As you will see below Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland received 6,500 votes or 1% of the democratic vote. Antony Brown supposedly won this race with only 12% of registered democratic voters. My campaign with just a little media coverage---with access to major venue coverage----would have easily won.


I want to thank those of you having voted for me.  It is not in vain as I take this election result to court these votes prove I had support and was active in this race.  As you see with today's post.....the entire Maryland election process is corrupt and the election rigging willful and deliberate.  I should have no problem with winning in court, but if corruption extends to this Maryland Circuit Court----I will appeal.  Meanwhile, I am preparing to file in Federal Court the case against the organizations committing these election violations and the primary candidates that participated knowing my campaign was being illegally excluded.


Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland has proven that with the final vote showing the supposed winner Anthony Brown at 12% of registered democratic voters to Cindy Walsh’s 1%-----I could have easily won this election with just a moderate media exposure and participation in the forums and debates that should have included me.  I could have easily won with a platform of ending corporate fraud and government corruption and holding global corporations at bay while building an domestic economy in Maryland driven by small and regional businesses.  It is this platform that motivated the exclusion from this primary race.

St. Mary’s College performs what looks to be the most academic and reliable polling in the State of Maryland yet it too uses methods that diminish accuracy like automated calling and small cohorts for extremely low polling figures.  As you can see below, St. Mary’s does not post its polling model even as it says the information is coming so we do not know how they randomized, what the protocol for failed calling attempts was, etc.  The other polling agencies like Gonzalez, Sun, Washington Post use models that make polling data irrelevant.  The percentages that make it to media for each candidate always include those methods with higher margin of error and ‘likely’ voter cohorts.  Again, it is not cost or time that figures into these choices of polling methods because a handful of people working just a few hours can call 1,000 voters.  It is a willful and deliberate attempt to use polling data to manipulate the election process.

 

Welcome To INSIGHTS

 

The Maryland Poll or MPoll, our Blog INSIGHTS, and Hosted Blogs

Professor Susan Grogan

April’s MPoll results are in!

 Download Graphs of the MPOll‘s Results.

You are on the Welcome (Home) Page of INSIGHTS, The Maryland Poll’s  blog.   The Maryland Poll , a.k.a. the MPoll, was conceived from two years of research toward starting a public opinion polling research center within St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Political Science Department.  My professional reasons were to develop a pedagogical model incorporating more technology and involving more public service in my political science classes as well as steering my own professional career in that direction.  (Personal reasons may have included a knee-jerk response to certain members in the House of the US Congress who absurdly continue to insist that ‘we don’t do science in political science.‘)

Much of our activity will involve gathering together public opinion data  from polls conducted within and about Maryland.  We will also conduct our own MPolls.  We conducted our first poll from April 10 – 13 and the results were published April 18, 2014.  Polls are planned for the fall semester during the Maryland 2014 Gubernatorial Election.

Thus, the project is multidimensional.  As mentioned, the MPoll will conduct polls.  INSIGHTS, MPoll’s blog, will gather polling data and will provide straightforward commentary as nonpartisan as is possible.  As another aspect of our public service mission, INSIGHTS will also publish background information on polling and how to interpret polling data.  The idea is that, in addition to professional commentary, INSIGHTS will offer the necessary background the layperson would need to analyze polling data.

We could say that commenting provides another useful measure of public opinion.  INSIGHTS as well as Hosted Blogs are open for comments that further the discussion by presenting a more diverse range of opinions and ideas about public opinion and political goings-on that affect or attempt to influence the opinions of persons residing in or near Maryland.  Most often, the primary demographic of concern will be eligible voters.

All comments will be moderated.  Not all comments will be accepted.  In most cases, it likely will be that we are too overwhelmed at the moment to respond but we also hope to maintain a reasonable level of decorum.

 

About Candidates v. Polls

Coming soon.  We should have content up by the end of January on most of this site.

Thank you for your patience.

About Interpreting Polls Coming soon.  We should have content up soon on most of this site.

Thank you for your patience.

About Polling Techniques Coming soon.  We should have content up soon on most of this site.

Thank you for your patience.

As I show elsewhere in the evidence provided, the various polls greatly exaggerated the candidates favored to win.  When the public is shown these irrelevant stats it creates the apathy for voting for a candidate they would actually want.  Psychologically, it is known that voters tend to follow the front-runner and this is why the exaggerated figures for Brown, Gansler, and Mizeur were created with manipulated polling standards like margin of error and selected polling groups of ‘likely’ voters.  Can you imagine when voter turnout hits 10-20% how small and homogenous that polling pool of likely voters become?  Why would polls include all republican candidates even as they barely polled and not all of the democratic candidates?

The media identified the apathy of voters as ‘not caring’ but we know the apathy is from an inability to exact change to a system voters know is rigged.

 

Undecided voters dominate in new gubernatorial poll

April 23, 2014|By Michael Dresser  Baltimore Sun

 

The poll strongly tracks previous surveys of the race and shows little sign that any candidate is gaining significant ground. For instance, a poll released by The Baltimore Sun in February showed Brown with 35 percent, Gansler with 14 percent and Mizeur with 10 percent.  On the Republican side Hogan polled at 13 percent and Craig at 7 percent.

The methodologies of the two polls were significantly different. Unlike the St. Mary’s poll, The Sun's poll used live callers and concentrated on 500 likely voters rather than all registered voters. The college’s automated poll surveyed 954 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.17 percentage points.

 

Look at this media representation of the Maryland democratic primary race for governor.  The polling numbers are so skewed it is a mockery of the election process.  Again, the use of likely voters, a subset so small as to be useless in attaining actual polling data.  Is it illegal for media and polling agencies to deliberately skew these polling data in a way that willfully and deliberately damages the campaign of other candidates?  Yes, it is.  It is also illegal for organizations participating in these election events to use these polling data everyone knows are skewed.  I can assure this court, Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland gave the larger venues participating in this primary election this information on polling as the primary progressed.  Allowing these polls saying Brown was polling at 46% of likely voters right before the primary election and ending with 12%  of registered democratic voters -----this is a crime.  It takes away all voter enthusiasm to participate and tells prospective candidates and those like me that this system is so corrupt you will not have a chance.  There is no way the Maryland Election Board does not have staff with enough knowledge on polling methodology to know these polls were willfully and deliberately misleading the Maryland voters and skewing the primary election.  As you will see below Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland received 6,500 votes or 1% of the democratic vote. Antony Brown supposedly won this race with only 12% of registered democratic voters. My campaign with just a littlemedia coverage---with access to major venue coverage----would have easily won.

 

 

Maryland Politics

Lt. Gov. Brown holds commanding lead over Democratic rivals in Maryland governor’s race

•  
•  

From left, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, Del. Heather R. Mizeur (Montgomery) and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, the Democratic candidates for governor of Maryland. (Matt Mcclain/AP)

By John Wagner and Peyton M. Craighill June 10   Washington Post

Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown holds a commanding lead over his Democratic rivals for governor, according to a new Washington Post poll, two weeks before a primary election that most voters are not following closely and that is likely to attract a low turnout.

Though nearly half of likely voters say they could still change their minds, the poll found backing for Brown across a broad demographic range — and deep support among fellow African Americans — and showed that Brown voters are firmer in their allegiance than those siding with the other candidates. With scant evidence that attacks on Brown’s management skills, particularly his handling of the state’s health insurance exchange, have damaged him, the poll shows no obvious path to victory for the other Democratic hopefuls in the June 24 primary.

Statewide, 46 percent of likely Democratic voters support Brown, while 23 percent back Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and 16 percent support Del. Heather R. Mizeur (Montgomery), according to the poll.

Analysts said Brown’s lead is formidable in the race, in which early voting starts Thursday.

“Absent a gigantic mistake from the Brown campaign, this is probably over,” said Donald F. Norris, chairman of the public policy department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “I think the only strategy left for a candidate in Gansler’s situation is to attack, attack, attack, and that’s likely to backfire.”



If Gansler is too aggressive, Norris reasoned, he could strike voters as desperate and wind up driving voters to Mizeur as an alternative.

 

 

Here's the breakdown of votes in the primary as of 2:26 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Maryland Board of Elections, with 1982 of 1988 precincts reporting:

Republican
Larry Hogan/Boyd Rutherford: 43.01 percent
David Craig/Jeannie Haddaway: 29.12 percent
Charles Lollar/Ken Timmerman: 15.51 percent
Ronald George/Shelley Aloi: 12.36 percent

Democrat
Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman: 51.29 percent
Doug Gansler/Jolene Ivey: 24.23 percent
Heather Mizeur/Delman Coates: 21.71 percent
Cindy Walsh/Mary Elizabeth Wingate-Pennacchia: 1.4 percent
Charles Smith/Clarence Tucker: 0.72 percent
Ralph Jaffe/Freda Jaffe: 0.65 percent




The following results are from early voting (June 12 to 19), as reported by the Maryland Board of Elections.

Democrat
Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman: 57.71 percent
Doug Gansler/Jolene Ivey: 20.82 percent
Heather Mizeur/Delman Coates: 19.4 percent
Cindy Walsh/Mary Elizabeth Wingate-Pennacchia: 1.05 percent
Ralph Jaffe/Freda Jaffe: 0.51 percent
Charles Smith/Clarence Tucker: 0.51 percent

Republican
Larry Hogan/Boyd Rutherford: 42.79 percent
David Craig/Jeannie Haddaway: 31.95 percent
Charles Lollar/Ken Timmerman: 13.74 percent
Ronald George/Shelley Aloi: 11.53 percent

If you look at all of the election result coverage it almost always refers to the percentage won of votes casted and not percentage of total registered voters.  You see below the extremely low percentage of registered voters who actually voted.  As the group at St. Mary’s College stated in the article on polling…..the problem is the failure to educate the voters.  This speaks to the inclusion of all candidates and platforms and it speaks to the election venues available to the citizens of Maryland.  The fact that there is not a Maryland State election platform that allows all candidates access to forums and debates all over the state shows the capture of this election system.  The fact that organizations tasked with the mission of free and fair election oversight, like the Maryland League of Women Voters, use the same arbitrary polling guidelines and front-runner status and openly work to make sure a candidate with a certain platform does not have videotaped exposure on its website shows a captured election system.  When the University of Maryland is telling me it uses a 15% polling threshold and Maryland Public Television and Maryland League of Women Voters uses 10% and they all are allowing all republican candidates mostly polling lower than these thresholds in all forum events while excluding democratic candidates because of platform-----you have a captured election system.  As I pointed out, the private non-profits that are taking over this duty all express prejudice and as I have proven, do it in ways that are illegal and violate election law.  The law states that the voters have the right to go to the polls with freedom and intellect to participate as an educated electorate.  Denying viable candidates the right to exposure and access to major forums and debates whether on media or tied to a 501c3 event willfully and deliberately damages a candidate’s campaign and works to keep people from this ballot intellect.

