September 28, 2006
 

Mr. Donald T. Walbert
109 Windsor Rd.
Queenstown, MD  21658

Dear Mr. Walbert:

I agree with much of your letter of September 25th, but I am confused by your statement that “your Alliance friends . . . threw Jim Griffin . . . under the train”.   I am grateful for the Citizens Alliance faith in me as Commissioner, for the fact that their mailings backed me, and for the use of their voter list (an in-kind contribution valued at $50).  Other than that the PAC did not contribute monetarily to my campaign.  Some PAC members met with and helped my wife plan ads and mailings for the final month, and some of their individual contributors also contributed to my campaign.  Many of these people were my friends and supporters BEFORE the PAC was formed.  I don’t understand how the Alliance could have thrown Mr. Griffin under the train.  The Alliance made recommendations for only Commissioner and Central Committee races (both Republican and Democrat) in the Primary.  Mr. Griffin ran for Orphans Court, not for re-election to the Central Committee, so how could the Alliance have helped OR hurt him?  How could I have?  I know my wife and I both voted for Mr. Griffin for Orphans Court, and we were sorry he lost. 

To your point that you would vote for a Queen Anne’s Democrat over a “District of Columbia Republican”, I certainly agree, and I’ll take it a step further in saying I wouldn’t vote for a Baltimore Republican either (two come to mind)!  The Citizens Alliance PAC did, in fact, get monetary support from a county homeowner/landowner/taxpayer who is currently involved in a Circuit Court case to stop a development in his North County neighborhood.  I guess he decided the Citizens Alliance goal (to preserve the rural character of Queen Anne’s County against overdevelopment) was worthwhile.  This gentleman also happens to be the senior partner of a New York & DC communications strategy firm (not a lawfirm as you’ve been told) serving corporate, political and non-profit clients such as the ones you named in your letter but also Republican New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Microsoft, the Business Roundtable, and the American Cancer Society.  Other Citizens Alliance members and supporters come from all walks of life and political parties. They are united by their goal, not their party.

I also agree with you that the Queen Anne’s County Republicans have been “busy shooting off both feet” and that the Democrats ARE in “high glee for their November prospects”.  I just am not sure what my actions in attempting to keep my seat, or the Alliance’s actions, have to do with that mess.  I saw quite a bit of nasty campaigning from the Republican Central Committee’s “QA7” against the Citizens Alliance because of where they got their funding.  Where were they when the “Friends of QAC” PAC threw mud at me and turned my record inside-out?  Neither the sitting Central Committee nor the QA7 said anything about the “Friends” funding or negative ads:  60%+ of the money from Republican developers, 27% of the donors live outside of QAC, 16% of the money from DEMOCRAT lobbyists from Annapolis.  These are the people who endorsed Mr. Cassell and paid for slick misleading mailings and last minute attack ads designed to defeat me.  My own party led the attack to throw ME under the train, but it was also a bi-partisan effort; don’t you find that “reprehensible” too, and something “not to be forgotten or forgiven by anybody” to quote you?

As far as the lack of local Republican support for Congressman Gilchrest, you say that one reason is because he “came to our County and picked sides in a hotly contested race”.   Four years ago you couldn’t turn around at Mr. Gilchrest’s Bullroast without tripping over a local Republican candidate for SOMETHING.  Since then very few have bothered to show up.  I have had an excellent relationship with Mr. Gilchrest’s office on local matters.  When our Board refused to act on certain issues he went out on a limb and got help from other agencies.  He was there helping clean up the Centreville sewer plant and spray irrigation mess. When the new Safeway contractor was pumping muddy water into Macum Creek and our Board would do nothing, Mr. Gilchrest came out in the rain with Ransom and me, got involved, and got the problem taken care of.  When the Board of Commissioners was hesitant to participate in the preservation of the Riggs Farm (Bloomfield) he stepped in there too.  He “supported” me in my race against my challenger.  His office was very clear that they never “endorse” in a Primary, and that they were supporting me, not only because of our good working relationship, but because I WAS THE INCUMBENT in my race.  The Governor also gave me a quote of support as incumbent.  He gave a quote supporting Mr. Cassell too (I’m not sure if he understood who was running against whom).   Mr. Cassell took his quote of “support” and turned it into an “endorsement”.  Not very honorable.  And State Senator E. J. Pipkin was VERY clear in his “ENDORSEMENT” of Mr. Cassell, making robo-calls for him just before the election . . . I guess you could say he “came to our County and picked sides in a hotly contested race”. 

