Holy Cow(pie)

"every word she writes is a lie, include 'and' and 'the"

--Mary McCarthy on Lillian Hellman

McCarthy's famous zinger on the Stalinist sympathizing Hellman could well apply to Sveinn Storm, who appears to have fired up the steamroller to pave over the tattered remnants of his integrity.

Storm’s too-clever-by-half attack on Diana Waterman over her black angus cow “Oprah” contains two blatant falsehoods.

First, Storm claims Waterman named the cow. She didn’t. Perhaps Storm was too busy working on illegal renovations to the property he owns on Commerce St. to pick up the phone and call Diana to get his facts straight.

Second, Storm claims Waterman abused her position as Vice Chair of the Queen Anne’s County Republican Central Committee by campaigning for Robert Mansfield during the primary. As the Torch has documented this is completely false.

The only problem with Storm’s clever little conceit is that Waterman wasn’t campaigning for Robert Mansfield, and wasn’t acting in her capacity as vice chair of the QAC GOP Central Committee. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there is no provision in the Queen Anne's County Republican Central Committee bylaws, which proscribes a member for campaigning as a private citizen for a certain candidate.

In fact, Waterman organized the door knocking effort on behalf of Queen Anne’s for Ehrlich, and the Andy Harris campaign. Furthermore, she wasn’t “campaigning for Mansfield.” As the email alert she sent out clearly contains the addresses of anti-growth candidates David Dunmeyer—Mansfield’s opponent—and Frank Frohn in the distribution list.

Diana also specifically states “Candidates bring your literature (and your volunteers) and we’ll hand it out too.”

The invitation was open to ALL Republican candidates.

Storm is free whine about promoting a “positive image” of the Republican Party, only he should conduct his spoon banging tantrums in front of mirror. Going by the long search return of his name in the Maryland Judiciary database, Storm is as about a positive image of a Republican, as President Obama is a centrist.

But let's not be too hard on Storm, he did reiterate for us the definition of the word racist... a conservative who is winning an argument.

What Does Racism Really Look Like?

It looks like this.

After allowing Queen Anne's County to enjoy a period of relative peace and quiet, Mr. Storm has painfully reminded us all of his continued existence (perhaps he's spent the last few months dealing with those possible EPA violations of his?).

In a recent post of his he accused Diana Waterman of being a racist for owning a cow named Oprah. Yes, having a pet named after a black celebrity makes you a racist in Storm's book.

Well, here's a message from the Torch to Storm - look to the speck in your own eye first.

As an aggressive opponent of any and all growth in Queen Anne's County and other rural areas, Mr. Storm has promoted policies explicitly designed to drive up property values by artificially restricting the supply of homes and buildable land.

Driving up prices like that has consequences. And considering that whites on average make about $25,000 more per year than blacks, chief among those effects is that it becomes that much harder for people who aren't white to buy homes here in Queen Anne's County.

Queen Anne's County did see its white population shrink from 2000 to 2009. But in that same time the black population dropped at 7 times the rate the white population did! For some reason, I can't help but think that the fact that the commissioners during that same period consistently adopted Storm's policies probably had something to do with the disproportionate shrink in the black population.

So you tell me which sounds more like racism to you, owning a cow with a celebrity's name or aggressively supporting policies that make it significantly harder for a black or a Hispanic family to buy the house next door?

What Kind of Republicans Support Neal Jackson?

Answer: The kind who have been rejected by Republican voters and don't have anything in common with Republican principles or policies.

Everyone remembers Wayne Gilchrest, right? He was our district's congressman who couldn't win as an incumbent in a three-way primary. And then after losing he went on to endorse Democrat Frank Kratovil.

Or perhaps you remember how as our Congressman he pledged to us that he would vote against tax increases and then repeatedly broke that promise? Or maybe you remember how he has come out in full-throated support of Martin O'Malley, our Democrat, tax-hiking governor? Or how he came out in support of Obamacare?

And how about Frank Frohn? Remember him, he's the guy who tried to convince Queen Anne's County he was a real Republican even though he had made multiple large donations to Frank Kratovil, our Democrat congressman who votes with Nancy Pelosi 85% of the time and supported economy killing measures like the Stimulus and Cap & Tax.

