Forum moderators included Francis Roudiez, Chad Helfenbein, Bill Stoops, William Peterson (the president, vice president, treasurer and executive director, respectively, of the Queen Anne's County Chamber of Commerce) and Larry Effingham, Chesapeake Publishing Corp. vice president and publisher of The Star Democrat.

All candidates attended the forum. Michael Hoffman (I-3) left after his opening remarks because of a serious illness in his family.

Benjamin Cassell (R-At-Large) said, "We must stop our complaining and work together to solve our problems, and take advantage of the many opportunities that stand in front of us."

Robert Foley (R-3) said, "I'm not a politician. If I am fortunate to be elected, I'm only going to serve one term, and then turn it over to more responsible, dedicated, younger people."

Gene Ransom III (D-3) said, "I'm running for county commissioner because I love this place. I grew up here and I do have a vision for our future."

H. Joseph Gannon Jr. (D-1) said, "'Listen to the people, listen to the people'... that's my whole campaign."

Michael Koval (R-4) said, "I do not want a Chamber of Commerce-led government. With all due respect to the general membership of the Chamber, I do not want an endorsement by the Board of Directors. For 2 1/2 years, I have witnessed the Chamber's Board of Directors lobbying for legislation." 

Gannon, asked what he would do to enhance agriculture in Queen Anne's County, said, "I'm going to try very hard to protect our farmland and keep our farmland, farmland."

Joseph Cupani (R-1) advocated protecting farmers' right to farm and helping them with easement funding, so if they sell their farms, they don't have to sell their land for development. 

Asked if he thinks current zoning laws encourage or discourage business growth, Rodney "Nemo" Niedomanski (R-2) said, "We need a business tax base in order to run and maintain a stable tax base for residents." He said zoning changes might be needed to attract businesses that provide high paying jobs. 

Eric Wargotz (R-2) said both the current and new plans are fair to business. He said "manufacturing and tourism dollars" are the county's future tax base, and residential development cannot be the sole tax base.

Wargotz was asked if he believes county government is understaffed, too large or about right. A physician and owner of five businesses, Wargotz has managed payrolls and budgets, and managed more than 100 people at any one time. He said, "Until we get in there and carefully look at every position and job descriptions, I don't have an exact answer to that question."

"It's difficult to size up until you get there," said Niedomanski. He said government is "probably oversized somewhat, but I'd like to ... look at it and maybe through attrition, we can reduce it."

Richard Moser (D-At-Large) was asked if he would make a public commitment to the Maryland Drug Task Force by making drug fighting the number one law enforcement priority. He was asked his plan to recruit and retain sheriff's deputies.

"That requires talking to a lot of people in the community and law enforcement environment, which I would do if I was elected," Moser said. He said he believes county government needs to re-prioritize public safety.

Cassell said he would commit to eradicating drugs and to raising deputies' salaries and working on their pension funds. He said, "We lose too many good deputies because of money and [lack of] a good pension program."

Gene Ransom was asked: When faced with a catastrophic situation outside his area of expertise - such as terrorism or a natural disaster - where he would go for solutions. Ransom said the key to handling situations like that is to use experts who are more equipped to handle them. "Hopefully the five commissioners who are elected realize we don't have all the answers," he said.

Foley recommended every citizen prepare for a natural catastrophe by having food, water and batteries. "Communications will be shot to hell, so you're going to have to take care of yourself and form together with your communities."

The Chamber believes some recent government action has sent a negative message to the county's small business community and puts growth of existing business, and attracting new business, at risk. Cassell was asked if he agreed with the chamber's position, what would he do to overcome that negative message? If he didn't agree, rebut the Chamber's assertion.

Cassell said recent actions with respect to Wal-Mart could have a negative effect on attracting new businesses - especially larger corporations. He said he would work with communities and the Chamber to identify the types of businesses they want to attract.

"My background is in marketing," said Cassell. "I understand the processes. We must grow or we'll wither. It's a question of how we grow, what businesses we want to grow."

Moser said, "the Chamber believes some recent government action" sent a negative message, but "that's pretty vague." He said the Chamber asked that impact fees be kept at 10-year-old levels. 

"I disagree with that position," said Moser. "We have to pay our own fair share and not pass it ... I don't discourage business, but I don't believe they should get the upper hand at our expense."

Koval was asked to give his vision of "planned, regulated residential growth."

A builder who owns his own construction company on the island, Koval said, "My vision would be limited growth. You pick a number and we do that. Residential growth doesn't pay for itself, so you have to pick a number and plan for it."

Al Helfenbein (D-4) said, "We need to go back to a citizen's advisory committee, and work on long-term planning. Every community association needs to participate and have a voice."

Foley was asked how he would plan for countywide affordable housing - for professionals such as teachers and police - by the year 2005.

Foley said the county should offer them tax credits and help underwrite their cost of housing for five years, if teachers and police officers agree to stay with the county for 10 years. "I think to recruit and to retain, they need incentives."

Foley suggested marketing why Queen Anne's is an attractive place to live. "Sure, you can go to other counties to make more money, but some people don't because they don't want to lose their life - sitting in traffic and taking long commutes. "

Ransom said affordable housing is a must to avoid losing valuable resources. "A lot of my friends, who I grew up with in Grasonville, have moved to surrounding counties where they can afford a house to live."

He credited the current commissioners with forming an affordable housing committee that was set up to solve the problem. "But, we need to do it in a judicious and intelligent manner," Ransom said.

Helfenbein was asked to assess the adequacy of the Queen Anne's County fire service.

Helfenbein credited the current commissioners with doing the right thing by setting up a task force to study emergency services. But he said communication among all the different entities is needed. "There should be no jealousies and they should be working totally together."

Koval said the county is currently in excellent shape as far as emergency services, but with any growth the county will be very shorthanded in terms of people and equipment. He said the five new commissioners would have to tackle funding when they got elected.

Cupani was asked to explain his ideas concerning content-based teacher qualifications and the issues of educational performance accountability, superior teacher recruitment, and better teacher retention.

Cupani, a former teacher, said he would like to see all teachers have certification. He doesn't favor teachers with content-based certification working outside their areas of expertise. Cupani said the county needs a task force to develop incentives for teachers to stay within the county's school district.

As a commissioner, Gannon said he would like to sit on the Board of Education. He also brought up the possibility of an elected school board.

Asked how he would use building caps and other government tools to manage large scale residential development projects, Ransom said he doesn't favor caps. He does not want to put anyone in government in the position of being involved with developers and builders when it comes down to handing out the last group of permits. Ransom said he would rather "get a bunch of people together and figure out what works best."

"It might mean we use a facilities ordinance, a sewer allocation policy," said Ransom.

Foley, who is adamant about slowing and controlling growth, said, "You bet I'm looking for caps." He said smart growth is fine for areas like Baltimore City where the infrastructure to support the growth is already in place. But in Queen Anne's, he said, as evidenced by the dry wells this past summer, the county isn't ready for that kind of growth.

©The Star Democrat 2002