From: Laura Green
Chairwoman
Anne Arundel County Republican Party
Kimberly McCoy
Chairwoman
Anne Arundel County Democratic Party
The Anne Arundel County Republican Party and the Anne Arundel County Democratic Party have pledged to work together in an effort to legally fight for the interests of the residents of Anne Arundel County in our right to be the heart of one congressional district.
The congressional redistrictingprocess has split our county into four pieces, none of which are themajority of a congressional district. The effect of this gerrymandering is that Anne Arundel County voters have been disenfranchised for a decade, bereft of a strong congressional voice.
The chairmen of both county political parties call upon our residents to support our legal battle through the federal court system to restore our county to effective representation. In order to accomplish this we need your financial support. All contributions to the Anne Arundel County Bipartisan Citizen's Coalition will be greatly appreciated. Please send your
check made out to AACBCC to P.O. Box 465, Linthicum, Md. 21090.
Together as a team we believe the opportunity exists to correct this travesty.
HOSPICE IS COMPASSION
From: Lars Egede-Nissen, M.P.A.
Executive director
Arundel Hospice
November has been declared National Hospice Month as well as Maryland Hospice Month. All of us affiliated with Arundel Hospice thank each of you who has helped us in the past. We are grateful for your generosity. Because we are a community-based hospice, we rely heavily on support from the area we serve, which is all of Anne Arundel County.
Loving, compassionate,caring . . . these are some of the adjectives that are frequently used in describing the skilled staff and volunteers at Arundel Hospice.We provide skilled care to terminally ill individuals who have chosen to spend their last days in the comfortable, loving surroundings oftheir home with those who mean the most to them at their side.
Inaddition, Arundel Hospice offers the services of the Bereavement Center, free of charge, for anyone in Anne Arundel County who is grieving the loss of a loved one, be it child, spouse, relative or friend. For more details on the programs we offer, please call 987-2003.
UNIONPOLITICS AS USUAL
From: Mike Rash
Arnold
I witnessed the birth of a new era last night. It was the birth of a movement that mustcontinue toward an awakening among those county employees who are fed up with a union that has leaders who regard politics as a better course to follow than looking out for the employees who elected them.
I saw employees who were tired of union politics as usual. I saw people wanting to be heard being ignored. I saw employees who have ideas that need to be shared applauded for their efforts. I saw union leaders grossly underprepared for an important vote. I saw union leaderswho value political prestige more highly than the welfare of the workers they are challenged to protect.
I also heard a union leader say that we were ignorant of the political system and we were fools tovote for concessions in the face of possible layoffs. This kind of attitude is an offense to all county employees. They say we don't cometo the monthly meetings. This may be true, but they do not let the general county work force know when they meet. The reason there were so many in attendance last night was that they mailed fliers to those who have signed cards to become card-carrying members (as myself). Wethen let our fellow employees know where the meeting was to take place. We showed up in sufficient numbers that it threw the union leadership off and forced them to accede to the wishes of the masses.
The consensus voted to give concessions to avoid layoffs. The leadership responded by saying that we were ignorant and lay down and rolled over like obedient dogs. We don't want to see layoffs, and we are considered ill-informed. We showed them last night that we are informed and should be counted. I will now begin to stand up and speak for all,and others should begin to do the same. We need to show the current leadership that they need to reshape their priorities and start looking out for their workers, instead of worrying only about the politicsof their position.
It is now time for those who showed up to showtheir feelings by regularly attending meetings and show the leadership that we want to be heard. Now is the time for cooperation with thepolitical leaders. Together, we should strive to find a cure for ourcommon ills.