Over 7 million views and growing
In the Post’s last column, we looked at how a photograph can create a certain amount of “buzz.” In this edition, we examine more “face time” for the camera and wonder what practical purpose the photo above serves.
There are two issues staring us right in the face. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the selfie subjects, we are looking at County Executive candidate Johnny O and County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins.
One could say the photo is harmless, but we retort with the old saying, “A photo speaks a thousand words.” We will spare you from that much reading and provide you with more concise verbiage that some readers may find disturbing.
Let’s think back to former County Executive Jim Smith, who is well-publicized as a “crony capitalist” with one goal in mind–ingratiate his agenda into the lives of middle-class taxpayers.
There have been many things said about Mr. Smith, many of which are far from favorable. One could actually say that his political influence has stained the image of Baltimore County, as well as those closely associated with his “good old boy” politics.
Mr. Smith’s law firm–Smith, Gildea & Schmidt–was involved in the attempt to turn the historic veterans hospital, Fort Howard, into a metropolis.
Mr. Smith’s fingerprints are all over the following image:
His late infusion of campaign contributions enabled Ms. Bevins to squeak by her Republican challenger, Ryan Nawrocki, in the 2014 election.
FYI, Mr. Nawrocki is again challenging the developer-friendly councilwoman in this year’s midterm elections.
At a recent community forum for the candidates running in the various Baltimore County races, Ms. Bevins openly admitted that she took campaign contributions from numerous developers.
In the past, The Post has referred to the person standing to the left of Ms. Bevins, Todd Crandell, as a RINO (Republican in name only). Mr. Crandell, it seems, also likes padding his campaign coffers with developers’ cash.
What is disturbing about Mr. Crandell and Ms. Bevins is that they like to keep the public out of the decision making process regarding what bricks and mortar go into their various communities. Many of the development projects these two have pushed forward will forever transform open spaces into warehouses that provide low-wage jobs and continue to burden already stressed taxpayers.
That is the ultimate tragedy of the “pay to play” situation that has engulfed every incumbent politician in the race for power. Back room deals continue to be cooked by the council members to maintain control over the taxpayers and fortify the pols’ power structure unimpeded by any transparency or accountability.
Speaking of examples of poor judgment, we continue to get them from someone who determines the course and direction that will impact our lives for decades to come. Already we have seen hundreds of millions of dollars go toward crony capitalists and corporate welfare spearheaded by Jim Smith’s political cesspool.
Finally, we present one more photo that creates more of the “buzz” we were referring to in our last column. Hopefully this image will inspire voters to rethink the way they fill out their ballots in the upcoming election.
(Photo credit/Facebook)
Ask yourself, is the person featured on the right of this picture someone you want to represent your district?
The Post strongly suggests that we all do the following in the upcoming election:
