Board Forever Fighting Windmills

That phrase derives from an episode in the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, in which he fights windmills that he imagines to be evil giants, who sees their blades as arms and who he intends on slaying ”in this righteous war as a service God will bless.”

That’s the best analogy I can come with to the way this board has-from the time it took office and dubbing themselves as the “Fighting 59th”-chosen to do battle with such giants as the US. Supreme Court (over its ruling prohibiting the offering of sectarian prayers in public buildings), with the state government (over its so-called Plan Maryland designating targeted growth areas in the state), and with the federal government (over its mandating a standardized core curriculum in schools).

In retrospect, their willingness to don their battle gear to fight against, of what they perceived to be their authorities at the local level being wrongly usurped, began in October 2011, when a forum organized by Commissioner Rothschild for the purpose of debating the state’s Plan Maryland proposal. But the spotlight quickly shifted and remained for the longest duration on the unrelated topic of global warming, with a panel consisting of five so-called experts on the subject (handpicked by Rothschild) taking turns pooh-poohing it.

In his opening remarks, Rothschild said the state plan was based on an ”United Nations globalist agenda that basically constitutes theft of property rights established in the Constitution.”

Hearing that, coupled with his previous public statement, that “people come to the rural counties like Carroll to escape Smart Growth, congestion and urbanization, and that we don’t want Section 8 government-sponsored public housing and public transportation,” flashed a warning sign for me to prepare myself for hearing more of his demagoguery and of his personal agenda while serving  on the board.

Now, there’s no need to recite all the instances in which he led the pack down the primrose path, other than to highlight those that, at least to me, bordered on being ludicrous; such as, his proposing suing the Federal government for mandating a core curriculum in schools, which he views as making them “propaganda mills” for the federal bureaucracy.” And for his leadership role in the county withdrawing from the UN’s  International Council for local environmental initiatives.

But so it is, as I’ve seen over and over again in my 30 years with my head in the public trough at the federal level, with know-it-all individuals who are often pathologically obsessed with always having their way, and shunning as they do criticisms and obstacles they encounter as easily as water falling off a duck’s back.

However, the biggest disappointment I have rests with the other members on the board, who, by and large, have given him free rein in pursing his objectives that are as extraneous to their role in governing the county as they are doomed to fail.

So, the underlying question is, will they continue to throw caution to the wind with yet more misadventures throughout the remainder of their term? And if so, will that, along with going so far afield from their job description as to taking positions on national and social issues-a la same-sex marriage-allow them to be re-elected or drummed out of office?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Quote of the day: “Power doesn’t corrupt; fools, however, who gain power, corrupt power.”  George Bernard Shaw