Corruption in Maryland Politics

This is a response to the lead editorial headline in the December 28, 2011 Baltimore Sun’s editorial page.

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Your lead editorial headline in today’s (12-28-11) editorial section, “Halfway ethical,” is misstated.  It should read, HALF DONKEY.

As the person leading the movement to bring “REAL ETHICS ” into Maryland’s corrupt political system, I can tell you that the efforts of the County Executive and his cohorts in the Baltimore County Council to bring so-called ethics into Baltimore County government can be described in one word – SNOWJOB!

Ralph Jaffe, Teacher
Pikesville

BGE-CONSTELLATION: STOP RIPPING US OFF!

The article in the  Baltimore Sun newspaper, June 28, 2011,  pertaining to the Constellation-Exelon merger is the exact reason why nearly two years ago I filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Public Service Commission concerning the merger of Constellation with the French company, EDF.  The lawsuit is now on appeal in the Court of Special Appeals – Case No. 184 September Term 2011.

We can go back to at least 1992 to point out the exploitation of the customers of BGE – just look at the high rates and poor service which the customers experience.   Moreover, the morally bankrupt General Assembly, the Maryland Public Service Commission, and the governors in office during this time period have been the agents for aiding and abetting this exploitation.  In my opinion, the merger of Constellation with  Exelon will  only serve to exacerbate the situation.

The real solution for getting better utility service at a more reasonable price for customers of BGE is the election of politicians who are ethical instead of expedient.

ONLY  ONE WAY TO GET CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

The most recent articles on campaign finance reform, including Julie Bykowicz’s article, May 15th, concerning loopholes in campaign contributions and “lump sums”  once again illustrate the need to get rid of all the money that plays such an integral part in Maryland politics.  There is only one answer to this critical problem.  That’s the Ralph Jaffe philosophy of refusing to accept campaign contributions because in essence they are disguised bribes.  Adherence to this philosophy in my campaign for governor insured that loopholes would not be found.  I made a commitment not to take any money from any one or any group, and I kept my word.  In the 2010 Democratic primary I received close to 20,000 votes on a budget by design of $450.00  over a 14 month period.

It is most unlikely that our undistinguished General Assembly will pass any meaningful legislation to put a stop to all of the chicanery in Maryland politics.  The way to rid Maryland of the moral bankruptcy in government is to elect ethical politicians, not career opportunists, who are truly public servants and who will do what is right for the people.

ENDING CORRUPTION IN MARYLAND GOVERNMENT

Liz Kay’s article, “Answering the Call.”  which appeared February 13 in the Baltimore Sun has prompted me to respond.
Since 1992 I have been trying to prevail on BGE to hire more restoration power crews to enable them to provide a more efficient and rapid service for restoring power to its customers during power outages.  Until this crucial step is taken, customers will continue to be the victims of unacceptable time periods for bringing back power. Unfortunately, my efforts  to date, to get BGE to arrive at a reasonable ratio of power crews to customers, can be viewed as a struggle for several reasons.

#1 – The upper management of Constellation-BGE  care more about profits and PR than about good customer service.  They don’t  realize that unduly long power outages are more than  just a matter of inconvenience; they become matters of public safety and health hazards when people are  forced to be without power for a long number of hours and days.

#2 – The Maryland State Public Service Commission, which is supposed to regulate BGE, has become a rubber stamp for the governors of Maryland.  What’s more, the governor and members of the Maryland State legislature have become polished puppets of Constellation-BGE.

#3 – The People’s Counsel, whom I believe is appointed by the governor, has become merely a lip-service entity for the people she and her staff are supposed to protect.

Over a year  ago I filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Public Service Commission for what I believed was a violation of the Maryland Annotated State Code of Law, specifically the Open Meeting Act, Section 501 thru Section 512, when the Commission approved the Constellation-BGE merger in closed session.  On Wednesday, February 9, 2011 a state court hearing was finally held for Case 24-C-09-008035.  The judge,, another appointee of a Maryland governor,  dismissed the case asserting that it was too little, too late. (The lateness was due to an error on the part of the Circuit Court Clerk who misplaced my brief.)

