This week, Lance Simon—a member-elect of the Talbot County Democratic Central Committee, set to take office after the November 3 general election—went to social media and asked his neighbors to boycott Gay’s Seafood and Deli in Easton. Not over the food, the service, or how the owner treats his customers. Over campaign signs at the back of the property. A day before he finally changed course, he was still telling supporters the boycott had to be sustained and the pressure kept up.
Think about what that means. A man Talbot County Democrats just elected to help lead their party disagreed with the signs on a local businessman’s lawn who has been a member of this community since I was a boy, and decided the appropriate response was to take away his customers. Not to argue with him. Not to knock on his door. To reach into a family business and try to choke off his livelihood.
Sheriff Joe Gamble answered him publicly, and it is worth reading in full. The Sheriff wrote about a night in 2014 near Hog Neck, when a suspect fired at a state trooper and vanished into the dark. Twelve hours into the manhunt, the first man Gamble found standing between an armed suspect and this community was Rennie Gay, holding a shotgun on the edge of a marsh with no badge and no obligation to be there. He wrote about the fundraiser Rennie built out of his own family’s tragedy, which has paid for swimming lessons for local children through Critchlow Adkins. He wrote about the watermen who sell him crabs and the employees who feed their families on that payroll. That is the man they went after.
Simon has since gone to Gay’s, talked with Rennie, bought crab soup, and admitted the boycott was a mistake. Fine. But an apology does not unring the bell, and it does not answer the question of what kind of person reaches for that tactic in the first place. The instinct came before the apology. The instinct is the problem.
We have watched this tactic spread across Maryland and across this country. Disagree with a man’s politics, and the answer is no longer to beat him at the ballot box. It is to go after his livelihood, his employees, and his name. It is ugly, it is cowardly, and it does not belong on the Eastern Shore.
The signs themselves are a zoning matter, and zoning matters are settled at Town Hall. Every candidate in this county has signs on somebody’s property. If one violates the Easton ordinance, file the complaint and let the process work. That is not a reason to try to hurt a family-owned business.
Rennie Gay put himself between an armed man and his neighbors when this community needed someone to step up. When local businesses and community anchors are targeted like this, it’s worth remembering who actually stands by their neighbors.
Jimmy Jaramillo
Oxford
23 Responses
Mr. Jaramillo, I’d like to remind you that you wrote extensively that Republican should NOT stand by a neighboring Republican, Lynn Mielke. You argued forcibly she should be kicked off the ballot because she was not pure enough to be a MAGA Republican neighbor. And now you propose we remember who actually stands by their neighbors. Indeed I doubt if Mr. Gay welcomes or needs more “help” from the Republican Party.
BTW, Republicans propose economic boycotts frequently. Republicans sponsor “get woke, go broke” campaigns against Walt Disney, Bud Light, and even down to small establishments like local bookstores. They are eager to bankrupt anyone who does not agree with them. It’s an American tradition.
Mr. Davis,
Neither of your comparisons hold water.
Mr. Simon sought to penalize a local business based on their political affiliation – that is important to note. Not because they pushed some radical policy in their store. If Mr. Simon felt it appropriate to not do business with Rennie, that is fair and his prerogative. But to call for a community boycott to hurt his business and the people that work there simply because he does not agree with the establishment’s political lean, well, that is just un-American and a says a lot about this member of the Democrat Central Committee.
What happened with Lynn Mielke was because she stood NOT with her party or represented the party members beliefs but AGAINST them on numerous issues, that is nothing similar.
Bud Light and Walt Disney were not boycotted because of the CEO’s political affiliation but because of the policies they enacted. That’s a significant difference that a lesson should be learned from and a key difference between the two sides here.
Well said
Mr. Gay runs a business and with that comes the possibility that taking a stand for a certain candidate or political party may alienate some clientele. When my husband and I owned a business from 2018-2022, we didn’t post political signs, but we did post signs that would not appeal to a certain base of a certain political party. Our thinking was simple – if what we believe in offends you to the point that you don’t want to support our business, then so be it. What’s unfortunate is that in this current political climate, supporting a certain candidate or policy or administration is about supporting policies that some see as unkind, inhumane, hurtful.
