Sheriff Johnson Becomes Colonel Johnson

Former Anne Arundel County Sheriff, and candidate for County Executive, George Johnson was appointed by Governor O'Malley to head the Department of Natural Resources Police this past week. The move places him in charge of the 214 officers who patrol state parkland and waterways.

Callahan Gets Desperate

Two and a half weeks before the primary election, Dennis Callahan (D) has decided to fire the opening salvo against his Democratic opponent for the County Executive spot, George Johnson. Callahan, who has been difficult to find on the campaign trail seems to have finally gotten a clue that he's not polling particularly well among the electorate. And, he's decided to start throwing mud at the Sheriff in the hope that some will stick.

Callahan's claim: There are between 11,000 and 11,500 unserved warrants.

Johnson's response: The backlog of unserved warrants was 14,000 when I took over the task of serving them from county police in 1998. I've cut that number while dealing with between 600 and 1,200 new warrants a month, all with limited staff.

Callahan's claim: The Baltimore County Sheriff's Office has only 2,600 unserved warrants.

Johnson's response: In Baltimore County, the Police Department serves criminal warrants. The Police Department has 8,580 unserved warrants. [Total warrants: 11,180]

Callahan's claim: 94 people have left the Sherrif's Department since 2001.

Johnson's response: The high turnover is a result of pay and benefits that lag behind the county Police Department.

Callahan's claim: There was a recent murder sentencing in which the shooter had an unserved arrest warrant at the time of the killing.

Johnson's response: That warrant was from the city of Annapolis and is held by city police, not the Sheriff's Department.

These are the charges of a desperate politician, and his lax research skills don't speak particularly well to his ability to handle the mental rigors of the County's highest office.

My sense is, that on September 13th, Mr. Callahan may finally begin to get a clue that his arrogance, his short-sightedness, and the long list of people he has put off, first as Mayor, and then as Head of the Department of Parks and Recreation has caught up with him. Such an election-day epiphany might well be worth the effort it took to run a half-gassed campaign.

Leader of the Pack

Today's Capital reports that County Executive candidate, George Johnson, put forth his environmental program in a press conference in Annapolis this morning. The Sheriff re-affirmed his support for the stormwater utility fee and offered his intention to create the position of environmental ombudsman in his office.

The Capital article quotes each of Johnson's Democratic and Republican opponents, but I think Republican Tom Angelis said it best: "I don't think any one of the seven of us would deny this something necessary to be done." You know what Tom, I don't think so either. I think anyone with a functioning cortex realizes the scale of the problem, making it all the more pathetic that every other one of the County Executive candidates wants to dance around the problem, proposing "creative" (read "imaginary") solutions, or none at all (see Phil Bissett).

Some may think Johnson is putting himself out on a limb, after all his craven opponent in the Democratic primary, Dennis Callahan, is calling the Restoration Fund a "property tax", even after the Office of the Attorney General issued a decision to the contrary. The truth is, effective leaders do what they need to in order to get the job done, and leave the mealy-mouthed whiners wondering in confusion after the election's dust has cleared.

County Executive Candidates Views on Growth

The Sun asked each of the seven candidates running for County Executive about their views on growth. Here are their answers.

County Exec Hopefuls Weigh In on the Horse Stadium

A quick breakdown of candidates and their positions on the proposed equestrian stadium in Gambrills:

John Leopold (R) - Against the stadium.

Dennis Callahan (D) - Against the stadium (It should go in Cecil County).

George Johnson (D) - "I really would like to see that we maintain the rural character of the farm and the community."

Tom Angelis (R) - "In favor of the concept."

Greg Nourse (R) - Is in favor of the site, but it may need to be built at another venue (Crownsville).

Phil Bissett (R) - It is too soon to make a good decision.

Dave Boschert (R) - Supports a stadium.

So we have both Democrats and one Republican, in essence, opposed to, and four Republicans either in support of, or potentially in support of using public dollars to subsidize a horse stadium that is going to cause environmental damage and increased traffic and noise to the residents of Gambrills. Remember that at primary time.

P.S. The first candidate to tell the sand/gravel mine people to come back to reality and recognize they will never, ever touch this property, will receive heavy praise here.

County Executive News

Apparently, County Councilwoman Barbara Samorajczyk (D) has thrown her support behind George Johnson (D) in the County Executive race, declining to enter the race herself.

George Johnson Picks Up Endorsements

County Executive candidate Sherriff George Johnson picked up a number of endorsements this week. Those endorsing him include: "state senators Philip C. Jimeno and James E. " Ed" DeGrange Sr. and former senator Al Lippin; delegates Mary Ann Love, Ted Sophocleus and Joan Cadden; County Council member Pamela G. Beidle and former council members Shirley Murphy, George Bachman and Dan Klosterman; and State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee."

The Courage to Make Promises You Can't Possibly Keep

Well, yesterday I was able to make an appearance at Sheriff Johnson's whistle stop tour through the County. The Sheriff was nicely coiffed, and certainly by Anne Arundel County standards, polished and well-spoken. He announced the official kick-off of his campaign for County Executive, and proceeded to regale the crowd with all sorts of inarguably desirable outcomes for the County, and by my unofficial count, 237 instances of the "courage" it would take from him and County residents to get there. Smaller class sizes (each under 30 students), cutting the fat from government, lower taxes, more green space preserved, and affordable housing. The only thing missing was a chicken and sizable tax rebate in each pot.

Lest I be accused of going too hard on the Sheriff, let me reject that charge. Each and every one of us needs to scrutinize the words and intentions of these pols running for Executive, or we'll be saddled with another inept "friendly face" presiding over the destruction our precious County for 4 more years. If you're sick of platitudes and promises, demand more.