The solution for better service from BGE and other utilities is for the electorate to stop sending back to office self promoting, career opportunistic  politicians and to replace them with ethical public servants.

Ralph Jaffe
Teacher
Pikesville

THEY JUST DON’T GET IT

The article, “Panel Eyes Rules on Campaign Finance,” which appeared in the Baltimore Sun,  Sunday edition, November 14, 2010 compels me once again to attempt to inform your editors, reporters and readers on the way to achieve real campaign finance reform.

In the 2010 gubernatorial primary election I kept my word.  I did not take campaign contributions from anyone. I could have – but I believe it’s unethical to do so.  The result speaks for itself – I received 19,517 votes on a designed budget of $450 over a 14 month period of campaigning.

In writing about the newly formed panel for the purpose of reforming the campaign finance rules, Julie Bykowicz presented all types of data and obstacles that will make their job  a challenging one.  But in reality, the formula is very simple.

It consists of 2 components.
#1 -  Each candidate should do as I have done – make a self-imposed commitment not to take campaign contributions (BRIBES).  Rules and regulations are not needed – just make the promise to the people to refrain from taking the money and keep the promise.
The question becomes – Will future candidates have the courage and integrity to make this commitment?

#2 – The media, including the Baltimore Sun, should make a commitment to give each candidate on the ballot an opportunity to have his/her platform made known to the readership.  That means, factual articles about each candidate should be printed in your paper, blog space – online is not sufficient.  If the candidate is willing to take the time, trouble, and effort to file for political office, then the candidate should be taken seriously regardless of party.

Your editors and reporters should review their Journalism 101  course which should emphasize the role of the paper -  to INFORM  and  EDUCATE readers about each candidate’s position on the issues important to the community.  Showing arrogance and displaying know-it-all conduct is not the way writers and editors should behave.  Their opinions regarding who is  a serious candidate should be discussed in the editorial section, not in the news and reporting sections.
This is the formula.  The question is, does the editorial staff have the wisdom to practice ethical journalism?

Ralph Jaffe, Baltimore County
Teacher/2010 Democratic Candidate for Governor

CHECK THIS OUT!

Some of the readers who submitted articles in the Readers Respond section of the Baltimore Sun on Thursday, September 30, 2010 really do get it!

I don’t and won’t do that - spend millions of dollars on campaign ads.  It is
disgraceful,  wasteful spending.
I tell the truth – I don’t lie .  Although I’m running for governor as a write in candidate, I am not a career politician.  I’m a teacher.  By the way, in the primary election running as a Democrat, I received 19.517 votes on a designed budget of $450.
I want to put ETHICS in Maryland  politics.  – It’s time to get money and corruption out of Maryland government.

More Steps in the Right Direction

Big government.  I’m against this.

No tax increases in the Jaffe administration.  Taxpayers work too hard for their money to have it wasted by the government.

Streamline the government. No one will be fired.  However, when certain state government employees retire or quit, their positions will remain unfilled or replaced by volunteers.

Paid PR government jobs. They should be abolished.

BGE beware! We need to put a stop to customers being “ripped off.”

The Maryland Stadium Authority.  Should be abolished.

Modern rapid transportation systems/lines.  The Red Line, Purple Line and light rail systems require billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. That’s a waste. Let’s improve the MARC System and let’s work on better bus service.

Promotion of responsible journalism. Students majoring in journalism at a state funded university should be required to take a course in responsible journalism.  By and large the media in Maryland are morally bankrupt ( there are only a handful of writers and broadcaster who understand ethics in journalism).

Ralph Jaffe – Teacher, Write-In candidate for governor

I’m sorry for the change of plans. There will be no motorcade. The reasons are simple.  It’s phony and it’s dangerous.  Even though it might look good, it is not what I’m all about.
Therefore, I will be arriving in one car on Monday, Sept. 20th around 1:00 P.M. at the State Board of Elections in Annapolis for the purpose of becoming a write in candidate for governor.  Taking this step will enable me to continue to lead the movement for real ethical reform in our corrupt political system in Maryland.