In fact, he hasn't just donated to his buddy Kratovil, but not counting his own campaign, he's only donated $330 to Republican candidates and organizations over the last 8 years while he's donated $2445 to Democrats over the same period. Some Republican.

And then finally there's David G. Smith of Church Hill, MD, a guy whom no one has heard of.

The fact that these are the only Republicans Neal Jackson can roll out in support of his campaign should make clear that he and his ethically deficient, kiddie porn defending attitude aren't right for Queen Anne's County.

Neal Jackson's Shadow PAC

UPDATE



Republicans for Jackson is now listed on the state's campaign finance website. However, the committee lists no contributions or expenditures. The committee was probably formed after the last reporting deadline, therefore allowing it's controllers to send mailers without the chance for the public to know who funded them until after the eclection. The committee chair is David G. Smith, the unknown Republican who is mentioned in the post above this one.


























Not only is Neal Jackson ethically challenged but so are his financial/political benefactors.

Today I received this mailer titled "Republicans Support Jackson"


















If you look up Republicans for Jackson in the Maryland State Board of Elections campaign finance database you will see no such committee is listed on it's list of registered PACS

However, note the mailer's authority line: "Republicans for Jackson, Sherry Adam Treasurer" and the 1636 Ruthsburg Rd, Centreville, MD address.

Sherry Adam just happens to also be the treasurer for the Republican Environmental Alliance PAC, formerly chaired by QACA chief Jay Falstad.
















Thanks to our reporting on his illegal activity, Jay was forced resignas chair of that PAC. At least Jay has that sweetheart mortgage from anti-growth money man Alan Griffith.

What this unregistered PAC means by "Republicans for Jackson" is in reality Jay Falstad for Neal Jackson.

Neal Jackson & Ethics, an Impossible Combo?

During his campaign to become a county commissioner Neal Jackson has repeatedly stated that ethics are important…but apparently not when they refer to his own actions.

Jackson served on the QAC Ethics Commission until April 2 of this year. Through that position he learned confidential facts about a local citizen through Ethics Commission discussions about an Advisory Opinion issued in January. The Ethics Code requires the members and staff keep confidential any information that could potentially identify the person it concerns (§8-10,F). It's an obligation most of its members take seriously, redacting or otherwise masking the identity of anyone in an Advisory Opinion and keeping confidential any details of any complaint.

Not Mr. Jackson though. An important man like him couldn't be bothered to worry about the Ethics Code so he took the initiative to not only discuss the details of this case but to name the individual and disclose personal financial details he was legally required to keep confidential in the local newspapers as well as in campaign stump speeches and answers to various questions at forums.

It seems pretty obvious that Jackson thought these violations of his obligation to confidentiality would somehow benefit his political aspirations. And that’s another big no-no. In addition to binding its members to confidentiality the Ethics Code Jackson is eager to invoke specifically prohibits using confidential info obtained via a county position for personal gain.

§8-11,A. In general. Queen Anne's County officials, board and commission members, and employees, as provided in § 8-5, are prohibited from the following:
Intentionally using the prestige of their office, or confidential information acquired in their official County position, for their own private gain or that of another. The performance of usual and customary constituent services without additional compensation is not prohibited under this section.

As an important aside, §8-13,F of the Ethics Code is explicit that any individual must file a financial disclosure within 30 days of leaving office “for any reason other than death.” Apparently Jackson thought that didn't apply to him. He did file the disclosure, but not in the prescribed time period, and not even during the next month. I guess when you are above the law absolute deadlines don’t apply to you.

Jackson Disclosure

The Ethics Code is a simple document that is only several pages long. As Neal Jackson is so fond of reminding people he served on the Ethics Commission and was a big shot career DC attorney before that. There is no possible way that Jackson was not aware of these obligations. That leaves only one possible conclusion - he does not care about the law, the impacts of violations on those affected, at least when it comes to him and and his other fellow liberal elites.

Considering how recently he transplanted himself in QAC, we don’t know a whole lot about Jackson, but what we do know isn’t good.

He rushed to defend the right of a convicted kiddie pornographer to trade pictures of sexual abuse on the internet because he was “writing a story.”