Mr. Gay took the risk of alienating anyone who didn’t believe the same or support the same candidate as he does when he posted the signs on his business property. Should he have posted those signs on his own lawn, would there have been such an issue? I’d like to think not.
Being an American means we can make the decisions to support or not support a business based on whatever we want to base it on. Some base those decisions on how they were treated by an employee of that business. Some base it on an incident that happened several years ago that made someone feel safe and appreciated. Some may base it on the fact that supporting a certain candidate – AS A BUSINESS – is the breaking point. And that’s anyone’s prerogative.
Ain’t it great being an American and having the freedoms to do that kind of stuff!?!?
Couldn’t agree with you more. If a business posts political signs on their business property they should know they are taking a risk.
My husband and I have quietly quit several businesses we used to use because we believe by putting up signs in support of candidates we believe to be racism, sexist, homophobic or criminal they have stated what they believe in. We take our business elsewhere. We quietly quit those businesses and support others. We also quietly quit businesses that refused to wear masks when they were mandated. They didn’t care about our lives so we stopped caring bout their bank account.
Mr. Simon is, in fact, a member-elect of the Talbot County Democratic Central Committee. However, the way the Democratic and Republican Central Committee seats are filled is by election. In the primary, all of the candidates ran unopposed. That means that if they voted for themselves, and that was the only vote that they got, they “won”. It isn’t like a regular election where candidate’s positions are known for voters to make their selections that way. Mr. Simon is unknown to most Democratic voters, his positions unknown. Sheri Wilcoxin was elected to the Republican Central Committee in the same fashion. That said, every Democrat I know not only disagrees with what Mr. Simon did, they renounce it as over the top. Likewise, most every Republican I know renounced the scorched Earth tactics of the Talbot GOP under Ms. Wilcoxin as they kicked one of their one (someone I voted for) out of the nest. Let’s all take a beat and remember that we are all neighbors in this community (I’m a native, but it doesn’t matter where someone else came from or how long ago) and we should jointly strive for what is best for Talbot County. There’s enough chaos and vitriol coming out of DC, we don’t need it here. The internet trolls are already making ugly comments and worse. It’s time we, collectively, grow up. Lastly, what Mr. Simon did was on his own, so please don’t lump all Dems together anymore than all Reps should be lumped together!
I haven’t seen any Democratic Socialist condemn what Mr Simon said. Ms Wilcoxon and the Republican committee just posted Ms Mielkes record. Had a Democrat member voted like Ms Mielke they would have felt the same as the Republicans.
Mr Davis , Really ??? Making comparisons between an inter party policy voting / an international woke conglomerate like Disney / Nike etc/ Coors lite and a private local business allowing a local candidates sign on their property, is a specious codswallop and void of any intellectual comprehension.
Here we have a completely uneducated, ill informed , aging hippy , probably under the influence of recreational cannabis , throwing Ad hominem attacks and indulging in Juvenile defamation of his opponents
As an elected public official “ member of Talbot democrat county committee “ . One glance at his unsecured social media presence , where he restricts comments and dialog , reflects the unhinged character or your party members and the total lack of decorum in a public forum . Your pal Simon doubled down on his attacks , before he was shamed into giving a weak , and less than contrite apology . Bankrupting your neighbors is only a tradition on the left . This one backfired , and the silence of your local party leadership and candidates speaks volumes. Time to learn the hard way how to read the room in your community and learn that boycotts work both ways .
Well put
Remarkable that in one sentence Paul condemns ad hominem and juvenile attacks AND calls his target uneducated and a hippie and suggests his target in probably under the influence. Perhaps he needs to be reminded what “Ad hominem” means: A logical error where you attack the person making a point instead of dealing with the actual point.
Every citizen takes a risk of alienating friends, family members, and business associates when they publicly express their political beliefs, including which candidates they are supporting. Mr. Gay no doubt was aware of the risk to his business but being a patriot it was one he was willing to take. In our various jobs and professions we all have to calculate how prudent it is to share our political point of view at work. Such is life in America. But when an elected official on a public forum calls for the boycott of a small family-run business because of political differences it is crossing the line into tyranny. Boycotting a small business is vastly different from boycotting Disney or Bud Light for reasons that should be obvious. I know of too many hard working people who have lost their livelihoods because of internet campaigns based upon false, exaggerated, or inaccurate information. When Democrat Socialist political operatives are unable to debate the issues in a fact-based manner, they resort to character assassination and Stasi-like tactics such as doxxing, canceling, and other forms of intimidation such as we have witnessed this week.
well put!!
