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Greetings Friends!
Welcome to this edition of the Bowie
City Activist brought to you as a public service by The Dahms Group, LLC
Here are the highlights of this edition:
•
CITY OF BOWIE PAVES OVER TRAFFIC CALMING CROSSWALK IN DISTRICT TWO - Like the Kenilworth rat house and the fly house, the
question again being asked: where is the illusive District 2 Councilman Jack Jenkins?
• G. FRED ROBINSON FOR COUNTY
COUNCIL - NO THANKS! (PART 1 - THE BIG LIE)
• DOUG PETERS ENDORSEMENT
• ROUSE IN TIME WARP - the less esteemed
editor of the Bowie Blade News has written several commentaries recently that would appeal to perhaps only 40 readers in a
city of 55,000. Given the tricks Rouse had to perform to help Robinson, Brady and Jenkins in the 2005 election, isn't it time
for the Blade News to clean up its act?
• CITY OF BOWIE VS. ST. JOHNS PROPERTIES
• KENILWORTH RAT HOUSE UPDATE
•
HAPPY SPRING ELECTIONS!
• THREE CHEERS FOR CONROY/LYLES/TURNER!
• BOWIE BRIEFS
• MAILBAG
Let's
get busy in Bowie!
Richard
CITY OF BOWIE PAVES OVER TRAFFIC CALMING CROSSWALK IN DISTRICT TWO
Once
upon a time, we had a city councilman named Doug Peters who spearheaded a city study known as the "Levitt Revitalization Study".
I don't remember how much it cost city taxpayers, but credit is given to Councilman Peters for thinking out of the box and
looking at ways to improve the aging original Levitt neighborhoods of Bowie.
One of the recommendations of the study was
to construct brick crosswalks at major intersections to add to the quality of the community. The brick cross walks also act
as a traffic calming tool to slow traffic.
On the top of this webpage is a photo that shows how the city is maintaining
these decorative crosswalks when resurfacing occurs. In this case, on Kenhill Drive next to the Benjamin Tasker Middle School
parking lot entrance, the city does a sloppy job of leaving a portion of the brick cross walk exposed. Apparently, the city
doesn't know its own property lines anymore since it failed to complete the resurfacing job to the property line with the
County leaving the portion of the brick crosswalk that is on city property un-resurfaced.
At the intersection of Kembridge
and Kenhill, the beautiful brick cross walks have been paved over all together.
This leads the Bowie City Activist
to ask some simple questions.
1) The beautiful brick crosswalks were relatively new - doesn't the city have a plan
for resurfacing and why would the city install beautiful brick crosswalks at added taxpayer expense only to pave them over
a few years later?
2) Why isn't our District 2 Council member, bit part movie star in chick flick films Jack Jenkins,
observing and intervening on behalf of his district to correct this slop? Where on earth is Jack Jenkins?
3) Is the
City so pre-occupied with creating the police department that other city services are starting to suffer?
4) What is
the game plan for the brick crosswalks - are they only temporary or are they permanent?
Perhaps Mr. Jenkins and the
City Manager both would like to respond with answers and an explanation.
G. FRED ROBINSON FOR COUNTY COUNCIL - NO
THANKS! (PART 1 - THE BIG LIE)
I learned many years ago that former PG County policeman and now current Bowie Mayor
Fred Robinson possesses a "policeman mentality" of the old PG County police school - "might makes right". Obviously, "might"
does not "make right", and the Prince Georges County police department of the Fred Robinson era, after numerous investigations
including a Federal investigation, has reformed and purged itself of such officers from the old school.
As I promised
the Bowie City Activist readers, I indicated in the update e-mails subject matter City of Bowie versus St. John's Properties,
that I would articulate the case against Fred Robinson for County Council. There are so many reasons why Fred Robinson does
not deserve your vote and should not be elevated to a higher level of elected office that I am breaking the case against Robinson
down into several parts. This e-mail message is Part One entitled the "The Big Lie".
As we all know, Mayor Fred Robinson
often has difficulty telling the truth. When I ran against Fred Robinson in 1998, you can image my surprise 2 weeks before
the election when Robinson issued widely distributed campaign literature (copy of which I still have) that announced if elected
mayor he would stop the then controversial Bowie Town Center mall. I have quoted on my website www.bowiewatch.org the exact
quote Robinson made to the Bowie Blade News following his very narrow election in 1998, the closest Mayoral election in modern
Bowie history. Blade News editor John Rouse has never held Robinson accountable for his campaign statements in the Blade News.
Planned for decades in advance, the original 1960s modern Levitt Bowie residents were all informed and everyone knew that
someday the city center would be south of Route 50. Thus, my surprise by Robinson's campaign statements.
I believe
Robinson's deception in the 1998 city election regarding the Bowie Town Center was the margin of his victory over Betsy Burian!
Fast forward to 2006, Fred Robinson is asking the public to elect him PG County Councilman to replace Doug Peters.