I ask that you look as well at the final percentages of registered voters for each candidate to see how this actual count compares with the polling numbers given to us all through the governor’s race.  Don’t forget that we just came through the most media campaign advertisement blitz of the primary election period so these percentages would be a peak.  You will notice that these percentages are closer to the St Mary’s poll in April where most of the candidates barely broke 10% and many were around 5%.  These are the polling numbers used by major venues to exclude Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland and the arbitrary nature is obvious.  I would say that it is obvious as well that some polling agencies provided polling numbers that were so inflated and unreal as to set the stage for some candidates being labelled front-runners and meeting guidelines.  Again, this kind of polling is so irrelevant and excludes candidates who are relegated to the ‘undecided’ and ‘other’ category that it fails to meet the Supreme Court ruling about identifying candidates as viable or strongly supported by the public.

 

2014 Primary Election Results - Maryland Governor

UPDATED 2:22 PM EDT Jun 23, 2014

 

Governor - Dem Primary

June 25, 2014 - 08:26AM ET

Maryland - 2033 of 2033 Precincts Reporting - 100%

 
Name    Party   Votes     Vote %



Brown, Anthony   Dem  235,974   51%
Gansler, Douglas  Dem  111,444   24%
Mizeur, Heather Dem  99,84  22%
Walsh, Cindy  Dem  6,441   1%
Smith, Charles  Dem  3,296  1%
Jaffe, Ralph    Dem   2,995  1%



Governor - GOP Primary

June 25, 2014 - 08:26AM ET

Maryland - 2033 of 2033 Precincts Reporting - 100%

 
Name  Party  Votes   Vote %



Hogan, Larry    GOP   89,100  43%
Craig, David   GOP   60,357   29%
Lollar, Charles  GOP    32,155  16%
George, Ron  GOP    25,613    12%


Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/2014-primary-election-results-maryland-governor/26550226#ixzz35eavyG7j


Brown ---------236,000 of 2,000,000 registered democratic voters =  12% of the vote

Gansler ------- 111,500 of 2,000,000 registered democratic voters =  6% of the vote

Mizeur -------  100,000 of 2,000,000 registered democratic voters =   5% of the vote     

Walsh -------  6,500 of 2,000,000 registered democratic voters =  1% of the vote

 

23% of registered democrats voted

 

 

 

Hogan ------  89,000 of 1,000,000 registered republican voters =  9% of the vote

Craig ------- 60,500 of 1,000,000 registered republican voters =  6% of the vote

Lollar ------ 32,000 of 1,000,000 registered republican voters =  3% of the vote

George ----- 26,000 of 1,000,000 registered republican voters =   3% of the vote

 

21% of registered republicans voted.

 

Please look at these final election results with the actual percentage of registered voters per candidate to see the 12% of voters for Brown to see these figures have been super-sized from the start.  There is no reasonable explanation that after the last few weeks of concentrated campaign advertisement and after several months of media saturation of this one candidate that he only garners 12% of registered democratic voters ----other than democratic voters did not want this candidate that is now declared primary winner with 12% of the voters.  Meanwhile, Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland is not far behind with 1% of the vote and completely censured in the media and major forum and debate venues.

The expedited nature of this election process denies me the ability to subpoena all of these polling tools to verify the voracity of methods.  I would as well have used the subpoena to have an official set of guidelines for forums and debates from the institutions I have quoted.  I feel confident because of the irrelevant methods we do see and the extreme inflation of the polls to the reality of the election that I have proven the invalidity of polling as a method of exclusion and identifying a candidate as viable, a front-runner, or having strong public support.  Everyone in this primary race knew these polling figures and methods allowed this inflation of percentages as did the organizations using polling to exclude arbitrarily.  As the final results show only one candidate meets the 10% polling requirement of Maryland Public Television and Maryland League of Women Voters and none meet the polling requirement of University of Maryland’s 15% polling.  If this court allows these polling agencies to arbitrarily inflate results to effect the conduct of these elections, the election process in Maryland will remain corrupt and disillusioned voters left with no government agency protecting free and fair elections.

The court must recognize the systemic fraud and corruption in this democratic primary system at all levels of operation and rule this primary election result invalid and recognize that replicating the primary with the system without reform would be impossible.  I will be requesting in my Federal Court lawsuit against the defendants listed that the Federal government place an oversight decree on Maryland Elections Board and the Maryland Democratic Party and monitor the behavior of elections in the state over several election periods until all entities involved in the election process understand and develop good standards of operation while participating in elections.  The candidates in the democratic primary are all guilty of Federal election law and as such will be tried under felony indictment.  This should give this Maryland Circuit Court further reason to declare this democratic primary void with no second primary.

Cindy Walsh for Governor of Maryland did all that was possible to identify, report, mitigate, and seek resolution to the violations listed in this complaint.  I should not be denied my place in this election for governor.  Since I had the ability in February 2014 to register as a general election candidate for governor with the Green Party, I request that this be allowed now by suspending this one time the requirement to file for this general election status by February 2104.  I request the court assess financial penalty to those government agencies assigned to protect elections and my rights as a candidate to include candidate filing fees for myself and my Lt Governor and for the costs of electioneering over the course of several months.

