The Talbot Integrity Project (“TIP”) is the non-partisan citizens’ organization that recently arose out of disgust with the Lakeside subdivision in particular, and deep concern about the domination of the County Council by development interests who care little about protecting Talbot’s rural character and unique quality of life.
For the reasons explained below, TIP recommends that for Talbot County Council in the Republican Primary, voters should vote for:
- LYNN MIELKE,
- KYLE O’DONNELL
- DAVID MONTGOMERY
We urge votes be cast only for those candidates because, by the criteria of “protecting Talbot’s rural character against intrusive development,” none of the other five candidates should serve on the County Council.
We believe Mielke, O’Donnell and Montgomery genuinely support the vision of Talbot as a sustainable rural County and are committed to protecting Talbot’s unique character. Every one of the other five Republican candidates—including the current Council President who contributed so much to the improper approval of Lakeside—declined to even meet with The Talbot Integrity Project to discuss land use and our Comprehensive Plan.
Naturally, candidates may choose to focus on different topics, but month-in and month-out, year after year, land use decisions are among the Council’s most important responsibilities—and bad decisions can never be undone. Whatever topic a candidate chooses to talk about, when it comes to land use, we have reason to believe all five—that is, candidates other than Mielke, O’Donnell, and Montgomery–have a bias in favor of development that overrides any concern they have for the rural character of Talbot County.
This recommendation was arrived at unanimously by a bipartisan panel of five individuals intimately familiar with local land use matters and approval processes (2 Rs, 2 Ds, 1“unafilliated”) after a long interview with every Council candidate who offered any transparency. The process was detailed last week in a letter to the editor here.
If citizens are ever going to influence the question of Talbot’s transition into “just another place” like every other, we need to take back our County. Let’s get out the vote!
Steve Harris, Trappe (R )
Dirck Bartlett, Bloomfield (R )
The Talbot Integrity Project
Henry Herr says
David Montgomery? The same man who plans to propose another Confederate monument if elected? Dirck Bartlett, the same man that still believes elections were stolen? Integrity should not be solely based off one Talbot County project.
I hope everyone does full research on all candidates. I agree, everyone needs to vote.
Jane Bollman says
A registered Republican, I will support these three candidates, Lynn Mielke, Kyle O’Donnell and David Montgomery. For me, while there are other important issues that come before the County Council, preventing anything like the 2500 home Trappe development is paramount.
Jane Bollman says
I will vote for Lynn Mielke, Kyle O’Donnell and David Montgomery because I believe they would be opposed to any future development anything like the 2500 home Trappe project.
Jim Franke says
The same Montgomery and Mielke leading the effort to keep the Talbot Boys? And the Montgomery who had this happen: “removed David’s commentary from the Spy. There are limits to free speech and the stigma he has attached to transgender people crossed a line”? Integrity?
Dan Watson says
Jim– Understanding the thrust of your comment, please note the explicit yardstick that gave rise to these recommendations: they were determined “by the criteria of protecting Talbot’s rural character against intrusive development.” In the final analysis, Talbot voters will apply other measures as well, but we thought it important to be forthright in reporting on every candidate’s attitude toward growth and development, since that has been TIP’s agenda from the start.
DW
Jim Franke says
in·teg·ri·ty
/inˈteɡrədē/
Learn to pronounce
noun
1.
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
“he is known to be a man of integrity”
And learn to apply it.
David Montgomery says
It was my first encounter with how those in favor of grooming teens to question their gender go about cancelling and deplatforming anyone who disagrees. It was educational, and inspired us to start a journal where neither funders nor advertisers could threaten us: http://www.chesob.org. If JK Rowling is ostracized for questioning the trans ideology, I am proud to be in her company.
Michael Pullen says
Please explain, who is “us”?
It seems you consider you and those who share your views to be “us” and those who don’t, “them”. Yet, you want to represent all, all of those living in this community.
It also seems you presume to think of yourself as morally superior to “them” and so, hibernate into your own bubble where you can reach out to others like yourself to justify and reinforce your own thinking.
Then you proudly announce it, which only demonstrates a total lack of self-awareness.
This is clearly not the type of approach I want from any person who represents me.
Kent Robertson says
I believe that Bruce Corley and David Steppe would serve Talbot very well as county Commissioners.
Susie Hayward says
As a resident of the Easton Club Community, I will not vote for Lynn Mielke for Talbot County Council.
In a relatively short period of time, she embroiled the Easton Club community in two ridiculous lawsuits. Neither of which came with the awareness or approval of the community.
If she were elected to the County Council, she no doubt would continue her behavior of arrogance, lack of integrity, and dignity of the office, as she did while serving on the Easton Club Board of Directors.