Thus far, I have already noticed some untruths being written in the Bowie Blade News by Robinson minions on his behalf. Two
in particular that have come to my attention are made by Robinson campaign manager minions Terry Devaney and by the "less
esteemed" editor John Rouse. As Bowie City Activist readers know, John Rouse has abdicated his journalist ethics of being
"arms length" with city government and is the communications arm of the "Old Boy's network".
As an aside, I was reading
a newspaper story about the late Capital Gazette/Blade News Publisher Phillip Merrill who once told an incumbent politician
to go take a hike for his attempt to use the Evening Capital to further his political ambitions essentially trying to do what
Robinson has successfully done in recent years with Rouse and the Blade News - oh, if only the late Phillip Merrill and Capital
Gazette newspaper executives had known what was going on at the Blade News. Apparently, Merrill had the journalist integrity
that Rouse lacks.
First, I would like to expose the "big Robinson lie" being touted by campaign manager Terry
Devaney. In both the Bowie Star and the Bowie Blade News, Terry Devaney touts the BIG LIE that "Robinson has a strong base
of support", and that he has "wide support".
Are these statements by Robinson campaign manager Terry Devaney actually
true?
The reality is Fred Robinson has not faced voters in a contested election in 4 years - not since Councilman Paul
Ellington came within 600 votes of unseating the unpopular mayor. (Note: I was planning to challenge Robinson again in 2005,
but chose not to because of the collusion between the Blade News, and Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce to give Robinson the
free publicity in the Blade News one week prior to the election).
The facts of Fred Robinson's electoral history
suggests that Terry Devaney's statements are completely untrue, and are BIG LIES. Robinson was twice defeated in the 1990s
when he ran for County Council, and was narrowly elected Mayor of Bowie in the closest mayoral city election ever by deceiving
Bowie voters about the regional mall. Mayor Fred Robinson DOES NOT have a wide base of support.
Now, lets turn to
the "less esteemed" editor John Rouse's statements recently in his Commentary column. First, let me say that it must be nice
to be a politician and have your own newspaper. In this regard, Fred Robinson must be the envy of all politicians with a newspaper
editor in his back pocket. It makes me wonder what Robinson has on Rouse - perhaps some dirty pictures of Rouse running around
his Buckingham house half naked with nothing but a kilt on? Yuk!
In his June 22, 2006 Commentary entitled "Local and
state political campaigns bogged down in boredom", Rouse writes regarding the County Council race: "In this race, as in the
state senate contest, there is one candidate so far who rises above the others, and that's Robinson". Oh really! If you want
a politician who has to change our election cycles because he is receiving too much competition, or has to deceive voters
into believing that he can stop a controversial mall in order to get elected, then I guess Robinson does rise above the others
- as someone we don't need in public office that is.
Rouse writes:" Our mayor, however, has his fair share of detractors".
Well Golly Gee Fred Flintstone, I wonder who Rouse could be referring to with that comment? :)
Rouse continues, "But
when it comes to knowing the issues that are prime to Bowie, no one on the political horizon can come close to Robinson".
Oh don't make us laugh, John. That was really funny. They are nice words that have no basis in reality. In other words, THE
BIG LIE.
Then Rouse keeps us laughing by writing,"There's some concern, I'm told, among Peters' County Council allies
about a Robinson candidacy". This concern is well founded as they've probably heard about what a moron the mayor is by spending
all that tax money attacking a reputable dance studio. "They are nervous that he might not be a team player". No, they are
nervous about having a moron on their Council.
Then Rouse writes some more baloney about how Robinson will play any
political game of their choosing as long as it leads to a gain for Bowie. Nice words with no REAL substance as if Ingrid Turner
or Darrell Carrington wouldn't do the same. Give us a break John, or is this just another example of the "Dumbing Down of
Bowie" by Gee Fred Flintstone and his cronies. It's another BIG LIE!
I have much more to say and write about why Fred
Robinson does not deserve your vote and should not be elected to County Council. That's why I had to break this commentary
down into several parts. We need fresh blood to represent Bowie at the city and county levels. Someone like Fred Robinson
who has nothing to offer Bowie voters does not deserve your support. He has accomplished nothing as Mayor (except changing
our elections to further his incumbency), and being a County Council representative is a far cry from being a ceremonial figure
heard as per city charter. These last remaining elected pre-NAACP lawsuit threat city council representatives (Robinson/Brady/Jenkins)
never learned constituent services back when the Bowie City Council more resembled a private club than a public body. I think
that is why Robinson twice lost previous County Council bids.
I also find it interesting that Senator Green has not
immediately embraced Robinson in his County Council bid - probably because he knows Gee Fred Flintstone is a dumb dumb who
has had to resort to altering our elections in order to stay in office.
Just like he did in 1998 with his Bowie Town
Center voter deception, look for Gee Fred Flintstone to make promises he cannot keep regarding the Melford property, if elected
county council. As we all know, Robinson will say anything to get elected. Don't be fooled by Fred Robinson.
BIG LIES
continue to perpetuate Gee Fred Robinson. I say, NO THANKS! I hope you'll say the same.
