Guest Post: Effort to Roll Back Recent Howard County Board of Education Election is Undemocratic

Board of Education, Elections, Guest Posts, HCPSS, Howard County, Must-Reads

A critical opinion and historical perspective of a proposed State bill that will reduce the term of the newly-elected 2022 HCPSS Board of Education members, Dr. Linfeng Chen and Jacky McCoy, from four years (2022-2026) to just two years (2022-2024) and will also give the Howard County Executive the right to directly appoint two HCPSS Board of Education members every four years from a candidate list provided by the State Delegation.

Red Alert: State Senator Clarence Lam and Delegate Courtney Watson are Attempting a Partial Takeover of the HCPSS Board of Education

Board of Education, County Government, Elections, HCPSS, Howard County, Must-Reads, Redistricting

Details, concerns and a call to action about a proposed State bill that will give the Howard County Executive the right to directly appoint two HCPSS Board of Education members every four years and will also replace the five elected Councilmanic District members with three elected State Legislative District members.

“Ethics, Shmethics!” – The Concerning Disregard of the HCPSS Ethics Policy by a Political Action Committee Co-Founded by Board of Education Candidate Dan Newberger

County Government, Elections, Ethics, HCPSS, Howard County, Legal Issues, Must-Reads, Special Interest Groups, Violations

Details on how three recent “ends-justify-the-means” election ads published by the Howard Progressive Project, a PAC co-founded by Board of Education candidate Dan Newberger, has led HCPSS employees to disregard rules in Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Ethics Policy pertaining to political campaigning.

HoCo Watchdogs Newsletter – Issue #8

Board of Education, County Government, Developers, Elections, Ethics, HCPSS, Housing, Howard County, Legal Issues, Must-Reads, Newsletter, Redistricting, Special Education, Special Interest Groups, Violations

Issue #8 and 2022 Election Special Edition of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.

Guest Post: Maryland’s High Court Misses Badly on HCPSS Student Member of the Board Case

Board of Education, Elections, Guest Posts, HCPSS, Howard County, Must-Reads

A critical analysis of the recent decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals to uphold the constitutionality of a state law that authorizes a 16-17 year old student, elected strictly by 11-17 year olds, to serve on the Howard County Board of Education and cast binding votes on decisions that impact public school policies.

Safety from HCPSS Redistricting for Sale?  Revisiting the Record-Setting “Polygon 147” Campaign Contributions to The Calvin Ball Team

Board of Education, County Government, Elections, Ethics, HCPSS, Housing, Howard County, MPIA, Must-Reads, Redistricting

An overview of the unusually high election campaign contributions made by the HCPSS redistricting-focused “Polygon 147” Ellicott City neighborhood to The Calvin Ball Team in 2017 and why it is significant that they have made zero contributions to Ball’s campaign in this election cycle.

“All in the Family”, Howard County: How County Executive Calvin Ball Personally Authorized Ten Years Worth of Pay Raises in Just Three Years for his Underqualified Sister-in-Law Who Wrongfully Denied the Public Release of Hundreds of Emails that Included Evidence of Broken Laws and Backroom Development Deals

County Government, Developers, Elections, Housing, Howard County, MPIA, Must-Reads, Special Interest Groups, Violations

A detailed investigation of how Howard County Executive Calvin Ball promoted his underqualified family member to a county position that they didn’t have the educational requirements for and personally authorized ten years worth of pay raises in just three years for this family member after they wrongfully denied the public release of hundreds of emails that included evidence of broken laws and backroom deals on land use and development.

Guest Post: Update on Lawsuit Focused on the Ball Administration’s Denial of Public Access to Hundreds of Emails Exchanged with Developer Lobbyist

Columbia Association, County Government, Developers, Elections, Guest Posts, Housing, Howard County, Must-Reads, Special Interest Groups

“The Office of County Executive admits every claim of violating the Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act, except one…they argue that County Executive Ball’s sister in law and campaign manager did not understand the law she used to withhold from public access almost 500 emails in the files of the Office of County Executive involving a politically active County lobbyist/ developers’ lawyer.”