The Southern Maryland Chronicle occasionally accepts Letters to the Editor. However, when submitted, we also try and find someone who would like to write an opposing view. We do not let either side see the other letter. The views expressed by the authors are their own and in no way represent The Southern Maryland Chronicle, as we do not take any position.
We ask that you please discuss this in the comment section of the website or Social Media, but please be respectful. We are all in this together and need to work together.
The following letter were submitted by Brandon Russell and Vernon Gray.
Bradon Russell
Vernon Gray
There has been much consternation over HB447, a bill from Delegate Crosby (D-29B) intending to change how St. Mary’s Countians vote for County Commissioners. The conversation about this idea has included misleading information and outright propaganda.
Currently, residents vote for five County Commissioners–four who must run as a resident of a specific Commissioner District (1, 2, 3, 4) and one who runs at-large and is the Commissioner President. All candidates are elected at-large. The districts are in place to ensure geographic diversity of those who are elected. HB447 would change local law to require the four commissioners who run for a district be elected by the votes from only that district.
One argument against this bill says that it will reduce voting for five Commissioners to just two, the at-large Commissioner President and the Commissioner running in your district. A counter argument is that it will make your vote more powerful because it allows a voter to elect their direct representative and hold that person accountable. Currently, if Candidate A receives 80% of the votes in a district, that candidate will lose to Candidate B if the rest of the county votes for Candidate B. In effect, no district has a real say over who represents that district as a Commissioner because the entire county votes for all five commissioner positions.
The County Commissioners and members of the St. Mary’s County Delegation quietly supported another bill, HB597, which they called a referendum. HB597 would place a question on the general election ballot in 2024 asking voters how they prefer to elect Commissioners. Actually, this bill is not a referendum–the results of which would be legally binding–but is a “straw poll” with language stating “the vote on this question is advisory only.” Meaning, a majority of voters could select to change how Commissioners are elected but the Commissioners would not be legally required to honor that decision.
Another argument against HB447 posits that voters have not had the chance to offer their opinion on this idea because the bill was not discussed at the local level. Verbal and written testimony was accepted both in-person and virtually for HB447 during its committee hearing in the statehouse. Meanwhile, only written testimony is accepted for HB597. Neither bill was discussed at the joint meeting of the Commissioners and Delegation in December 2022, when a public forum on proposed legislation was also held.
The Democratic Party enjoyed a higher voter registration among St. Mary’s County voters but that trend changed about a decade ago. Some argue HB447 is an attempt by Democrats to regain seats on the Commissioner board. However, election data over past decades shows a mixed bag of results between the parties. In the most recent election, no Democratic candidate won their individual district. It would seem voting by-district would not give one party an advantage over the other. At-large voting benefits whichever party has the majority of registered voters in the county and has favored both parties over the years.
Full transparency–I support the idea of voting by-district. I also support the ability of voters to make informed decisions based on factual information. Unfortunately, the local Republican Party has continued to espouse information intended to mislead voters on this issue. One look at the Facebook posts of several Commissioners or the recent cover and contents of the St. Mary’s County Times, will reveal the propaganda machine at work.
Voters deserve a factual, unbiased presentation of this issue in order to make an educated decision about whether or not to support HB447.
Brandon Russell
In the 2021 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Del. Brian Crosby (D) introduced legislation (HB0655) to change the election of four of the five county commissioners in St. Mary’s County from at-large to by-district. He did not reintroduce the bill in 2022 while seeking reelection, suggesting his awareness of public opposition. Now, in 2023, he has again done so in HB0447.
St. Mary’s County is divided into nine election districts. The county is also divided into four commissioner districts for geographical residency purposes; otherwise, the county commissioners might reside coincidentally in one area of the county. Commissioner districts were not created for the purpose of representation. County commissioners are elected by a general/at-large vote to represent the entirety of the county – not separate districts.
According to Crosby, at-large voting discriminates against racial/ethnic minorities. If true, why was no mention made of it by the Democrats, including the NAACP, prior to 2021? Why, when for decades Democrats won local elections and controlled the county government and agencies, was at-large voting not an issue?
The actual motivation is that at-large voting has become unfavorable to Democrats in St. Mary’s County. For example, the last Democrat elected as a county commissioner was in 2010 and it has been 12 years since the Democrats controlled the board. In 2012, Democrats also lost being the largest party in voter registrations in the county. So, if Democrats cannot win at-large elections, the solution is to change the election law.
Crosby employs the virtue signaling pretexts of democracy and social justice to disguise what is simply partisan, identity-based politics. Based on minority demographics, he perceives a possibility of electing Democrats in by-district elections. Yet, in the 2022 general election, if it had been by-district, none of the Democrat’s county commissioner candidates would have won.
A change to by-district county commissioner elections has the potential, over time, to instill an atmosphere of factional parochialism, negatively affecting the equitable allocation of resources to the needs of areas of the county. Elected officials might only pander to a localized constituency rather than the interests of all.
While the Democrats profess their dedication to and protection of democracy, by-district elections restrict participatory democracy. In this case, instead of voting for all five county commissioners, voters will have only the choice of two – one at-large commissioner president and one by-district commissioner. From voters having a full say in elections, they are relegated to only two-fifths.
The proposed change to by-district elections will be consequential to the county’s governance. Therefore, the decision whether to make this change should be ratified or rejected by the voters in a referendum, which Crosby opposes.
In a Sep. 18, 2020, statement, Crosby said, “Voting is the fundamental principle of democracy; there is no right more precious or sacred.” Yet, in HB0447, Crosby imposes voter suppression and disenfranchisement, unless a referendum decides the issue.
Vernon Gray