DOUG PETERS
ENDORSEMENT
EDITORS NOTE: The following is an unpublished letter to the editor twice submitted to the Bowie Blade News.
The less esteemed editor apparently is attempting to suppress my voice in our community just like Logue/Robinson use to do
with their television tricks (Navigate to the January 7, 2006 page with the Prince Georges Journal article "Critic Kept Out
of Sight").
Here is my letter:
I first met war veteran Doug Peters in 1991 when, as a member of the "Salute
the Troops" parade committee, I had the honor and privilege of chauffeuring Doug in the parade.
In 1998, while I ran
for mayor against Fred Robinson, Doug ran for a Bowie City Council seat. Doug was elected and served our city well. It was
Doug who initiated the Levitt neighborhood revitalization study, and we have Doug to thank for the decorative brick traffic
calming crosswalks, one of the study’s recommendations. Under Doug's leadership collaborating with Councilmen Paul Ellington
and Leo Green, Jr., city tax rates were reduced after years of excessive tax increases under the Logue/Robinson "tax and spend"
regime of the 1980s and early 1990s.
There are many things to admire about Doug's public service performance, but I
would like to share with the community my experience with Doug from the private sector. Perhaps the hardest thing in the world
to do is to be founder of a successful business. While I was Vice President at a $200 million local telecommunications company,
a vendor of mine was the professional records storage company founded by Doug Peters. I use to tell the Bowie based employees
of my 150 person VP organization, if Doug runs Bowie like he runs his company, the city will do very well. I was a very satisfied
customer of Doug's business.
On behalf of the Kenilworth Elementary School community, in the summer of 2005 I contacted
Senator Leo Green and Councilman Doug Peters about Kenilworth’s deteriorating driveway/parking lot. Senator Green and Councilman
Peters agreed with us that a re-paved driveway and parking lot was definitely needed. I am happy to report that Doug was successful
in obtaining the monies earmarked for Kenilworth's re-pavement in the county budget. The entire Kenilworth school community
is now excited and looks forward to the new driveway, the first re-pavement since the school was constructed in 1962, thanks
to Doug Peters’ efforts.
I want everyone in Bowie, my hometown for 45 years, to know exactly what I think of the performance
of Doug Peters as a City and County Councilman, and as a businessperson. I value people who do what they say, and say what
they do -something we cannot say of Mayor Robinson (as we all know, Robinson will say just about anything to get elected),
but something we can say of County Councilman Doug Peters. Let's elect Doug Peters to represent Bowie in Annapolis as Senator
for the 23rd District, and let's see what he can accomplish.
ROUSE IN TIME WARP
John Rouse and Robinson's
Blade News crony Judge Gerard Devlin must be living in time warps. Perhaps only 40 readers of a newspaper serving a city with
a population of 55,000 can even relate to their two respective recent commentaries last spring about Belair at Bowie's 45
year anniversary.
Didn't the two stir up enough controversy recently in the District 2 race to keep "the old boy's
network" so Fred Robinson could have a mouthpiece on the City Council and deny a remarkable woman who knocked on every door
in District 2 a chance to serve Bowie? Editor Rouse seems caught in the 1970s Bowie and can't seem to get out. The games
and political tricks he played when Bowie was much smaller no longer work as well.
In the November, 2005 city election,
we saw the Blade News cross the line of journalistic and editorial ethics with the following:
1) Robinson crony and
Blade News writer Gerard Devlin, yes the very same Judge Devlin who headed the Charter Review committee that changed our city
elections adding an extra 1 1/2 years to Robinson's incumbency, accept a payment from the city District 2 Golato campaign.
The Golato family are known Robinson supporters (just drive by their home and see the Robinson campaign yard sign on display).
The explanation given by candidate Golato and by the Blade News was that the payment was a contribution to the DAV. This raises
some questions:
Why didn't candidate Golato make the payment directly to the DAV? Why did Judge Devlin have to touch
the money? Why was the expense made out to Devlin and not the DAV? Didn't Judge Devlin display a lack of JUDGMENT by accepting
the campaign payment made out to him? Was Candidate Golato trying to influence the Blade News?
2) As already mentioned,
working in collusion with the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce (GBCC), Chamber President Art Widmann (a Robinson campaign
contributor) and the City, the Blade News sponsors the "State of the City" address orchestrated so that it occurs right BEFORE
the city election so that Robinson can get FREE publicity in the Blade News. Fred Robinson went unchallenged in 2005 because
I learned of this political trick by the Blade News in the summer of 2005 when I was planning to enter the race.
I
should mention that Rouse and the GBCC played this same trick on me when I ran for mayor in 1992. That is when I became aware
that Rouse uses the Blade News newspaper (which he doesn't own and isn't his) to orchestrate events for his favored candidates
in "The Old Boys Network".
Shame on you John Rouse for restricting our city election and limiting the public's choices
this way.
3) I've read and followed John Rouse for 25 years. In all my city election experience, until the 2005 city
election, I have never seen Rouse write a separate election endorsement like he did for Brady/Jenkins. Normally, for years
Rouse waits until the final edition before the election and then he critiques each race in one lengthy editorial. However,
in 2005, he broke his 25 year pattern to write a separate endorsement 2 weeks before the election of two candidates in two
separate races by writing an endorsement of Brady/Jenkins together.
