The Spy Columnists: Howard Freedlander

There have been more than a few lucky moments in the Spy’s nine years of existence but none more so than the serendipitous formation of a unique team of volunteer public affairs columnists who now grace its pages every week. These highly respected leaders in their lifetime careers, gifted with intellect, imagination, and passion, spanning from the political left to right, has been one of the most significant assets of our hyper-local and education-based news portals.

The commentaries of Howard Freedlander, Craig Fuller, George Merrill, David Montgomery, and Al Sikes have considerably enhanced our community’s civil debates on the most pressing issues of our times. And while the written word is their chosen medium, the Spy, a great believer in multimedia with now over 2,000 video productions, has been grateful that they have agreed to be interviewed as our country enters into one of its most important elections in recent memory.

We continue this series with Howard Freedlander, who retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Unlike most of the Spy’s weekly columnists, who generally stick to national or even international topics and themes, Howard has taken a decidedly local bent as well.

That might be due to the fact the Howard, and his wife, Liz, have lived and worked on the Eastern Shore since the 1970s. With a major in journalism and political science from the University of Pennsylvania, Howard rejected a life in the private sector and came to the Mid-Shore to become a reporter for the Star Democrat, with subsequent assignments working as editor of two Caroline County newspapers before becoming the editor of the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer.

Howard would move on to senior positions with the Maryland National Guard and eventually work for Nancy Kopp, Maryland State Treasurer, as her chief liaison for the state’s powerful Board of Public Works , where state agencies, universities, non-profits, cities and towns justify contracts for services, capital projects and land acquisition.

These multiple layers of experiences with both the Mid-Shore and the State of Maryland have understandingly led to a strong bias on the importance of community, local government, and citizenship. It also may have come from his admiration for his mother, who was a progressive political force in the city of Baltimore’s Democratic Party and a delegate to Maryland’s ill-fated Constitutional Convention in 1967-68.

In either case, Howard’s commentaries every week resonate with a unique sense of respect and sometimes concern for these Mid-Shore institutions, as the Shore, like the rest of the country, is doing some serious soul-searching on what this region will be like, and should act like, in the 21st Century.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length