Two Counties Respond to Letter from Citizens United for Carroll County

The newly formed group Citizens United for Carroll County sent a letter to other Maryland counties warning them that Carroll County's commissioners have extreme political views.

The letter was sent to 20 leaders in other counties. As of Monday afternoon, Citizens United for Carroll County reported only receiving two responses, one from Frederick County and one from Queen Anne's County.

Frederick County Board of Commissioners President Blaine Young wrote in an email:

Cornelius,
Thank you for your email and input. I personally have and the Board of County Commissioners of Frederick have our own individual issues and concerns with this so called Plan MD concept, the septic bill that may come forward again and TMDL's. The Commissioners of Carroll County have presented some compelling information that should be considered and debated. Commissioner Rothschild is well versed in these issues and I applaud and thank him for speaking up. We look forward to working with all the county's in dealing with these very important issues.

Queen Anne's County Commissioner-at-large Steve Arentz wrote in an email:

Thank you for the information. Speaking for myself, I have some rather large concerns with the "Plan".  This is a very bad plan for the rural counties and while I may not buy into any theories, I do agree that it is wrong in the current format.  I agree with Mr. Rothschild in that it is not something that benefits our counties.

Local Voices Weigh In

There was much debate on Westminster Patch Monday as people shared their opinions on the letter and the Carroll County commissioners. Read the letter and see all the comments from Monday's post.

Michelle Jefferson commented:

The typical reaction of liberals is a letter such as this. They are in the minority here in Carroll so they have to go out of county to drum up support for something (global warming) that has been debunked at every level. Plan Maryland is NOT a viable plan for Maryland or any other American state, city or county and many Maryland counties recognize this which is why they've joined our commissioners to protect local decision making on how our communities grow. Give it up guys, you're making Carroll look like a bunch of weenies.

Watchingfive commented:

Well stated, Ms. Jefferson. But our local planning process has been usurped by the commissioners who are ramrodding their own version of what Carroll County needs and wants down our throats. They represent a narrow spectrum of viewpoints that many of us disagree with, yet we have no say because they only listen to those within their spectrum. They are making sure their viewpoints prevail in the planning and virtually every other processes. You might be surprised at the number of people who disagree with the direction this county is being taken in by these commissioners and their vocal cohorts. I wish we could sit across the table and openly discuss it like mature adults and concerned citizens, but I've read way too much of the insults and misinformation that comes out of your camp to expect that to ever be possible.

Ross Dangel commented:

I think it's great that this organization has reached out beyond our county's borders to educate other counties about our Commissioners' beliefs in extreme positions and to separate these from other plausible concerns I agree with Michelle that PlanMaryland is not perfect, but it's only a plan for the state, not Carroll, so why should we even care, unless we think we are smarter than the whole State Dept. of Planning? As such, we should be debating the plan's real shortcomings, not advancing kooky UN conspiracy theories and completely unqualified ideas about the correct way to plan. Meanwhile, the real concern that citizens should have is: What are our Commissioners instructing our Planning Commission to do to our own master plan? Why they have been working from a Rothschild draft for at least a couple of weeks now, which has not been shared publicly? It makes me suspect that there may even be something more sinister to hide than the ridiculous suggestions they've already posted publicly on their website, which include planning conspiracies and other nonsensical planning approaches. Perhaps opening other counties eyes to the plight of Carroll citizens will at least let others know that we haven't all lost our minds and that some of us we are unwilling parties to the planning farce being perpetrated here in Carroll. Few seem to be listening inside the county, despite these issues being raised in the media. Not all Republicans agree with the Tea Party!