We now know why Rouse broke his 25 year pattern
- Brady photo copied the Rouse endorsement and distributed it widely in District 2 as an unofficial slate with Jack Jenkins
to help the Jenkins campaign (besides his own). Jenkins was nearly invisible during the campaign while Polangin was knocking
on every door. Jenkins let Rouse and the younger Brady do his campaigning for him.
4) As obvious
as the nose on your face, the blatant conflict of interest of having a candidate's wife/campaign treasurer writing for the
Blade News each week while the Blade News is suppose to caste independent judgment on the candidates is just that - a conflict
of interest. You cannot tell me the fact that Connie Jenkins writes a weekly column for the Blade News doesn't influence Rouse.
As I've pointed out, no other candidate could have equal access into the mind of this important man of Bowie, John
Rouse, than Connie and Jack Jenkins. This is cronism at its worse. You would think John Rouse would take the high road and
make the Blade above reproach. Perception is reality. I repeat, PERCEPTION IS REALITY! Rouse is bartering the Blade News with
a political candidate in exchange for his political endorsements. JOHN ROUSE - PERCEPTION IS REALITY!
The Bowie
City Activist asks, isn't it time the Blade News become a real newspaper serving a real city?
CITY OF BOWIE VS. ST.
JOHNS PROPERTIES
This update note comes from the "politics and dance studios make very strange bedfellows" department:
I
would like to draw public attention to former Bowie City Councilman Richard Padgett's letter entitled "Melford property" published
on page A8 of the June 15, 2006 Bowie Pravda (ooops, I mean Bowie Blade News). It is printed next to Deborah Sell's letter
regarding the Harley family - funny, some of us must be on the same wavelength. Padgett's letter makes most sense to date
(next, of course, to my many letters regarding the C&C Dance Company aspect of the litigation).
Quoting former Councilman
Padgett, "The costly legal conflict over the city of Bowie's existing covenants on the Melford (Maryland Science and Technology)
property no longer makes sense". His statement is consistent with mine in Annette Esterheld's article "Activist takes on Mayor":
"The only one benefiting from this litigation is city attorney Robert Levan".
Padgett describes some examples of the
problems with the existing covenants and then speaks directly to the demands of the modern marketplace. How many times have
you heard me write about how there is no known marketplace for tech centers as conceived by the city. At the C&C Dance show
of support in the city council chambers attended by almost 200 people in June, 2004, I said during my 3 minutes of citizens
participation,"The Maryland Science and Technology Center was a great idea 20 years ago that simply did not pan out".
Padgett
concludes by saying, "Standing pat on the existing, outdated Melfordwide covenants is making less and less sense". Again,
how many times have readers heard me say, after having taken the personal time to read them, the covenants are antiquated?
District 2 Councilwoman Diane Polangin (oops, I mean candidate Polangin, her only fault in life being she did not have a spouse
who can write free movie reviews to barter with Rouse in exchange for Blade News political endorsements) also said at the
Nevy Shalom candidate forum last fall the covenants were antiquated and outdated.
Now I would like to comment on Councilman
Dennis Brady's comments regarding the case as quoted in the more neutral and more unbiased Bowie Star (well, we don't see
the Bowie Star orchestrating the Mayor's state of the city address right before the city election so the incumbent mayor can
receive free publicity in their paper right before the election). I draw your attention to the quote in the Bowie Star that
basically communicates the true motives of the city. In the article "City Council seeks outside help in Melford case", June
8, 2006, Brady said cities like Bowie, which have no zoning or planning authority, value covenants as its only power over
what is built in the city. So, Mr. Brady admits this litigation is all about power and is not about the fact the city has
outdated covenants and a failed concept as so many of us Bowieites have pointed out. Well, at least Brady was honest about
what this litigation costing us taxpayers is all about. It is about power according to Brady.
Brady also states in
the same article, "I was really shocked with the outcome". Dennis, why would you be shocked? The covenants were executed with
the University of Maryland, and the city let them walk away many years ago. It was the failure of people like Fred Robinson
and Jack Jenkins who sat on the council in the 1980s when the University reneged on the deal who failed to take the urgent
action and defend the covenants when required to do so. Courts take such failure to act when necessary to do so into consideration.
Dennis, I challenge you to answer this distribution why the city would let the University of Maryland walk away from the covenants
many years ago without litigation? I already know the answer, but I think my distribution list would love to hear it from
you. Why wasn't the University of Maryland sued for non-performance, Dennis?
Councilman Brady also puts up a smokescreen
about getting MML to join the city's new appeal. "They're taking away limited authority municipalities have on restrictive
covenants" so Brady wants other municipalities to join Bowie in its appeal. No Dennis, the Court is not doing that at all,
and no other municipalities face losing their authority on restrictive covenants - unless, of course, they entered into a
contract with the University of Maryland 20 some years ago to build a tech center and then they allowed the principal party
to walk away from the deal. It is safe to say that would be zero municipalities in Maryland, other than Bowie.
