Letters

Lisa Tittle Chairwoman, Harford County Commission for Women

General Assembly and Harford County

As the 2008 General Assembly comes to a close, I'd like to review some of the highlights of the legislation important to us in Harford County.

The Harford County Delegation succeeded in passing all but two bills -- the election of the school board and the slot machines for our veterans' organizations.

Although others might have a different view of what happened to these two bills, here is what I saw from my vantage point as head of the Harford County Delegation. They did not pass for political reasons and no other. The Annapolis oligarchy allowed a select few to kill a bill, give no reason, and pay no price.

A few folks will do almost anything to maintain power and control, even to the point of thwarting the will of their constituents and their representatives, but, if one member of a delegation chooses to force the will of one to subvert the will of the majority, then the voters need to intercede in the next election.

The school board bill appeared to be on the fast track when Senators Barry Glassman (R) and Andrew Harris (R) gained unanimous approval for it in Senate Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee and the full Senate. As approved by the Senate, the bill--SB 306--would authorize six members of the school board to be elected and three to be appointed by the Governor.

With the Senate's unanimous approval, the delegation was hopeful SB 306 would move quickly in the House after being referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, but Chairwoman Sheila Hixson refused to take any action on either SB 306 or the cross filed bill, HB 799.

As chair of the Harford County Delegation, I met with her on several occasions to request local courtesy--a policy of deferring to the county delegation on local issues. That policy is basic to our legislative process because a county delegation understands local issues better and is more answerable to its citizens than non-local delegates and senators who could care less and have no responsibility to Harford residents.

In response to Chairwoman Hixson's feigned concern that the delegation had not provided sufficient proof of citizen support for the elected school board, I personally provided her committee with volumes of documentation demonstrating widespread community, political, and parental support.