 

Polls Potential Democratic primary match-ups [hide]Primary trial heats for 2014 gubernatorial race

Poll

Anthony Brown

Doug Gansler

Heather Mizeur

Undecided

Margin of Error

Sample Size



Brown-Ulman Internal Poll conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang
(September 11-15, 2013)

43%

21%

5%

31%

+/-4.0

608


Gonzales Research/Marketing Strategies Poll
(October 1-14, 2013)

41%

21%

5%

33%

+/--

403



Baltimore Sun Poll
(February 8-12, 2014)

35%

14%

10%

40%

+/-4.4

500



Washington Post Poll
(February 13-16, 2014)

32%

15%

9%

39%

+/-3.5

1,002



The Maryland Poll
(April 10-13, 2014)

27%

11%

8%

54%

+/-3.17

954



WPA Opinion Research
(May 6-7,2014)

34%

20%

7%

40%

+/-4.9

400










AVERAGES

35.33%

17%

7.33%

39.5%

+/-1.86

644.5

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

TO END FOR NOW THE SEGMENT ON RULE OF LAW AND THE COSTS OF LOSING IT TO OUR SOCIETY, WE SEE IN BALTIMORE, THE SAME PRACTICES HAPPENING AS IF NO ECONOMIC COLLAPSE OCCURRED.  REMEMBER, THESE BANKS AND THE 1% LOST ALMOST NOTHING AND IN FACT PROFITED FROM THE COLLAPSE AND WITH NO PENALTY OR REFORM, THEY ARE HARD AT IT AGAIN.

NOW THAT WE ARE AWARE OF THIS SYSTEMIC FRAUD WE CAN MORE EASILY SEE IT HAPPENING.  I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE KNOWING THE GREAT YOUTH ORGANIZATION 'THE ALGEBRA PROJECT'.  I HEARD THE STORY OF HOW THE ORGANIZATION FIRST TOOK THE TIME TO IDENTIFY $800 MILLION IN EDUCATION FUNDING THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT TO BALTIMORE AND THEN THEIR FIGHT IN COURT TO MAKE THE STATE PAY THESE LOSES.....THE COURT SIDED WITH ALGEBRA PROJECT.  YOU WILL SEE THE PATTERN AS O'MALLEY PUSHED THE LEGAL ACTION WHILE CITY MAYOR AND THEN, WHEN GOVERNOR, REFUSED TO PAY.

'SAY WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR AND THEN DO WHAT YOU WILL' SAYS LEO STRAUSS, POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER.  O'MALLEY HAS FLIPPED SO MUCH WE ARE ALL WATCHING OUR SOCIETY FLOP.

AS THE YOUTH LOOKED FOR LEGAL COUNCIL TO ADVANCE THIS TO FEDERAL COURTS, THE ONLY ACTION LEFT WHEN THE STATE FAILS IN ITS DUTIES, THE YOUTH WAS TOLD ALL LAWYERS WORK FOR THE GOVERNOR.....AND HASN'T FOUND HELP IN TAKING THIS FURTHER.  WE SEE IN BALTIMORE A WILLINGNESS TO IGNORE LAW IN ALL REGARDS....IT IS BIZARRE.  SO THE CITY HAS $800 MILLION COMING IF WE CAN GET THE FEDERAL COURTS TO THROW O'MALLEY IN JAIL FOR CONTEMPT.  REMEMBER, THE CITY HAS PLENTY OF MONEY, IT IS JUST CIRCUMVENTING THE GENERAL FUND.

A CONTEMPT FOR RULE OF LAW.......VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE

WE SEE BELOW A DELIBERATE SCHEME TO GET BUSINESS TAX BREAKS AND GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT BY CLAIMING TO BENEFIT THE  UNDERSERVED AND THEN CREATING FALSE SITUATIONS AS REASONS NOT TO MEET THE OBLIGATIONS.  I SPOKE AT LENGTH ABOUT THE EBDI-JOHNS HOPKINS PROJECT, AND BELOW YOU SEE THE ARTICLE BEING USED TO STOP THE PROJECT BEFORE MEETING THE GOAL PROMISED THE UNDERSERVED RESIDENTS.  THIS WILLINGNESS TO CONSTANTLY UNDERMINE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY MOST AT RISK IS COWARDLY AND IMMORAL......IN MOST CASES IT IS ILLEGAL AS WELL.

LASTLY, I WANT TO THANK ARNOLD JOLIVET OF THE MMCA FOR FINALLY DOING THE RIGHT THING AFTER STANDING IN FRONT OF THIS BOARD OF ESTIMATES WITH OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION IN THE WAY THE CITY GIVES OUT CONTRACTS.  THIS IS NOT ONLY A MINORITY BUSINESS PROBLEM, AS THESE AWARDS ARE OFTEN GOING TO NATIONAL COMPANIES UNDERMINING ALL LOCAL BUSINESS PEOPLE.  WHAT THIS BOARD DOES IS TO GIVE THE BID TO A NATIONAL CORPORATION AND THEN ALLOWS THEM TO SUBCONTRACT TO NUMEROUS SMALLER COMPANIES.....SOME OF WHICH MAY BE FROM MARYLAND.  IT ALSO INVOLVES PAYING QUITE A BIT MORE ON BIDS AND IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. 

WHAT THIS DOES IS GIVE ALL DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS TO THAT NATIONAL COMPANY......WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO MAKE THE LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS SUPPLIANTS TO THIS?  AT THE SAME TIME, YOU LOSE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CITY THESE LOCAL BUSINESS PEOPLE HAVE IN DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THESE CONTRACTS.

HERE IS MY RESPONSE TO AN ARTICLE ON THIS IN THE BALTIMORE BREW:

I'd like to make the point that was critical in the discussion between this contractor and the Board that wasn't mentioned in the article:  The Board has on several occasions given contractors chances to become compliant when a rule was not met.  The argument given in this case was that since the bid was so much lower and a savings for the city, and since the business was in good standing with the city, why not allow the bid process be repeated so as to let this business man meet compliance rules as has been done in the past.