In
letters I have written to the Bowie Blade News, I have repeatedly said that tech centers are not even built in the high tech
corridor of Northern Virginia. Robinson/Brady/Jenkins cannot point to an example of a tech center anywhere in this region.
What we have in Robinson/Brady/Jenkins are people sitting on our city council who are spending our city tax money freely,
completely out of touch with the reality of the marketplace. They are the ones who attacked C&C Dance, who were not smart
enough to know that Bowie taxpayers do not pay taxes to put a dance company out of business. These are the same three people
who got their political starts from a city political process that could not withstand an NAACP lawsuit - it is no coincidence
folks!
We thank our "City Statesperson" and former Bowie City Councilman Dick Padgett for his letter of common sense
published in last week's Bowie Blade News. I ask the City and St. Johns Properties to come to the settlement table and hammer
out the new covenants that reflect the zoning (including the zoning swap with the Nash Woods property). Under the scenario
that Padgett proposes, the city attorneys should make as much money on negotiating and writing the new covenants as litigating
the old ones. As I see it, I still say the only ones benefiting from this litigation is the Levan law firm with an exclusive
city monopoly (father and daughter nepotism).
Let's put this mess that Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone created behind us.
I just can't get over how stupid a certain mayor of a certain major Maryland city is to attack a reputable dance company serving
1,000 children and using the educational institution along with the children as a bargaining chit with a developer. Does anyone
know if Mayor Robinson understands how stupid he was wasting $72,000 attacking a reputable dance studio?
There
is a Bowie City Activist who dares to be right, and who is not afraid to stand up for what is right! Just call me Bowie's
"Rush Limbaugh".
In the Public Service,
Richard "Tap Dancer"
1961 Belair at Bowie Pioneer resident
1992 and 1998 Mayoral candidate; Write-In Candidate in 2005
KENILWORTH RAT HOUSE UPDATE.
On the December
6, 2005 page of the BCA, we showed photos and ran a story on "the Kenilworth rat house" located at 12714 Kavanaugh Lane. By
early May, the grass had not been cut and as we all know, the city has a code regulating the length grass can grow (yes, I'm
serious - we have a city law in Bowie governing grass length). Here is an e-mail exchange with City Manager David Deutsch
which hopefully will help bring the property into compliance.
Mr. Dahms: Two Municipal Infractions have been issued
for the subject property. Court dates not yet established.
________________________________
From: Richard A. Dahms
[mailto:richarddahms@comcast.net]
Sent: Tue 6/13/2006 10:02 AM
To: David Deutsch; geefred1@aol.com
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net;
dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy
Subject: RE: The Kenilworth Rat House
Good
morning Mr. Deutsch,
It has been more than 10 business days, and the windows and overgrown bushes at the Kenilworth
rat house have not been corrected.
I can't stress enough that if the city is going to test for working windows in
rental properties (and, I have no problem with that) and citing rental owners with potential code violations if they don't
work, then we must also apply the same code consistently and make the important statement that every residential dwelling
in the city regardless of its status (rental or owner occupied, vacant or inhabited) must have working windows. It only seems
fair to me.
Have municipal infractions been issued?
Thanks!
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From:
David Deutsch [mailto:ddeutsch@cityofbowie.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 3:01 PM
To: Richard A. Dahms; geefred1@aol.com
Cc:
mngbea@gazette.net; dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy
Subject: RE: The Kenilworth
Rat House
Mr. Dahms et al: Here is the latest on the property on Kavanaugh:
The owner is being sent a notice
informing him that the property is in violation of 5-7c7 (windows) and also 5-7b1 (overgrown bushes). He will be given 10
days to correct the problems before being issued a municipal infraction. The address has already been posted for grass cutting
and that will be done by the City next Tuesday if the owner does not take care of the situation first.
David Deutsch
-----Original
Message-----
From: Richard A. Dahms [mailto:richarddahms@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 5:56 PM
To: David
Deutsch; geefred1@aol.com
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net; dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin
Conroy
Subject: RE: The Kenilworth Rat House
Thank you Mr. Deutsch.
I understand my nearby neighbor Jerry
Difazio also contacted Mayor Robinson over the weekend about the property. Mr. Difazio owns the house next door and has received
past recognition from the city's beautification awards. It is quite a contrast in properties right next to one another.
Fred,
go to my Bowie City Activist website at www.bowiewatch.org and navigate from the drop down box to the December 6 page for
pictures on the side and bottom of the page to see what Mr. Difazio is talking about when he called you.
I want to
make one additional observation - the city tells me in its communications to landlords that in order to comply with code,
a property must have working windows. Mr. Deutsch, I can fax to you what the city sends out and it's references about working
windows. I do not believe code distinguishes between inhabited vs. uninhabited property or rental vs. owner-occupied when
it requires working windows. Therefore, unless the city's information that it sends to me is in error, I believe all properties
in Bowie (rental, non-rental, inhabited, non-inhabited) are required to have working windows. The Kenilworth rat house is
no exception and its windows are not operational because most are boarded up.
