eveloper David Layfield criticized Mayor Taylor’s approach to development in the City. He even asked officials to bring the City’s practices to the attention of state agencies and Governor Wes Moore’s office.”There’s state planning laws being violated right now by this city, on all of these projects,” said Layfield. “No one is really looking at it.”
Layfield attended the meeting, hosted by Maryland’s Coordinated Permitting Review Council, to discuss the details of the Salisbury Market Center project.”
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Public Safety / Police Reform Bills:
In the wake of what happened in Minnesota in 2020 with George Floyd, the Maryland State Legislature passed reactive legislation for police reform bill’s that impacted the way police could enforce the law, very “soft on crime’ approach to public safety.
The results in Maryland since these laws’ crime went through the roof in places like Baltimore City, Montgomery, and a violent criminal out of Baltimore City fled down to the Eastern Shore in 2022. This individual murdered a Deputy Sheriff in Wicomico County.
Just another example of Annapolis making “One Size Fits All” legislation on Counties and Municipalities on how to keep their communities and citizens safe.
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Education:
On this issue of Education Annapolis created the “Kirwan Blueprint” The Blueprint is a “one size fits All Plan” for Education in the State, it was put together largely by education activists from Montgomery County. The costs of Kirwan have been a major burden for most of the Counties and the implementation has been challenging. Maryland is facing a $3 Billion Dollar budget deficit with Kirwan costs as one of the major drivers, in addition the State in the over the past 3 years has increased Taxes and Fees by over $2 Billion Dollars largely to fund Kirwan, despite the claims initially that it would be funded by legalizing cannabis and sports gambling. Kirwan is one of the greatest examples of “One Size Fits All” being harmful to Counties and Municipal Governments, and is essentially bankrupting Maryland.
In addition going into the 2025 School Year, Annapolis’s Top Education Leader issued a pretty scary warning to all local school boards to basically “Follow State Directives” “Or Else”.
” With the 2025-26 school year starting next week in some counties, Maryland’s two top education leaders had a message for local school officials: Follow state law.
The calm, but stern warning came Wednesday during a back-to-school news conference in Baltimore with State Superintendent Carey Wright and state Board of Education President Joshua Michael. Neither named specific school districts, but when reporters asked about administrative and policy changes related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Calvert and Somerset counties, they did not hesitate to answer.
“In Maryland we have a state public education system. Local school board leaders who lead local school systems are actually state officials,” Michael said. “They have authority within the state system that Dr. Wright leads to really bring that local context into schools and ensure that the management day to day and the policy set for local school system are done well.
“But at the end of the day, it’s a Maryland public education system. It is not a specific county,” he said.”
Annapolis is very “Authoritarian” on the issue of Education, when it comes to Municipalities and Counties.
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Gun’s / 2A Amendment:
In the wake of what happened in Sandy Hook, in Connecticut.
Annapolis much like with police reform passed reactionary legislation on Gun Control, the Maryland Firearms Safety Act of 2013. Making Maryland have some of the toughest gun laws in the Country.
These laws mostly punished hunters and sportsmen on the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland, where almost no mass shootings occur. Meanwhile from 2015 – 2022 Baltimore City started to average over 300 murders a year. WIth 2019 being its deadliest year..
In 2023 a US Appeals Court struck down a part of the Maryland Firearms Safety Act of 2013.
“The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
struck down part of Maryland’s
Firearm Safety Act of 2013, which the Maryland General Assembly passed in response to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting. This decision partially reverses a
decision from the US District Court for the District of Maryland at Baltimore.
Following oral arguments, Circuit Judge Julius Richardson authored the majority opinion of the three-judge panel. Richardson found that the Maryland law fails the tw0-part Bruen test from the 2021 US Supreme Court case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. The test, which applies to all gun control legislation in the US, first asks if the US Constitution’s Second Amendment’s plain text covers the state gun regulation. If this first prong is met, the test then asks if the regulation is “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Richardson concluded that Maryland failed to show that its regulation is consistent with the nation’s tradition because it requires all people to prove they are not dangerous rather than preventing dangerous people from obtaining handguns.
Senior Circuit Judge Barbara Keenan dissented. Keenan argued that the majority applied the Bruen test too broadly. Keenan distinguished Maryland’s gun law from “shall-issue regimes” by noting that Maryland’s law is not so “onerous” that it denies law-abiding citizens their Second Amendment rights. Additionally, Keenan found that the majority’s “hyperaggressive view of the Second Amendment” would render most “non-discretionary” gun laws in the country unconstitutional. Lastly, Keenan noted that the majority “ignores the [US Supreme] Court’s clear guidance on the very issue before us.”
Just another example of Annapolis pushing policy in a “One Size Fits All” that many Counties and Municipal Governments especially on the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland did not want.
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Energy:
In January of 2023 the Moore Administration pushed to take energy in the direction of Green / Renewables.
Governor Moore signed the “Power Act” to make Maryland the “Wind capital of the US.
His Administration in 2024 pushed more regulations on traditional energy providers to intentionally increase energy rates to drive businesses and citizens to switch to Wind and Solar from traditional energy.
The Moore Administrations assault on traditional energy has led to many enraged citizens and lawsuits on the Eastern Shore, Western Maryland, and Farmers all across the State.
With the proposed offshore wind project between Ocean City, and Bethany Beach Delaware, The Piedmont Reliability Project in Western Maryland, and Solar Farm legislation that was passed this year, with major fears of farmers worried by force from the State to put Solar Panels on their land.
The Moore Administration approach to energy has Maryland now in an energy crisis, and energy rates in the State are now up by 1000 Percent since 2023.
Again Annapolis dictating policies to Municipalities and Counties and causing harm.
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Endless Lawsuits Against Trump Administration by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown:
In November of 2024, After President Trump was elected Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown held a conference call saying he planned to sue the Trump Administration regularly he just needed the money to do it.
The Attorney General filed his 1st lawsuit against the Trump Administration the 1st day after President Trump took office, and has not stopped.
One of the most outrageous misuses of power in Annapolis.
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Conclusion and Solutions:
Well from all of this, there is no doubt Annapolis has a major impact on Municipal and Local Governments from the policies and laws they pass. From what Mr. White was talking about at the Wicomico County Council Meeting, this State Permitting Board. It definitely is stripping even more power away from Municipal and County Governments, and this wasn’t even done by legislation so there was no “robust discussion” about this in a committee hearing.
It was done by an “Executive Order” almost as a gift from the Governor to Builders and Developers around the State.
The idea of bringing people together and taking their voices to Annapolis for more local protections for Municipal and County Governments is the right thing to do. Hopefully Municipal Leaders, County Leaders, and organizations like MML & Maco will read this, now is the time to start having those discussions and start building a plan!
mooron and his merry band of communists bringing the hood to you! keep voting for these pos’s!
Thank you Joe White!
What specific action can we take to fight all this overreach?