I think what most people know that attend these meetings is that the Board uses metrics for these decisions that can be so arbitrary as to send the decision to whomever they want regardless of qualifications and as history shows, it is indeed the same few that get all the city's contract business.  If you tie this with the political contribution history shared in this article you see a system needing checks and balances.

That, I think was the point being made by the gentleman and his legal representative.

FOX NEWS----WBFF, BALTIMORE


The way Baltimore awards contracts is under fire again, but this time it is in the form of a multi-million dollar lawsuit, which alleges the process of handing out big bucks is broken. The Maryland Minority Contractors Association, Inc. 1 has filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the city alleging the city did not fairly bid out millions of dollars worth of contracts.

"To me, it's unacceptable. Unacceptable. We don't mind being excluded if we're not the low bidder," Arnold Jolivet, managing director of MMCA, Inc. 1, said. "It is just extraordinarily dumb the way the city awards contracts without a bid." Pless B. Jones, Sr., president of The Maryland Minority Contractors Association, Inc., sent a letter to city officials addressing the lawsuit. "We have been made aware that Arnold Jolivet, using the acronym MMCA, has filed suit against the Mayor and City Countil of Baltimore. This organization is not a party to and has nothing to do with that proceeding," Jones stated in the letter. "We would like nothing more than, for once and for all time to end the confusion surrounding our name." The lawsuit highlights a three hundred thousand dollar contract awarded to Greibo K Design for providing services for the city's 2012 African American Festival and a $43,000 contract awarded to Johnson Controls to investigate the city's energy consumption.

The lawsuit says both companies were awarded favoritism without advertising or competitive bidding. The lawsuit also alleges skirting the procurement process has cost taxpayers $50 million. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she has proven time and time again that this is not how her administration operates. "I think it's silly and it's unfortunate we've reached out to work with them on efforts to strengthen our minority and women owned business programs, they choose to sue instead," Mayor Rawlings-Blake said Aug. 2. "It's baseless. And, I'm looking forward to having the courts say that as well." The minority contractors say they are asking for an injunction that would prohibit the city from awarding any contracts until this matter is resolved.

"When African-American businesses aren't getting contracts, they don't hire people within their community where their business is located. As a result of that, mothers and fathers don't work and children don't eat.," Rev. C.D. Witherspoon, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council's Baltimore chapter, said.  "When we hear about an African-American business presenting a lower bid, and the city deciding to go with the higher bid, we begin to wonder and question why." Thursday, September 6 2012, 06:30 PM EDT

_____________________________________________________

YOU WANT THESE KIDS TO SUCCEED AND GROW AND THEY ARE......WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WHITE ORGANIZATIONS SAYING THEY ARE WORKING FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY I HEARD THE HEAD OF ANOTHER JUSTICE ORGANIZATION ASK......THE ALGEBRA PROJECT GETS AWAY FROM THAT.

THE ANSWER:  YOU CAN CONTROL THE OUTCOME AND KEEP LEADERSHIP IN CHECK.
The Problem The Baltimore Algebra Project

is a youth-run nonprofit organization that works to build math literacy within several communities in Baltimore City. The socioeconomic status of inner-city youth needs to increase. Employment of the Baltimore Algebra Project and our advocacy work are steps to raising math literacy and socioeconomic status. Our larger goal is Quality Education as a Constitutional Right; since 2004 the Baltimore Algebra Project has been organizing for the adequate funding of Baltimore City Public Schools –funding that is owed to the school system.

________________________________________________
BELOW YOU SEE THE SYSTEM OF SETTING THE CITY UP FOR WALL STREET GAINS HAS NOT SKIPPED A BEAT AS THE MAYOR USES A BOND SCHEME TO LEVERAGE COSTS FOR A BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY.  IT IS TRULY OBSCENE.  AT THE SAME TIME WE ARE HEARING THAT PROJECTS THAT INVOLVE LOW/MODERATE INCOME HOUSING MAY NOT BE FINANCED DUE TO CITY GOVERNMENT BUDGET CONSTRAINTS.  IN THIS CASE, THE PART OF THE ENTERPRISE ZONE DEAL THAT INCLUDES THE REQUIREMENT THAT UNDERSERVED BE SERVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO BE SHELVED AS ALL THE AFFLUENT DEVELOPMENT IS FINISHED.   THIS IS FRAUD. 

THE BOND ISSUE WILL BE FRAUD.


There are two aspects: a) The cost of the leverage and b) The effect on the bonds. Effect b) is the greater effect.

As you point out the cost of the leverage will increase and this is a direct cost to the fund. An increase of 1% in interest rates should decrease the dividends from the fund by 1%*(leverage - 1)/leverage. Hence if leverage = 2x the funds dividends should decrease by 0.5%.

The bonds are highly affected by rising interest rates. If the duration of the bonds is 5 years on average, then an increase in interest rates of 1% lead to a 5% decrease in the value of the bonds. In a 2x fund, this is an immediate decrease in the fund value of 10%.

As you say, ".. in a rising interest rate environment, leveraged bond funds will lose principal and will generate less income."


Another point to make is that in its plethora of enterprise zone designation for luxury development, it looks as though UnderArmour was placed into that category.....which means it will not be paying any property tax for years (other than the undeveloped land tax).  So will they actually be using property tax paid by UnderArmour to pay down this debt that will explode as interest rates rise?

