President’s Message
Pass/ Fail
For six years we listened to John Olszewski, Jr. proclaim that he is a common sense, middle-of-the- road elected official as he served as Baltimore County Executive. I never believed that he was a middle-of -the-road kind of leader, and I wanted to track some of his early votes in Congress as a better barometer of his true sentiments. Would his voting record be more bipartisan, or would he be strongly partisan as he started this new career?
One of his early votes in Congress was on the Laken Riley Act. Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia who was assaulted and murdered by an unlawful immigrant. Her name was symbolically affixed to this legislation, which requires federal officials to detain any unlawful immigrant who is arrested or charged with certain crimes, including shoplifting, assault, or other crimes that injure or kill someone. This act also empowers state attorneys general to sue the federal government for any harm caused by failures or decisions in immigration enforcement. The bill truly received bi-partisan support. Forty-six Democrats in the House of Representatives and twelve Democrats in the Senate, including Senators Fetterman, Warner (Va.), and Arizona’s first Latino senator, Senator Ruben Gallego, voted for the act.
Congressman Olszewski did not vote in favor of the legislation. When asked, he said he did not vote for it because it denied due process rights for immigrants.
The second piece of legislation that I tracked was the Fix Our Forest Act, co-sponsored by a Republican, Rep. Westerman (Ark.), and a Democrat, Rep. Peters (Cal.). In light of the devastation caused by wildfires in the Los Angeles area, I thought this bill would certainly receive bi-partisan support. Succinctly, the bill established better forest management standards, which hopefully will result in fewer forest fires. The bill did pass with bi-partisan support, 279 to 141. Both Representatives Hoyer and McClain Delaney, Democrats from Maryland, voted in favor of the bill. On the other hand, Congressmen Mfume, Raskin and Olszewski voted against the bill. I have not seen any explanation by Congressman Olszewski for the reasons behind that vote.
So, I ask you the reader, as far as being bi-partisan and middle-of-the road, would you give the new congressman from the second district a passing grade or a failing grade? Or is it too early to tell? You be the judge.
Rising electric bills, the controversies over electric transmission lines in northern Baltimore, Harford and Carroll Counties, the disputes over a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City and now the talk of the state reassessing its position on nuclear energy are all signs that our state leadership has failed the citizens and consumers when it comes to proper energy policy.
In addition, the budget deficit in the state shows that our legislature has failed in managing the state’s finances over the last few years, as well.
So, the question is: Are we going to make a major course correction to address these problems, or are we going to tinker around the edges and keep the underlying policy positions that got us into these messes in the first place?
I wish I could be more optimistic about where things are headed, but I cannot. If you have any ideas, write your delegate or senator. Suggest that the status quo is unacceptable and offer your recommendations on how to change things, big time.
Eric Rockel