I remember when the Democrats of Talbot County were more concerned about the county and towns than petty partisan politics and attacks. The late Hermon Meilke, Herby Andrews, Phil Foster and Tom Duncan. Tom is my uncle where class acts. And those who know me, know I am never at a loss for words. When my Uncle Tom Duncan who was a decorated State Trooper, County Councilman and Sheriff and staunch Conservative lifelong Democrat came to me at MML in Ocean City and showed me he switched to a Republican! I looked Up at the sky and was waiting for Jesus to appear. He told me, the Democratic Party locally and nationally have gone off the rails with leftist lunatics, always offended by something people. He said, Democrats will destroy themselves, if they don’t clean the party up. I told Him, with come here’s bring there here ! We will be like the socialist Peoples Republic of Montgomery County, Suburban Philadelphia and Bucks County, Northern Va, NY and DC and Talbot County as we know it, will be history ! Look at Oxford with all the hysteria and drama over yard waste and leaves.
THANKS PAT MAXWELL!!! As a Talbot County native and lifelong resident, can we please do something to protect this county from further gentrification?!
Calling for a boycott was not just “plain stupid” but reveals a complete lack of understanding of our Eastern Shore values.
This article could be summarized as “A Republican man is incredulous to find out political speech in business spaces has consequences.”
Mr. Gay has a right to political speech at his business. The public has a right to boycott him for that speech. God Bless America.
My honest recommendation is simple: Think before you speak (or write). The impulse to react spontaneously and without any contemplation of the effects, makes many look bad, dumb, racist, prejudiced, and/or, just plain mean! People need to step back and consider that there are 2 sides to every story… If people took the time to listen to opposing/different points of view, they might then be better educated and thus more able to logically address a situation without so much emotion. It doesn’t have to be, “I’m right! You’re wrong!” It should be, “ I don’t understand your point of view. Can you help me understand and allow me to share my perspective?” In other words, exactly what Mr. Simon and Mr. Gay did. And a lot of drama could have been avoided.
There’s a lot of hair splitting in these comments. What it comes down to is if my side does it , it’s patriotic and above board. If your side does it, it’s un-American and over the top. Perhaps this is the time for folks to do some soul-searching and figure out a better path forward. Unfortunately I fear too many have lost the ability, or perhaps the courage, to do so.
Mr. Jaramillo thank you for your well reasoned and timely letter to the editor. I recall another local Democrat operative, his name escapes me, ran into a similar parked car of his own making a few years ago. There’s no shortage of poor judgment in the world. Mr. Gay is a treasured member of the community and I consider him a friend. Bravo to our Sheriff and other pillars in our community to set the record straight. Try the tuna salad, it’s often sold out by the time I get there for lunch.
I like when a foolish business has an obnoxious sign demeaning the democrats and promoting Trump, it is never the other way around. Ever. We all stay away and use our money elsewhere.
I think there’s another point being missed here. If you already support a local business because you like their food, service, products, or the people who run it, why should a political sign suddenly change that?
We’re adults. We’re not all going to agree politically, and we shouldn’t expect everyone we do business with to think exactly like we do. If I agree with a business owner’s politics, great. If I don’t, that’s okay too. I can still support the business.
To me, that’s the adult thing to do — recognize that people are more than their political beliefs. I also think calling for a boycott of a local business simply because you disagree with the owner’s political views crosses a line. You have every right to disagree, but trying to hurt someone’s livelihood over political differences isn’t the answer.
If both sides start boycotting every business that doesn’t share their politics, where does that leave us? We live in a small community. We should be able to disagree politically and still support our neighbors and local businesses.
Well Said! We love Rennie and his crabs are the best! Dirty Democrats with their Communist tactics don’t belong on the Eastern Shore!
Good! You Democrats can go get bad crabs elsewhere! More crabs for me:) Rennies has the best crabs on the Eastern shore!