The recent selection of Gordon Harden to of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority is not sitting well with some state legislators in Annapolis who are now vowing to dismantle the quasi-public agency.
Harden, Towson resident who unsuccessfully ran for the Baltimore County Council in 2010, was selected by the council to fill the vacancy left open by the . Harden, who was picked by Councilman David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, is drawing criticism because of and nearly two-dozen housing code violations that were previously filed against him.
"With all the stuff we're doing down here to at the authority and for [the council] to go and do this—it's outrageous," said Del. Joseph Boteler, a Parkville Republican.
Boteler and fellow Parkville Republican Del. John Cluster are sponsoring a number of bills seeking to change how the authority operates. The bills include requiring the agency to conform to county ethics and procurement laws have passed the House of Delegates.
Both those bills are scheduled for hearings in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee and the county Senate delegation.
The authority is a quasi-public agency that operates four parking garages in Towson as well as a number of metered spaces and surface lots around the county and five public golf courses.
Boteler said Thursday that he and Cluster plan to introduce a bill to dismantle the agency that the legislature created in the mid-1950s.
"The fact that this is going on is unbelievable," said Boteler. "We're going to come back next year and introduce a bill to dismantle the authority and I don't care if they know it now or not."
I generally support the guy and everyone stumbles from time to time, but when you compound this with his blind support for the new school superintendent it gives me pause. Let's hope he takes a breath and does some due diligence before his next vote of confidence.
Marks told me Harden was the name that the members gravitated to. Three other freshmen members confirmed this to me.
Or, maybe since the other 2 were Republicans, they chose the Dem. Now, I am a strong Democrat, but the Council, as a whole is showing a serious lack of backbone in the whole affair. And, Bryan.......you should have done better. Better NO story than HALF.
Rookie? No. How about a sensational first round draft pick?
The Revenue Authority has often been a bit of a shadow entity. The public wants transparency and that applies to left, right and center. David, anything you can ad will be helpful.
" ...was selected by the council to fill the vacancy..." followed by "...was picked by Councilman David Marks..." At least Mr. Sears clearly identified himself as the author, and the "insider politics" tag puts this submission in the political commentary/opinion category. Snipers hide anonymously in the bushes. Political commentary that is sourced and not disguised as news reporting is certainly welcome. The open forums provided for all to respond may be one of the best features of PHP. Certainly there is no shortage of contrasting viewpoints on this, and many other issues! To the extent that his "Insider Politics" writings shed light on the too-often murky internal workings of county government, and trigger debate, Bryan is also providing a public service, perhaps sometimes more substantially than the elected and un-elected "public servants" whose daily decisions affect us all for better or worse. My .02 directed to Mr. Sears, Mr. Marks, and Mr. Boteler equally is: "keep up the good work!" The system works best (or fails least?) when you all perform your roles to the best of your ability, in Towson, Annapolis, and right here in Perry Hall.
This quote isn't too shabby either: "Bryan is also providing a public service, perhaps sometimes more substantially than the elected and un-elected "public servants" whose daily decisions affect us all for better or worse." Mr. Marks plays bass while the others play the fiddle and we all know who was famous for that - I think he name was Nero.