From your article on Harbor Point:

In another action, the council unanimously gave approval to an expanded tax zone benefiting Under Armour's complex in Locust Point.


City Council gives preliminary approval to Harbor Point tax break Mosby, Stokes vote against deal By Luke Broadwater The Baltimore Sun 7:00 a.m. EDT, September 11, 2012

The Baltimore City Council gave preliminary approval on Monday to a proposal for a decade of tax breaks for Harbor Point, the future home of Exelon Corp.'s Baltimore headquarters.

Two council members, Nick Mosby and Carl Stokes, voted against including John Paterakis' Harbor East Development Group LLC's latest project in a state-wide tax credit program for economically disadvantaged areas. But the majority of the 14-member council approved the plan, which calls for the roughly 32-acre Harbor Point site to be included in Baltimore's Enterprise Zone. The measure will be up for a final vote at the next council meeting.

City Councilman James Kraft, a supporter of the proposal, said the tax breaks are needed because it's a "very difficult parcel to develop" that presents "unique challenges." Formerly the site of a chromium plant, the area could have problems with chemicals in the ground, Kraft said.

If the council approves Harbor Point's application, the Baltimore Development Corporation said, it expects to submit the expansion request to the state agency in mid-October.

Inclusion in the Enterprise Zone would make Harbor Point eligible for 10-years of local property tax credits based on the amount of capital invested in the property. The state reimburses local governments for half of the property tax revenue lost due to the credit.

The Harbor East Development Group expects that construction at Harbor Point will take place in phases over a 10-year period. The final complex on the site is to include 1.5 million square feet of office space, 1,000 residential units, 230,000 square feet of retail space, an 86,000-square-foot hotel and 3,000 parking spaces, the application said.

In another action, the council unanimously gave approval to an expanded tax zone benefiting Under Armour's complex in Locust Point.

_____________________________________________
Sadly, Baltimore Sun mainly prints whatever script the city hands it.  We occasionally get an investigative bone.  Below you'll see the scheme used by the East Baltimore Development Corporation (EDBI-Johns Hopkins) to circumvent the Enterprise Zone requirements as addressing the underserved.  We saw a massive affluent complex built in this Enterprise Zone; for years the financing poured in.  When they were finished, the city simply needed to claim 'no funds' to keep the low-income part of the project from being built.  We have billions of dollars coming into the city in development money, yet we never seem to be able to come across with anything other than a cursory build for citizens living in the 'Enterprise Zone'.

Huge drop' in funding for community development In Baltimore and elsewhere, cuts fuel anxiety over fate of revitalization efforts By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun September 20, 2012


The City Arts Apartments are full of artists who live and work in the Baltimore complex, built on what long had been a vacant lot in a very vacant neighborhood. But a sudden gap in its development financing almost kept the project from getting off the ground.

The $2.5 million hole was dug by the financial crisis, which pummeled the value of tax credits that many affordable-housing projects rely on. The post-crisis landscape for community development is shaping up to be even more challenging.

Government funding for work to revitalize neighborhoods is plummeting nationwide amid pressure to cut budgets, increasing the odds of gaps that cannot be overcome. It's a prospect that alarms practitioners in Baltimore, where the battle against vacant housing and blight has raged for decades.

The city got 30 percent less this year from the two major federal programs for revitalization — the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships — than it received just before the recession. Compared with a decade ago, funding is down by nearly half. That's not even accounting for the value-sapping effect of inflation.

Baltimore Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano said he expects no more next year than this year's $21 million allotment, and he's concerned that further cuts will come.

"It's a huge drop," he said. "That's the new norm — at best."

His agency estimates that HOME reductions will slash the amount of housing construction the city can help fund from 300 to 350 units a year to 130 or 140. Community Development Block Grant cuts have squeezed nonprofits trying to strengthen neighborhoods with services such as literacy education as well as city programs that help residents buy homes, Graziano said.

But shrinking grants could be just the beginning. Community developers fear that federal income tax credits used to help pay for affordable housing and other construction efforts will be cut out of the tax code if increasing calls for tax overhaul bear fruit.

The best known is the 25-year-old Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which generates about $8 billion annually to build apartments and rental homes. States distribute their allocations of the credits to nonprofits and other developers, which in turn sell them to companies looking to offset profits. The cash helps fund construction.

Columbia-based Enterprise Community Partners, which pools investor capital for tax-credit purchases, is making the rounds in Congress to advocate for the programs' survival. The nonprofit group expects to see serious discussion of tax reform next year — no matter which presidential candidate wins the election in November.

"Those in the housing and community-development world should be on notice," said Peter Lawrence, Enterprise's senior director of public policy and government affairs.

Charles Duff, president of Jubilee Baltimore, one of three nonprofit groups that worked on the City Arts project in Station North, had a taste of what life might be like without the Low Income Housing Tax Credit when its value slumped in 2008. So many companies were losing money that the market to buy credits to offset profits all but collapsed.

An infusion of temporary stimulus money plugged City Arts' $2.5 million hole, Duff said, or the fully occupied apartment complex wouldn't have been built and couldn't have kicked off other development nearby. He doesn't want to see the credit shrink or disappear.

"Baltimore is literally at a crossroads," Duff said. "If the rest of the country will keep us in the game through the next boom, whenever that comes, we'll be OK and we won't need their help anymore. And if they back out and say, 'We're going to leave you to your own devices,' they're going to have to pay for our poverty for the rest of time."

Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development believes in the power of construction to turn a neighborhood around. It organized local congregations a dozen years ago to attack abandonment and crime in East Baltimore's Oliver neighborhood. Nearly 100 rowhomes have been reconstructed through a collaboration between BUILD and TRF Development Partners, an arm of neighborhood revitalization financier the Reinvestment Fund.

"It just means the community comes alive again, people come outside again, people believe in their community again," said Terrell Williams, a BUILD organizer, as he walked the neighborhood with its mix of homes waiting for construction, under way and redone.

The redeveloping area is called Preston Place, just north of Johns Hopkins Hospital, and will have 125 rebuilt homes in phase one. The goal is then to redo 100 more, dropping vacancy from 50 percent at the start of the project to 8 percent — a neighborhood housing market that could stand on its own. But finding funding will be tricky.

Money that helped launch the effort is from a federal program that no longer exists, said Sean Closkey, president of TRF Development Partners. The project was able to get stimulus funds aimed at foreclosure-heavy neighborhoods, but that money will run out in March. And HOME funds are scarce.

Twenty-seven percent of the project's budget comes from federal funds, Closkey said. About 13 percent comes from philanthropists. That bridges the gap between the cost to redevelop and current market values, the amount banks are willing to lend to buyers moving in. BUILD and TRF see that public and private financial help as the only way to pull the neighborhood out of a vicious cycle: Values are low because so many homes are in disrepair, and they're in disrepair because values are low.

"Someone must break that cycle," Closkey said.

WE HAVE LOST OUR DEMOCRACY WHEN WE LOSE RULE OF LAW.  BALTIMORE HAS A BROKEN SYSTEM.


Just one more day on crime and Rule of Law for now by following the approach of lawsuits to hold the city responsible for police misconduct.  We just had a case where the city's legal team presented a settlement for misconduct to the Board of Estimates and the Mayor stood against the settlement of a few hundred thousand dollars.  The legal team who designed the settlement immediately voted against their own resolution plan.  It will now go to court where the court costs to the city will be more than the settlement.  We saw this on a grander scale with a lead paint lawsuit where the city was clearly at fault.  The case above involved 4 police officers, two convicted of crime, actually kidnapping a city youth from his neighborhood driving to a rural area and leaving the boy in a State Park with no shoes.  They did this while on duty.  A total disregard of Rule of Law.  This isn't isolated.  The most outlandish make it to the news media.......incidents that the city know will go viral and can't contain.  It is systemic and this condition exists because this complete disregard to Rule of Law is at all levels of government.  When a behavior exhibits at the lowest end of the system it has become endemic.  So here we have the reasoning for bringing in Batts as Chief of Police in Baltimore.

We only need to vote these characters out of office to start to address what is the primary concern for American citizens.  The media and politicians have the mantra of jobs, jobs, and jobs......that is the same mantra in corrupt Afghanistan.  You cannot have a working economy with no Rule of Law.  That is what gave us the financial collapse and rebuilding employment with the same criminal environment will not happen.


Those of us who are democrats know that all these issues I raise are not democratic policy............none of this meets the Democratic Platform.  So, it is not the democratic party that is failing us, it is the people who we are allowing to run as democrats who are the problem.  Third Way politicians are basically Reagan Republicans and they act with the same naked capitalist......profit-at-all-cost mentality as Republicans.  Third Way have gotten a hold of our party's leadership at all levels of government and now want to speak of Third Way policy as the Democratic Platform.  WE ARE SHOUTING LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT THE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS REPRESENTS THE CORE VALUES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND WE WILL TAKE BACK THE LEADERSHIP FROM THIRD WAY CAUCUS RESTORING TO AMERICA A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, AND BY THE PEOPLE.

Here in Baltimore our public radio station has been captured by corporate interests and they are determined to keep Third Way politicians in office.  It is the New Economy you know!  So talk of Clinton and Simpson-Bowles abounds, Cheney and neo-cons hit the guest circuit.  Here is the coverage on WYPR this week:

Maryland vs Nebraska

August 30, 2012 Maryland is one of the “bluest” states in the Union. The Gallup organization has determined that Maryland is the 4th most Democratic state in the county, just below New York, and just above Massachusetts. WYPR’s Art Buist is at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and decided to find out what political life is like in the 4th most Republican state.

We need to be aware that these corporate politicians are acting as if their policies define the democratic party......and they do not.  Free-market, globalization, mega-wealth, small government with little oversight are all contrary to the Democratic Platform.  WE CANNOT LET THESE CORPORATE TYPES DEFINE OUR PARTY!  STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK!

VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!



Notice this article below shows action by the Court of Appeals.  This behavior passed many levels of scrutiny before a higher court stopped the injustice.  Tazing/stun guns have become the police action of choice and this is cruel and unusual punishment that often hits people not even guilty of misconduct.

Court of Appeals: Arrest occurs when stun-gun hits its mark  Maryland Daily Record

A Baltimore detective lacked legal justification to use a stun gun on a fleeing man he suspected was armed, a divided Court of Appeals has held.

________________________________________________

Baltimore City Police Officers often take extra work to boost their income and security details are one of the venues.  We don't know to whom  the article below refers, but the heightened level of abuse and intimidation regarding security is unacceptable.  WE SHOULD NOT BE SEEING THIS BEHAVIOR AT ALL!  IT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF A LAX AND ACCEPTING ENVIRONMENT FOR AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN POLICING.