Am I wrong about my observation that
properties have working windows?
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: David Deutsch [mailto:ddeutsch@cityofbowie.org]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 12:24 PM
To: Richard A. Dahms
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net; dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net;
jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy
Subject: RE: The Kenilworth Rat House
I visited the property on Saturday afternoon.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Richard A. Dahms [mailto:richarddahms@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 1:23 PM
To: David
Deutsch
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net; dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy
Subject:
RE: The Kenilworth Rat House
Thank you ...you are a great American!
May I still suggest that you personally
need to see this property. It is unbelievable that a city with a code compliance office can allow a property to go on in this
condition for so long. I really think you need to see it, David. Perhaps you can swing by on a lunch break or something to
see it.
Thanks in advance for your support. The Public Works department has been very busy here in Kenilworth lately,
and just a note of thanks while I'm writing that we appreciate it.
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From:
David Deutsch [mailto:ddeutsch@cityofbowie.org]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 8:09 AM
To: Richard A. Dahms
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net;
dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy
Subject: RE: The Kenilworth Rat House
Property
is being posted today. Staff met with the owner at end of last week, who said it will be cut by "end of this week"
-----Original
Message-----
From: Richard A. Dahms [mailto:richarddahms@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 3:02 PM
To: David
Deutsch
Cc: mngbea@gazette.net; dharrison@gazette.com; mmoore@gazette.net; jflanagan@gazette.net; Kevin Conroy; 'Richard
A. Dahms'
Subject: The Kenilworth Rat House
Good Friday afternoon Mr. Deutsch,
This is one I know you'll
love - the length of the grass growing at the Kenilworth "Rat House" located at 12714 Kavanaugh Lane has been in violation
of city code for sometime. How long will the city allow code violations to continue on this property?
I highlighted
the Kenilworth Rat House with pictures at the Bowie City Activist website www.bowiewatch.org (navigate to December 6, 2005
page). On the website, I make note of code violations that have gone uncorrected for many years. What do we have to do to
bring this property into city code compliance? May I suggest that you personally need to drive by and see this property?
Please
enforce Bowie city code at this property.
I'll again ask the Bowie Star writers copied on this note to consider doing
an article on the Rat House - apparently unoccupied since the 1970s. Street legend says there was a death in the property,
and I want to know how do we know a body isn't in there?
Thanks in advance for your support.
Richard
HAPPY
SPRING ELECTIONS
The following is a BCA email that was distributed on April 4, 2006 to the blind distribution:
Dear
Bowie City Activist Readers on blind copy distribution,
Happy Bowie City Election Day! Seriously!
Until very
recently, the United States Mayors website, www.usmayors.org, was reporting April 4, 2006 as the next election day in Bowie!
It
appears Robinson and his Blade News crony Gerard Devlin, in their scheme to alter our traditional spring city elections in
order to extend Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone's incumbency because he was receiving too much mayoral competition from Betsy Burian,
Michael McArdle and Paul Ellington, forgot to notify the official US mayor website of the election date change.
I
did not want this day to pass without communicating with BCA readers about this date, as I have been the only activist in
Bowie educating people to what Robinson and his Blade News crony did with our traditional elections - the most self serving
scheme we have ever witnessed by a Bowie public official.
Funny, when Fred Robinson altered our city elections to further
his incumbency because he was receiving too much competition, the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce (GBCC), the City and the
Blade News also altered the timing of the "State of the City" address right along with it! (Note: I did not run for mayor
again in 2005 because of I learned of this collusion between the GBCC, the City and the Blade News to time the State of the
City address right before the City elections. They did the same thing to me when I ran for Mayor the first time in April,
1992. The Chamber and the Blade News time the State of the City address to give the incumbent mayor favorable publicity in
the Blade News edition right before the election. See the November 3, 2005 edition of the Blade News. I terminated my membership
in the GBCC because of this local political monopoly practice. When Robinson altered the elections, they altered the timing
of the "State of the City" address right along with in collusion).
On my desk is a friendly picture of Betsy Burian
and myself taken on election day, April 7, 1998. We were the mayoral candidates who ran in the open 1998 mayoral race along
with former City Councilman Fred Robinson. The central issue in the 1998 city election was land use and excessive development
(although I tried to raise other issues that needed to be raised). Remember, in 1998, a soccer field sat where Bowie Crossing
(restaurants/motel/movie theatre) now sits, and opposition to the controversial Bowie New Town Center Mall was central to
the 1998 election. Robinson, who was not endorsed by the Bowie Blade News, came out with a late version of campaign literature
misleading voters into believing he would stop the controversial mall.
The 1998 Bowie mayoral contest was the closest
in modern city history. Robinson narrowly won by 50.4% of the vote - I believe he narrowly won over Betsy Burian because he
misled city voters into believing he would stop the controversial mall.
