Call them community rabble rousers or gadflies. Some might call them troublemakers. In most cases, they are citizens extraordinaire.
They typically are singularly focused on stopping something that strikes them as patently unfair or poorly thought-out, or just plain ill-advised. Public officials and those in authority find these people pesty and obnoxious.
A vibrant community cannot survive without them. They are dogged. They often are right. And they hold people accountable, uncomfortably so. They do their homework. They cannot be dismissed—nor should they be.
Dan Watson is one such person. Until he involved himself five years ago in the minutiae of the comprehensive plan, few people (including this writer) paid much attention to the Talbot County Council. He regularly attended meetings. He was determined to flush out what he considered the pro-business attitude of the county council.
He established the Bipartisan Coalition for the New Council Leadership. This group tried to unseat Jennifer Williams and succeeded. Watson was the lightning rod. He drew widespread support and equally damning antipathy. He stepped on toes; he cared little about personal popularity.
As Spy readers know, he has led the campaign to oppose the development of 2,500 homes in the proposed community of Lakeside in Trappe. He has questioned the approval process and the validity of information provided by developer concerning sewage disposal and potential pollution of tributaries leading to the Choptank River.
Watson’s concerns are justifiable. The environmental impact of a huge residential community of 2,500 homes is incalculable.
He has been relentless. His due diligence has been thorough and verifiable. He has amassed community support. He appeared before the county council last week. He pressed his case, perhaps too lengthily. He ruffled some feathers.
He stood up for the future of a rural county and an exceedingly small town threatened by a project of overwhelming size.
The mix of Dan Watson, land use, sewage capacity and the controversy over the Confederate Talbot Boys Monument have awakened this previously soporific community. Not too long ago, only the possibility of lifting the tax cap stimulated lively discussion and understandable dismay when the status quo was the result.
Richard Potter, president of the Talbot County chapter of the NAACP, picked up the gauntlet to push for the removal of the offensive monument. His arguments embodied passion and hurt about a distasteful monument that exemplified racism and the vestiges of slavery.
Potter has led with strength of conviction and undeniable justice. He too refused to yield to the county council’s intransigence. He was effective and credible. He too cared little about popularity. His last resort was a lawsuit after being denied a chance to appear before the county council.
Being satisfied with exclusion no longer was an option for Potter and hundreds of like-minded citizens. The Confederate monument in front of the Talbot County Courthouse, the only one of its type on public land in Maryland, is a disgraceful embarrassment.
Citizens like Dan Watson and Richard Potter, leading the charge against errant policies, have given life and zest to the public square in an otherwise quiet county.
The Talbot County Council no longer sits on a figurative island protected by its resistance to change and reasoned arguments. It must be accountable.
I also hear that Margie Elsberg in Kent County stepped up to help save the Chestertown hospital over several years. While she would be the first to say that many others helped in this effort, it was due to her persistence and convictions that led the State of Maryland to eventually reclassify this important health facility as a “rural” hospital, allowing it to remain a full-service facility.
I applaud Watson, Potter, Elsberg, and unseen others willing to buck indifference and reverse untenable positions taken by the majority of the council. I commend Councilperson Pete Lesher for his lonely, common-sense position on the council.
Talbot County residents are now engaged participants in local democracy. Their voices, greater in number than ever before, are being heard. They are willing to immerse themselves in the trenches of disputable issues and accept little else but change, albeit incremental.
All to the good. Talbot County benefits.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.
Angela Rieck says
Thank you for recognizing these individuals who represent the best that Democracy offers.
Brenda Stone says
What a great thing to do! To acknowledge these activists who have worked had to promote better life on the shore. Thank you
Howard Freedlander says
Thank you, Brenda. You’re familiar with one in particular, who is very effective.
Howard Freedlander says
Thank you, Angela. Strong advocates. We need them.
JT Smith says
As usual, well said Howard. I am in awe of the energy, persistence and diligence that Dan Watson exhibits.
Howard Freedlander says
Thank you, JT. Dan is relentless. Thank goodness.
Stephen Schaare says
Howard, Removal of “Talbot Boys” has been approved. I hope the physical removal does not take additional.
So topical and timely is the matter of property tax paying parents voicing opposition to teaching material they find offensive.
How do you feel about AG Garland viewing these parents and their voices as domestic terrorism? Thank you-Steve
George Merrill says
Thanks for highlighting Dan Watson, Howdy. He’s to the Eastern Shore what John Muir was to Americas West: the prophet who wants us to realize the real treasure under our feet so we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.
Howard Ftreedlander says
Thank you. George. Dan is a community warrior in the best sense.
Dan Watson says
Howard, thank you for the accolades; all know we humans appreciate it (notwithstanding what we might say). Now we have to deliver results—the thing that matters.
Richard Potter’s quest, aided by so many in the community–to free Talbot County from the shame of continuing to honor a Jim Crow point of view long after we all knew it had always been dishonorable–is an effort on a different plane: moral, not material. It was essential. But whether people ultimately care if Talbot County evolves into just another indistinguishable, cheesy spot along the highway is to be seen. The fight to keep Talbot unique will be everlasting, if it’s not lost in this round.
I do have a quarrel with one comment you made: “He was determined to flush out what he considered the pro-business attitude of the county council.” Unseating the Council President in 2018 was, for me, not because she was too “pro-business.” It was that she, and others today, were essentially “anti-Comp Plan.”
That Plan is a sound document that does support business and economic growth—in the right places, in the right ways. “Growth” is not monetizing the charms and assets of Talbot County for private gain, where the costs are essentially born by the public. (Think environment, public facilities, quality of life). Can’t “growth” be measured as increasing affluence for the roughly 38,000 citizens here now, with whatever natural increase unfolds—think of it as “per capita” prosperity?
Surely it’s not measured by how many homes a Virginia developer can sell along the highway to people from who-knows-where, and how many square feet of retail can be built by national chains. Middletown, DE was a rich agricultural town with a population of about 3800 people in 1990. Its population today is 24,000. Did that kind of growth help those original families, or just a few land-owners and developers who’ve been cashing out non-stop for 30 years?
Sorry Howard, there I go again.
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Dan, Thank you for mentioning the disaster of Middletown, DE. Steve
Howard Freedlander says
Thank you, Dan. I also appreciate your clarification. You are relentless about results and equally concerned about facts. Middletown, DE is a mess, as is Sussex County, DE. Should Lakeside go forward, Talbot County may face the
same growth spiral.
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Howard, The concerned citizens who were persistent against the County Council and removal of the “Talbot Boys” certainly have earned my respect.
I feel the same way about the property tax paying parents questioning the actions of their local school boards. Do you agree?
Attorney General Merrick Garland has decided to view these engaging citizens as “domestic terrorists”.
Had this Attorney General restricted or squelched the voices of those seeking removal of “Talbot Boys”, we may have been stuck with that hateful bronze image forever.
Your thoughts? Thank you-Steve.
Howard Freedlander says
Thank you, Steve. I have to take a pass on your question. Why? I frankly haven’t followed the subject. Why? I have spent my reading time watching the progress—or lack thereof—of the infrastructure bill. I’ve been reading about inflation and its impact on all citizens, particularly this senior citizen. So, Steve, I admit to benign neglect, not lack of interest.
Stephen Schaare says
Howard, Thank you for your reply. Steve
Harriette Lowery says
Howard, thank you!!