He eagerly accepted large sums of cash from Henry Sears, a man who seems to have bought his way out of one environmental law violation after another.

He is proudly supported by Sveinn Storm, a thug who calls government on everyone else but works on his own properties without permits and in violation of EPA lead regulations.

And he himself has flagrantly violated the County Ethics Code on multiple points, even though he complains of others’ supposed tin ears on the issue.

It is clear that this is one heck of a guy and given a little political power would be one heck of a politician. Such politicians sometimes get lots of press, just not the kind we want in Queen Anne’s County.

Trust Svienn Storm?

Centreville's infamous ice cream man/political bully, Sveinn Storm, has a sign up in front of his house asking "Trust Developers?"

Whatever.

However, if you look across South Commerce street you will see Storm's decrepit property, you know the one he is renovating without a town permit and in violation of EPA regulations.

Someone tell Sevinn we have all three of those already or did I imagine the recent budget deficit and proposal to raise taxes--with his preferred anti-growth commissioners.

Sveinn Storm, paving his integrity one sign at a time.

Above the Law?

If you read last week's Bay Times you know that Dr. Henry Sears is one of the single biggest donors to the campaign of Neal Jackson, the county commissioner candidate who has argued that reporters should be allowed to legally trade kiddie porn on the internet if they say it's for a story they're writing. For a guy who claims to have high ethical standards...why wouldn't he refuse to put his name on that? Is this the moral compass we want leading our county?

I guess we shouldn't be surprised then that Jackson, a liberal D.C. lawyer, has other supporters that also think they're above the law. As the self proclaimed "environmental candidate" we suppose that he means he favors enforcement of environmental laws only as they impact people who are not his friends and supporters??? We would sure like to hear his outrage about what follows...

It's a widely repeated rumor that a local DNR officer was ready to bring the hammer down on Dr Sears' LLC for cutting down a large amount of timber without a permit a few years back - something that everyone must do to assure environmental protections.

As the story was related to us, the word was passed down from on high that Sears wasn't to be touched. The reason? Sears owns large amounts of land in the county and was in the process of negotiating a Rural Legacy easement AFTER he had developed 32 lots on his property and subsequently collected a cool 9.9 million of taxpayer dollars for "preserving" the land he had just developed and logged.

But if that gets you angry, just wait till you hear about his latest escapade.

Sears happens to have a prescriptive right of way or some nebulous legal right across a portion of land belonging to his neighbor. In any event there is land that Dr. Sears does not own, but uses as access to property he does own across the narrow existing road that crossed a large wetland and stream. Recently, the owner of the wetland noticed a huge amount of concrete, old building parts, and farm equipment debris dumped off the edge of the road and well into the wetland and covered with dirt - all left un-stabilized. And just before the huge rain storm we had last month that washed tons of this un-stabilized dirt and trash downstream.

Now we don't have MDE's records yet, but dumping trash into a wetland, covering it with dirt left un-stabilized, and greatly widening an old road as shown in these pictures - all without the actual owner (who likely would have had to sign any permit) knowing about it sure seems
like this was done without permits.

For those who don't know, you need a permit to fill-in a non-tidal wetland, something Sears obviously didn't have since the owner of the wetland, would have had to sign off on any such permit and was completely unaware of the pollution of the wetland until he came across it in person.

Filling in a non-tidal wetland without a permit is a serious crime. Large fines and jailtime for willful and intentional violation are not uncommon. But nothing has happened yet.

That the neighbor confronted Dr. Sears and tried to stop the dumping on his land, and was told to move his tractor blocking access or Dr. Sears would bulldoze it, and that the neighbor contacted ESLC who holds the conservation easement on the land for help and other than a site visit, nothing has happened ...only goes to prove the point that some people apparently don't have to follow the rules everyone else does.

Where is Neal Jackson's outrage over this environmental disaster? With Mr Jackson's background and history, isn't it a legitimate concern that as County Commissioner, he will continue to help his friends and supporters remain above the law...do whatever they want
with reckless abandon?

No one should be able to buy immunity from the law. Here at the Torch we certainly think it looks like Neal Jackson and his supporters disagree. We hope they will clear the air on this issue because on something like this silence can only be interpreted as acceptance.