Here is what the mayor himself said in 1998
following his narrow election win as quoted in the Blade News: “I’m sure in the South Bowie numbers, the message was voters’
opposition to the two shopping centers, the New Town Center regional mall and Amber Ridge”. Recently, the developer's Mayor
was quoted in the Bowie Star as saying that the proposed residential development to be built on a parking lot in the rear
of Bowie Town Center was, in his words, "attractive".
Which Fred Robinson do you want to believe? The 1998 candidate
Fred Robinson who misled city voters into believing he would stop the mall, or the 2006 Mayor Fred Robinson who claims more
development on the BTC site is "attractive"?
The problem with Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone is he has trouble telling
the truth!
I created the Bowie City Activist website to advocate accountability in Bowie city government. More than
200 visitors have visited the current page of the Bowie City Activist at www.bowiewatch.org which documents earlier political
malfeasance and the city's violations of the Maryland Public Information Act while Robinson sat on the city council in the
early 1990s.
This city has never had a political activist like me! I see things in my hometown of 45 years that others
over look and do not see because they follow the crowd. It's easy to follow the crowd.
It takes a very lively fish
to swim upstream.
I continue to be an alternative voice in the City of Bowie - my hometown of 45 years! As mentioned
in my last e-mail letter, I have some announcements to make soon about an upgraded Bowie City Activist at www.bowiewatch.org.
Happy traditional spring city election day Bowie! Remember how Fred Robinson altered our traditional city elections, after
he was elected by misleading city voters about the BTC mall, because he was receiving too much competition and almost got
unseated by Paul Ellington in 2002.
Oh, and would someone on City Staff please notify www.usmayors.org of our new
city election cycle and next election date.
In the Public Service,
Richard
THREE CHEERS FOR CONROY,
LYLES and TURNER
In local politics, some things boil down to specific small issues to figure out where people stand
politically. Did you notice it was Conroy/Turner/Lyles that voted against even studying a pay raise for the mayor that would
become effective in 2007. Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone has been whining for a pay raise for a long time (because he has managed
to turn a part time "ceremonial" job as per the city charter into a fulltime job campaigning to stay in office).
If
Robinson is unsuccessful in his County council bid (and, we do hope he is unsuccessful), then he won't have a raise to look
forward to should he be re-elected as mayor in 2007. The vote was a slap in the face of Fred and Dennis Brady (Barney Rubble?).
We can see how Brady (yawn) has positioned himself to receive the advantage of incumbency for a 2007 mayoral campaign. Oh,
how these last remaining pre-NAACP election legal threat incumbents (Robinson/Brady/Jenkins) continue playing tricks to stay
in office and further their political incumbencies.
BOWIE BRIEFS
- As Bowie City Activists readers
know, we caught the Mayor's 2005 re-election campaign along with Councilman Dennis Brady violating the city law which requires
the candidate's certification as to the accuracy of the campaign finance disclosure. Additionally, we caught Councilman Dennis
Brady failing to authenticate his campaign financial report with a notary as required by city code. In a letter the Bowie
City Activist received from the city attorney, I am informed that both Brady and Robinson have re-submitted and corrected
their campaign financial statements. With respect to other misconduct by officials of the City of Bowie along with other legal
entities, I have been informed of the statute of limitations and I am still contemplating taking legal action.
-
Kudos to District 3 Councilman Todd Turner who fulfilled campaign promises to meet with his constituents in town meeting forum
if elected. The BCA understands Turner, besides following through on his town meeting pledge, has also met with a number of
the Homeowners' Associations in his district. Oh, that the residents of District 2 had such representation and constituent
oriented Council member.
- Bowie had a celebrity in town on July 8, 2006. Season 3 Donald Trump Apprentice winner
Kendra was featured speaker at a local real estate investors club lead by Sherman Ragland that meets at Florian Hall. Incidently,
Sherman was honored with a surprise birthday party on Friday, July 7 at Prince Georges Stadium. The Chairman of the Bowie
Economic Development Committee was reportedly 44 years old according to the stadium's scoreboard.
- Shukoor Ahmed
laughs off Rouse's baseball analogy to his campaign as a "three strikes and you're out candidacy" in the aforementioned Commentary
by the less esteemed editor. Ahmed informs the BCA that he prefers to think of his campaign in more of a football context
than a baseball analogy. Says Ahmed, "I'm going for the touchdown this time, but I also know that I have another down left
to convert into a score". Good comeback, Shukoor!
- And, lastly, the annual C&C Dance Recital was held in June
to capacity audiences. As readers know, this website is an outgrowth of Mayor Gee Fred Flintstone's assault on the C&C Dance
Company. Cheryl Brennan was as active as ever in the performance. She did not look like someone who was just recovering from
a heart attack. It was another outstanding recital and a great time. Thank you Cheryl. As we were leaving, I said to some
in the audience sitting behind me, "And, Fred Robinson doesn't think this is educational?" to which I received several sarcastic
replies about our mayor. As I've always said, "Even a moron knows Bowie taxpayer's don't pay taxes to put a reputable dance
company out of business".
