Wanted: A more sound, smart government

Friday, Oct. 3, 2008

This is not great news to a lot of people nationally. But to the citizens, and the very finite critical land mass of Charles County, this presents a small periodic reprieve to the helter-skelter, pockets-full-of-money, rampant out-of-control growth that our county commissioners have been steamrolling religiously for the past many years.

During these many years citizens were routinely ignored and public hearings seemed to serve only as a ‘‘pro forma” exercise.

This slowed growth period is fundamentally due to this recession, not the commissioners’ newfound restraint. However with the ever-closer county elections, the county commissioners are banking on Americans’ notoriously short memories, and making a dash to present themselves as citizen-friendly smart growth advocates. Notwithstanding the past several years of haphazard mega-sprawl and total disregard for the county comprehensive master plan have already revealed the true mindset of these politicians.

Granted the very recent elimination of the residential development and⁄or golf course in Pomfret is a beneficial move for the Mattawoman Creek and the quality of life in the ever more crowded Charles County.

But as the election nears and the economy still slows, this is a political move⁄battle that can be put on hold for more prosperous times that will likely re-emerge sometime after the next county election.

As the commissioners’ political lives come into to full frontal view with the nearing elections, look for these mega-sprawl promoters of current historical record to pick a few more less significant battles that they are willing to concede in the hope that we in Charles County display the new American phenomena of societal memory loss — the public inability to think critically over long periods of time.

Look for some of these same commissioners who revealed their true identities when they initially tried to strongarm and intimidate citizen’s right to speech in a public forum with law enforcement personnel at the recent public hearing on the Mattawoman connecter to soften their stance a bit on myriad issues.

The closer the elections, the warmer and fuzzier it will get with commissioners’ President F. Wayne Cooper and his group of merry officials.

Citizens of Charles County, please keep on your critical thinking caps for a more sound, smart and reasonable government of our county.

For not to do so will enable the wolf to openly shed its sheep’s clothing once again, and continue to haphazardly consume our homes with unchecked growth and sprawl once the economy recovers. Don’t be fooled by all the tools of manipulation that are going to be pitched at you in the months preceding this critical election.

Daniel Keyes, La Plata