Cherry Hill activist's car vandalized

Cherry Hill activist Cleoda Walker's vehicle was vandalized Thursday

By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun 8:59 a.m. EDT, August 31, 2012

The vehicle of a Cherry Hill activist and pastor was defaced with a threatening message on Thursday, and city police say they are investigating.

It's the second time Cleoda Walker says she has been threatened since she started looking into complaints from residents about what they say are over-aggressive security officers in the Cherry Hill neighborhood. And the most recent incident comes as papers were served on officers being sued in a class-action filing by Walker and 20 other residents, according to attorney Tonya Bana, of the Murphy Firm.

In addition to Walker's car, the former home of a woman named in the lawsuit as a witness was also defaced, according to Bana. That home is in Baltimore County.

The l$25 million awsuit claims that at least two special police officers - a designation for security guards that gives them limited arrest powers on certain properties - employed by the Tenable Protection Agency have been acting like rogue cops in South Baltimore. Tenable has not returned messages seeking comment.

Earlier this year, Walker said at a press conference this month, she received a note that read, "Bitch if I lose my house job or wife, you will lose your life!" and her tires were slashed after she had complained to the security company about the officers.

Police said they were investigating the vandalism.

jfenton@baltsun.com
_______________________________________________


If you look at the examples of crime and punishment above it is easy to see where the system if broken.  A City Solicitor or Prosecutor has the power and the expectation to resolve legal issues without trial.  These two people ultimately decide who receives what legal treatment.  THAT IS NOT HOW THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.  WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES WHERE EACH PERSON IS REGARDED AS EQUAL IN THE EYES OF THE LAW.  IF YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS EVERYONE WILL BE ON EQUAL FOOTING.  THESE POLITICIAN ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE STEPS......THEY ARE SLICING AND DICING UNTIL THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT THEY WANT ACCORDING TO WHO THE CITIZEN IS.


THERE IS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR THE ISSUE OF PLEA BARGAINING.  SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR MADE THIS PRACTICE THE TOP ISSUE IN PROTECTING THE JUDICIARY FROM COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.  WE ARE WATCHING AS YOUR INCUMBENT ALLOWS OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM BE DISMANTLED.  IT IS YOUR INCUMBENT WHO WRITES THE LAWS THAT ALLOW THESE EXCEPTIONS THAT CIRCUMVENT THE NORMAL LEGAL PROCESS.  IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT!!!!
Do Prosecutors Have Too Much Power?
New York Times  Updated August 19, 2012 7:00 PMTHERE   Debaters

• Prosecutors’ Overreaching Goes Unchecked Angela J. Davis, author, "Arbitrary Justice"
  
  Unchecked power in the hands of prosecutors is as much a threat to our democracy as it is with any other government official, if not more.
  
  
• Judgment Requires Power and Vice Versa Samuel W. Buell, former federal prosecutor
  
  Proving sophisticated crimes requires far-reaching statutes and the leeway to use grand juries, charges and agreements for testimony.
  
  
• The Problem With Mandatory Minimums Rachel E. Barkow, New York University
  
  Far from eliminating disparity by curbing judicial discretion, mandatory minimums simply shift power to prosecutors.
  
  
• The Right to Appeal Is an Issue of Fairness Nancy Gertner, former judge
  
  You can’t bargain away your right to counsel; you shouldn’t be allowed to bargain away your right to appeal.
  
  
• Limit Control Over Charges and Sentencing Paul Cassell, former prosecutor and judge
  
  We can and should take modest steps to ensure that the power prosecutors exercise does not encroach on the functions of the other branches.
  
  

Introduction André da Loba A U.S. district judge in Denver recently rejected a plea bargain in a child pornography case because the defendant had agreed to waive his right to appeal. The judge said such a deal would undermine the purpose of appellate courts. (He later accepted a plea bargain without that stipulation.)

Legal observers — including the editorial board of The New York Times — focused on the judge’s concern as a sign that plea bargains have gotten out of control and in the process given prosecutors too much power. When one party decides whether to bring charges, what charges to bring and whether to offer a plea bargain, is the justice system lacking checks and balances?



THIS IS THE SAME THING HAPPENING IN BALTIMORE OVER THESE YEARS OF O'MALLEY'S AND NOW RAWLINGS-BLAKE'S POLICY OF NUISANCE-ABATEMENT.  THE POLICY RARELY FINDS ANY PROBLEMS BUT HARASSES AND DISREGARDS BASIC CIVIL RIGHTS OVER AND AGAIN.  A POLICE POLICY THAT ROUTINELY REVOKES YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTS.  THIS IS NOT FIRST WORLD POLICING.


Rude or Polite, City’s Officers Leave Raw Feelings in Stops

By WENDY RUDERMAN Published: June 26, 2012    New York Times

Most of the time, the officers swoop in, hornetlike, with a command to stop: “Yo! You, come here. Get against the wall.”

They batter away with questions, sometimes laced with profanity, racial slurs and insults: “Where’s the weed?” “Where’s the guns?”

The officers tell those who ask why they have been stopped to shut up, using names like immigrant, old man or “bro.”

Next comes the frisk, the rummaging through pockets and backpacks. Then they are gone.

Other times, the officers are polite, their introductions almost gentle. “Hey, how’s it going?” “Can you step over here, sir?” “We’d like to talk to you.”

The questions are probing, authoritative, but less accusatory. “What are you doing here?” “Do you live here?” “Can I see some identification, please?” During the pat-down, they ask, “Do you have anything on you?” They nudge further: “You don’t mind if I search you, do you?” They explain that someone of a matching description robbed a store a few days ago, or that the stop is a random one, part of a pr