MAILBAG
HARLEY FAMILY. Richard, Could you please use your email list to
pass the word on what we're trying to do to help Sharon and her kids? Right now we have the Mission Council at Christian Community
Presbyterian Church setting up a line item in their budget to support her ongoing needs. Therefore, monies contributed to
CCPC, earmarking them for Sharon can be used for her benefit and still be tax deductible for individuals desiring to contribute
something for her welfare.
Debbie
GEE FRED FLINTSTONE FOR COUNTY COUNCIL? Fred Flintstone has the democratic
23rd team behind him. They themselves are a disaster. So, why not replace one disaster with another. Seems to me this is
the Peter Principle. You know - when someone is promoted to their level of incompetence!
PEOPLE GIVING UP? In my
Bowie neighborhood, people have given up. They don't want to be bothered, and are afraid. They say they cannot change city
hall.
RD Comments: This is an example of the apathy we see as a result of the "Dumbing Down of Bowie" by Mayor Gee
Fred Flintstone.
MELFORD APPELLATE COURT DECISION. You are correct in assuming that Levan wrote the poorly written
and antiquated covenants for the Science & Tech Center that we know as Melford. In my opinion, his firm has been milking
the city of Bowie for at least 20 years. They can now retire on the money they have charged the City for this useless law
suit against C&C and for Melford. I am so glad of the ruling passed down the other day. One step in the right direction!
RD Comments: Last week's appellate court decision placing the city's antiquated covenants in limbo on the Melford
property does provide some vindication and relief to the students, parents, friends and family of the C&C Dance Company. The
decision comes almost two years to the date when approximately 200 supporters packed the Bowie City Council chambers to overflow
capacity to voice their opposition to Mayor Robinson's attack on the C&C Dance Company located at the non-tech center. Perhaps
the educational institution that serves 1,000 children can now operate without further distraction.
MORE ON MELFORD.
Actually, the ruling was not reported so it’s my understanding that it can't be sited in any other legal proceedings, so the
Maryland Municipal League really has nothing to fear from the ruling.
NAPOLEONIC COMPLEX? The Star and the Blade, when
one reads it makes out that Deustch is 'god". I felt like writing a letter where I would state - napoleon was small in stature
but with aspirations of power, Hitler was small in stature but with aspirations of power, and throughout time all individuals,
small in stature, had aspirations of power. Does our city manager fall into this category? if there is any chance of any
similarity, the city of Bowie is in for big (pardon the pun) troubles.
That is sort of what I wanted to say, however, Deustch
would most likely fall off his shoe lifts (if the newpapers published my letter)! Thank you for your inspiration.
GREATER
BOWIE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Mr. Dahms, Several months ago, I requested you drop my email address from your distribution list.
You replied that as long as you were a member of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce you would continue to forward the emails
to me. Fine.
Now you have dropped your membership in the GBCC and therefore I again request to be deleted from your
email distribution list for future correspondence. I anticipate you will fine no reason not to comply with my request this
time.
Thank you.
Kelly Pierce, Executive Director, Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce
RD Replies: Gee
Kelly, my recollection of our e-mail exchange several months ago was that there is still an issue of my membership refund.
When can I expect my membership refund?
I joined the GBCC to be with my business community because I am a business
person. I did not join the GBCC to have a Fred Robinson campaign contributor and GBCC officer (Art Widmann) collude with the
Blade News and City officials to stage the "State of the City address" a week before the election so Robinson, if challenged,
could receive the favorable Blade News publicity.
Again, I reviewed the GBCC calendar in the summer of 2005, saw that
you guys were still doing that stuff and quietly decided not to run formally for mayor in 2005. Oh, the things Fred Flintstone
has to do to stay in public office.
Shame on the Bowie Blade News and GBCC. I hope the GBCC takes my certified letters
in December seriously and stops that anticompetitive practice in the future. Meanwhile, I'll comply with your request when
you comply with mine.
"GOOD Ol' BOY NETWORK". I'm writing this in support of Richard Dahms. I believe he is an
honest and sincere person who truly cares about Bowie. He is correct about the "Good "Ol Boy Network", which includes the
chamber (not everyone in the chamber, just a few of the "old guard") and John Rouse and his paper the Blade.
It's not personal. I would just like to see ethics, fairness and balance in our city politics and our city government.
More importantly, if our local newspaper were ethical, fair and balanced Bowie residents would be able to make more well informed
decisions when voting and also would be able to hold their local elected officials accountable. The good people of Bowie
sure deserve better than what we have.
Unfortunately, the power structure here in Bowie is connected to the larger
power structure that has had a death grip on the voters of our county and state for far too long. Just look at the failures
and shenanigans of the Democrats in our county and state governments. The arrogance and corruption has no end. This is not
to say that if Republicans had been in charge for this long they would not be doing the same thing. It's about balance and
fairness as I said before. The two party system is far from perfect but it's a hell of a lot better than dictatorship and
manipulation.
----------------END OF LETTERS--------------------------
The Bowie City Activist can be reached
at richarddahms@comcast.net.
Have fun in Bowie land! Until next time, this is your Bowie City Activist,
Richard
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LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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