The people of Talbot should remind the candidates for Talbot County Council of their mission, if elected. The Council’s mission statement says the Council shall: “…preserve the rural and agricultural character of the area, promote economic development, and protect the environment and natural resources.” The balance between these objectives, often in tension with each other, defines a quality of life here.
People in Talbot are for good reason worried that this equilibrium will shift dramatically in the next election to favor development. The Talbot Spy and Avalon Foundation recently polled on the issues their respondents see as critical in the coming elections. The Spy concluded, “Roughly two-thirds of respondents said they were very or extremely concerned that development could change Talbot County’s rural and small-town character. Environmental protection generated an even stronger response.”
Although the Republicans held a majority in the Council over the last four years, votes on preservation vs. development did not always follow party lines. Republican Chairman Callahan, himself a home builder, aligned with Republican Dave Stepp and leaned toward development. Vice President Lesher, a Democrat, leaned more toward preservation and environmental protection in his quest for smart growth. The deciding votes on the key issues often came from Republican Lynn Mielke joining Lesher and Haythe or Democrat Keasha Haythe siding with the Republicans. This was true for the big issues of Lakeside development in Trappe, and short-term rentals. On a Stepp proposed amendment to waive the inflation adjustment to impact fees on developers, the vote was tied so the measure failed as Lesher and Mielke voted no and Haythe was absent.
That cross-party moderating faction is now gone among the incumbents. Haythe’s last-minute and unexpected decision not to run this year and the Republican central committee’s decision to dump Lynn Mielke leaves incumbent Pete Lesher alone as a moderating influence on those who may favor unbridled development.
Lynn Mielke was the Republicans’ biggest vote getter in the 2022 general election, which implies that the people of Talbot favored her, including presumably her stances on development/preservation. The Talbot Republican party bosses nevertheless dumped Mielke.
This followed the Republicans’ earlier mistreatment of Laura Price. According to Price (now Laura Price Everngam), “In 2018, like Lynn Mielke, I was the subject of the Republican central committee’s nonsupport in the primary and general elections.” Yet, in the general election she received more votes than any other candidate of either party.
On developer impact fees, the ever-litigious Scott Wagner, reportedly the biggest single funding source for the Republican party in Talbot, has already laid down the gauntlet. In a full-page ad, he threatened to litigate against the fees, which help offset the cost to the county for roads, schools, and other infrastructure needed for new developments. We may see this issue again in the Council next year.
Now the preservation faction will need election of two new candidates favoring preservation just to maintain Lesher’s restraining influence on the Council’s opening wide the doors to economic development. Team Talbot is ready to resurrect that restraining influence on unbridled development in our County.
Jim Bruce of St. Michaels is the President of the Talbot County Democratic Forum.
2 Responses
In Talbot, preservation means crony capitalist class rule: the bourgeoisie protects its plantation wealth while denying workers the right to coexist in the community their labor sustains. The proletariat is alienated from the commodified food and housing it produces, reduced to seasonal labor in a dystopian landscape curated for billionaire baby boomers.
Council needs a new mission statement.
The pressure to increase development will only grow over the next four years. Not only for housing developments, but for data centers. We’re already seen pressure to build data centers, excuse me, build Super Intelligence Factories in our neighboring counties. Trump has made it his personal campaign to increase these facilities throughout the United State. It is not beyond imagination to think Trump will start withholding appropriated funding from states that do not support building these Factories. Already he withholds funds for FEMA to help Blue States after natural disasters. One would hope our Talbot County Council would not enlist Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos to start building SI Factories here, regardless of claims they will make us all rich.
Democrats will work to balance the economic need for growth with the love of our lifestyle on the Shore. There is a high risk Republicans will not.