leaders and agency heads who prefer loose purse strings.  Farber got his way during the Great Recession, when the council had little choice but to cut spending and abrogate labor contracts, and he played a big role in saving the county’s bond rating.  But the subsequent easing of fiscal pressure allowed the council to start spending again, resulting in the Giant Tax Hike and the passage of term limits.  If the council had listened to Farber all along and passed regular modest, restrained budgets, there’s a chance those things may not have happened.

County residents have benefited mightily from Farber’s service even though the huge majority of them have no idea who he is.  His dedication to facts over rhetoric, his devotion to sound fiscal management, his work to have the council act as a real check on the Executive Branch and above all his iron integrity have made county government more honest and efficient than it would otherwise be.

Farewell to MoCo’s Essential Man.

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Maryland Politics Watch