Simpson has done a good job? at casting Carroll County as the land of homophopbes and extremists, maybe. Is that the "message" they want to get out? What an embarrassment. These commissioners are a bad joke.

Eldersburg Editor Valerie Bonk did a great job catching the highlights of the meeting in her live coverage. How many people watched it/listened to it/ followed it on Patch -- and what did you think of the conversation? If you missed it, don't despair! You can watch it on the county's website http://carrollcountymd.iqm2.com/citizens/

Good riddance, Jim Simpson. You have done enough damage to the county and the thin credibility of the five commissioners. Time to slither back under the rock from whence you came. Can't wait to read your predictable attacks on Carroll County liberals and socialists in whatever extremist rags publish your poison.

The most fascinating parts of this meeting were 1) watching the gap widen between the five commissioners (inevitable with egos this big), and 2) the level of rage exhibited by Rothschild when he saw his dream of keeping Simpson slipping away. Folks, this is what I've been talking about. Rothschild is volatile, hate-filled and (in my opinion) dangerous. I'm glad we all got to see this very public display of what I've been warning about for months. Now let's see if the other four continue to align themselves so closely with this hate-mongerer. If they do, they need to know it is at their own political risk.

What a sad display of local governance. This county deserves better.

I'm sorry to see Simpson go, he was entertaining. Almost as entertaining as watching the debacle of a meeting at the county today and reading Valerie Bonk's excellent live stream. How can you type so well with a laptop perched on your lap?
Not one word was said by one of the 5 Commissioners about Simpson's tirade on Patch last week, which equates to at least a tacit approval by the Commissioners, which equates to a new low benchmark in what we can expect from the Commissioners.
If there is a highlight from today it may only be that perhaps now the Commissioners will focus on governing by putting the politics aside at least momentarily.

Neil, you must be the eternal optimist. At least four of the five commissioners have no clue how to govern or focus on the issues that are actually important to Carroll County. The surprise exception is Haven Shoemaker, who continues to gain my respect as he somehow steps out of the cesspool he's standing in and makes rational decisions and statements. The rest are absorbed in their own egos, ideology and/or incompetence.

Finally, a sane decision!!!! Perhaps this is the tipping point that will lead to more sanity instead of insanity. It's about time. Rothschild's and Frazier's ridiculous antics have finally caught up with this BoCC and constituents have plainly had enough. Simpson was most certainly harming this board's public reputation, but it took months for them to change gears and at a tremendous cost. The Carroll County Times published a survey that over 80% of people disapproved of the Commissioners peformance...that's pretty telling. Since Simpson was doing such a good job of promoting the conservative positions of this BoCC, perhaps they might wake up to the fact that maybe it's not only the messenger that's the problem, but instead the message!

Dead on, Ross. Frazier has sealed the fate of her political future by going down in flames with Rothschild on this one. She couldn't have made her blind allegiance to him more clear. It will cost her.

Now that the communications position conversation is done, at least for the time being, what are some other commissioner-related topics that you want to see reported on Patch?

I would like to know: what else does Commissioner Rothschild intend to do to combat socialism and communism in Carroll County? And: What else is Commissioner Howard going to do to try to silence those that want to make public comment at the BOCC meetings? Will he continue to make up the rules as he goes along to get his critics to shut up, or will he be held accountable as a public servant?

Please stay on this story, Kym, so we can know the outcome of the communications position. Also, we need to keep Commissioner Frazier's travel and milage claims out in the daylight; that matter was never resolved to the public's satisfaction. Is she continuing to bilk local taxpayers through this self-imposed raise? And the "pick and shovel" issues that Commissioner Shoemaker mentioned on Tuesday: when will we start to hear from them on these local topics that matter most? There was much, much more that came out in Tuesday's meeting. We are examining many of their statements now and will be asking for additional information on several topics. Meanwhile, I am awaiting a call or an email from one of our commissioners as to what citizens are and are not allowed to ask of the BOC during public meetings, as well as details on the date, time, minutes and video for the meeting in which they adopted their new "Citizen Participation" policy. Thank you for doing such a great job. Patch is an asset to our community.

I do not look forward to sending the 2nd semi annual payment of my 2012 Property tax bill, not knowing what the CC (Cast of Clowns) Commissioners may conjure up to waste it on. It will not surprise me if 4 of them find some right wing UN plot or Ayn Rand agenda to justify conducting another conference with Glen Beck as an invited speaker and Simpson as a moderator.

How about some coverage on the John Birch Society's favorite local politician. We'd all like to know more about Comissioner Rothschild.

I think one of the moments that stuck out the most was when Rothschild came out of his chair, literally, and was almost rabid in his verbal attacks...his statement about the support he gets from District 4 is exaggerated and he does NOT have the majority backing of the residents...he received less than 40 percent in the primary and as any resident of Carroll County knows after a very, very short time here--whoever in the Republican party is running for ANY office --it is almost 100 percent a done deal. His demeanor is very unattractive and shows he is a bully...and to think he carries a gun...whew....

I think you may be surprised to hear that the John Birch Society is not actually dead. Certainly not as prevalent as the 60's, they are just as extreme and xenophobic as ever and are heavy into this UN conspiracy stuff with planning and Agenda 21. I've even seen videos of a local organizer's presentations, which look eerily similar to wacky Rich Rothschild's. Extremists tend to frequent the same sites and organizations, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if RR is a proud member of the JBS...which would be just another reason not to trust him. Maybe Kym will agree to do a story on the far right-wing faction of the Republican party in Carroll. It would be entertaining...She could interview all the political nuts, starting with Rothschild and Frazier and could easily fill out the story with folks like Justin Ready and Larry Helminiak of the Central Committee. She could even weave in the influence of shadow organizations like the Tea Party, John Birch Society, KKK and the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, which many locals have belonged to. So many right-wingers, so little time! :)

I think it would be a far greater service if Kym could do a story on those moderate Republicans and what they think of what's going on. The extremists have convinced themselves that they are the majority, but they certainly are not. There are many, many more thoughtful, reasonable, fair-minded Republicans than these Tea Party fanatics are willing to admit. The Tea Party's time in the sun is fading fast, locally and nationally. I say good riddance and not a day too soon. While I have to believe they were well-intentioned in the beginning, their cause has been taken over by corporations and crackpots. Their followers are just little parrots, mindlessly repeating the words of their heroes, sort of like Frazier does with Rothschild. It's embarassing to watch her as she pretends to show her compassion and concern for Carroll County citizens. Wake up Republicans! You can't possibly let her get reelected in 2014. Start watching and start talking. She and Rothschild have to go, along with their Tea Party friends.

Why has Patch not gone into the whole subject of misuse of travel reimbursements, particularly with Ms. Fraizer? Perhaps it would also be interesting to delve into the possibility, no-probability- that other CC staffers have let the Board members use credit cards that are in their own name, not belonging to the actual commissioners...does that obscure the finances of particular activities???