I’m sorry the propaganda-style misinformation being thrown around prior to the Primary found a target in you, and that you were taken in by it.  If our party loses their majority on the Commissioners Board in November I’m sure there is plenty of blame to go around.   One seat that I pray will fall to a Democrat is my seat in District 4.  I will be voting for Carol Fordonski and am urging all my Republican supporters to do the same.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Koval

P. S.  Regarding the “Gatekeeper”, I’ve never had any connection with that site, other than to post an occasional piece (never anonymously).  If you wish to be removed from Mr. Wilkes’ email list I suggest emailing him or calling him at thegatekeeper@sentinelwhispers.com , 410 827 4885.

cc:  Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, Sentinel Whispers, Kent Island Defense League

When you see the misleading negative attack ads and mailings in these last days before the Primary don't forget, there is always more to the story. . . .  Mike has always held that certain Executive (Closed to the Public) Sessions are improperly held or unnecessary, and he refuses to attend these meetings.  He has missed only 1 regular meeting.  Mike's voting record is being attacked in a "Friends of QAC" ad .  There are legitimate reasons for every "no" vote.  For example Mike has always held that the Four Seasons process and maps were flawed and the courts are now agreeing as you'll read below in the release from Citizens Alliance.

Here are some of the votes attacked and Mike's reasons for his votes.  If you have questions on any of his votes email  mkoval@qac.org  or call him.  We'll hit some of the major votes attacked here:

• A “no” vote on the Church Hill Pavilion was because Mike wanted indoor plumbing (instead of porta-potties) for the park, before a Pavilion.  Bathrooms were built at Mowbray Park, and are in the works now at Church Hill because of Mike's insistence;
• A "no" vote on water for senior housing in Sudlersville was because at that time water approval was tied in with a proposed adjoining development of several hundred housing units; 
• A "no" vote on the "plan to save the Chesapeake Bay" was a vote by Mike and Gene Ransom against levying the $2.50/month "flush fee" (TAX); 
• The vote on the Sudlersville Middle School was "no" to a STUDY to study a study . . . Ransom and Mike voted to keep RENOVATIONS in the budget, not to have another study;
• Mike voted no to post-Isabel repairs to the EMS building because the building is IN A FLOODPLAIN and was illegally built on deed-restricted property (watemans' marina), he saw no reason to throw more money into this building when it made more sense to build elsewhere;
• A “no” vote on the proposed NEW EMS "garage" was a vote against a $600,000 building - 50% over budget and overpriced in the first place --- after Mike’s suggestion to “build a Morton Building” the price is now down to $100,000, a savings of 1/2 million TAXPAYER dollars, and he thinks the price could even be lower; 
• Vote "against down zoning Critical Area Land from Intense to Resource Conservation" was for about 2 acres in Gibson's Grant on the same inaccurate map as Four Seasons, and you don't amend a map you know is wrong; 
• Any "no" votes on vehicle purchases were because NEW vehicles were not necessary, in most cases either sufficient #'s of vehicles were already available, repairs could be made or the vehicles in question were already out of service anyway.  Mike insisted we do a "count" of county-owned vehicles, and it turns out Mike was correct, that we own nearly 50% MORE vehicles than we thought we had;
• Mike abstained from voting on protective vests for Detention Center guards because he felt proper procedure wasn't being followed, it was an out-of- budget item and a "no bid" contract;
• A vote to grant sewer allocation for a 13 unit townhouse project on Thompson Creek Rd. was a UNANIMOUS agreement to re-capture sewer allocation APPROVED IN 1984 to a new builder who wanted to complete the project which already had all its approvals!
• Mike explained his vote on Ellendale in November 2003 in a letter to KIDL, here is a link to that letter: http://www.savekentisland.org/letters95.html 

NOTE FROM KIDL WEB GUY!  Please read the reply from Cassell regarding the Ellendale vote immediately following Koval's.  What Cassell says... and then what he does, like night and day.  Is this the kind of man we want in Centreville for four more years?  I say no thank you Mr. Cassell, I say let the voters dismiss you with gratitude...

The Court of Special Appeals has denied KHovnanian’s motion to vacate Judge Sause’s injunction against the Four Seasons Project. 

In a one-page Order entered on September 5, 2006, the Court summarily rebuffed a 101-page filing by KHov’s lawyers seeking to overturn Judge Sause’s injunction. 

The Judge had stopped all work on the project, pending resolution of appeals from his judgment that accurate Critical Area rezoning maps for the project had never been produced and that therefore no “Growth Allocation” for the project had ever been completed.

Because of the September 5 order, the appeals will now go forward with the Judge’s injunction remaining in effect. 

Due to the courageous efforts of citizen plaintiffs, backed by the full resources of the Queen Anne’s Conservation Association, the Four Seasons project may well be ultimately stopped by the courts.

More immediately, the next County Commissioners will now have a clear opportunity officially to reconsider this illegitimate project (approved in 2002 by lame-duck Commissioners after they had been voted out of office in large part because of their support for Four Seasons). 

The three-person majority of the current Commissioners, Cassell-Cupani-Smith, have repeatedly pushed the project forward, against the determined but out-voted opposition of Commissioners Mike Koval and Gene Ransom.

The Primary Election on September 12 gives every Kent Island voter the chance to get a fresh reconsideration of Four Seasons -- by getting rid of its relentless Commissioner champions:  Cassell, Cupani, Smith.

I urge KIDL, as the original opponents of this grotesque project, to communicate to your members what is at stake on September 12.

Jim Campbell, Treasurer, Citizens Alliance to Save Our County PAC