I want to thank all of the people who joined the revolution to stop the moral bankruptcy in Maryland politics by supporting my candidacy in the Maryland Democratic primary on September 14, 2010.  As of now, we have 19,112 voters who voted for the Jaffe Revolution.
The movement keeps moving. On Monday, September 20, 2010 at 12:00 P.M. I’m leading a motorcade to Annapolis for the purpose of filing as a write-in candidate for governor.  If you would like to be part of the motorcade, please call me at  410-602-1811.
THE REVOLUTION ROLLS ON!

I find the editorial in the Baltimore Sun on September 2, 2010 regarding legislative term limits to be extremely disappointing.
As the only candidate for political office in the state of Maryland who is committed to a voluntary self-imposed one term limit, I would like to remind the editors of the Baltimore Sun what this principle accomplishes.
=It tells the voters that I am not in the political arena for money, power, or fame but, rather I want to be a good public servant.
=It tells the voters that I do not have to be obsessed about taking campaign contributions/bribes in order to get re-elected
=It tells the voters that I understand the difference between a career politician and an ethical public servant.

When I say I’m committed to serving only one term for governor it means exactly that – I will not seek any other political office.  When you look at the mess the Maryland state legislature has made out of our community because of the legislators’ own personal interests, you can understand why a volunteer one term commitment would be in the best interests of our state.  Furthermore, enactment of my principles do not require the passage of any legislation by the Maryland General Assembly.

Moreover, advocating  public financing of elections to lessen the chances of politicians being  beholden to special interests is not the answer. What is the answer is to get money out of politics. Now that might sound unrealistic  but I venture to say it is the only way to get rid of the corruption that pervades our government.  Just think about the exorbitant sums of money spent on elections -  wouldn’t it be better to allocate that money  for meaningful causes such as feeding the poor or cancer research.

The principles I have embraced in this campaign represent a major step in ending corruption and bringing about true political ethical reform.

Ralph Jaffe, Pikesville
Teacher/Democratic candidate for governor

I would be remiss if I didn’t respond to some of the outrageous statements made against me by the writer of the Sunday, July 11th article entitled, “Lesser Known Candidates Also Want to Be governor.”

I object to the title of the article along with the phrase 2nd and 3rd tier candidates. Just because the incumbent governor and his predecessor have so called name recognition does not automatically make them first tier candidates. .  I submit many people, including myself,  view the incumbent and his predecessor as failed and flawed politicians. I am confident I can do a better job than both of them put together.

The biased writer of the article concluded that since it took me about 25 seconds before I realized it was Governor O’Malley whom I asked for directions to get to the State Board of Elections in Annapolis, I was, therefore, unfamiliar with Maryland state government. My conclusion is, if the governor were a better governor, It wouldn’t have taken me “25 seconds” to recognize him.  Even my dog, whose name is “Judge Goodie,” would use better criteria for judging a person’s qualifications than the writer did.  By the way, I wonder if the writer of the article knows the difference between being a writer and a columnist.

Perhaps, the best indicator of the writer’s lack of insight into life was her conclusion that since 1990 I’ve been a volunteer teacher ( from 1964 to 1973 I was a paid teacher), I should not be allowed to call myself a teacher since I do not get paid.  I am proud to be a volunteer teacher.  Maybe it shows I have dedication to the profession.  I’m very proud of the privilege I’ve had in working with so many wonderful students.

The author neglected to point out that my running mate, my sister, a retired librarian and teacher in the Baltimore county school system for over 30 years and who shares my principles, will also serve one term only and free because we want to be good public servants instead of greedy, ambitious politicians (the combined salaries, $275,000, will be used to hire additional firefighters, police officers and/or teachers).  The writer also neglected to point out that my running mate and I will not take campaign contributions because we believe they are disguised bribes.

This is one candidate who is not going to let the Baltimore Sun intimidate me and prevent us from trying to accomplish our goal which is to start the process of ending corruption in Maryland state government and replacing it with ETHICS.

Folks – here’s an opportunity for you to say you have had enough of the phony politicians in Maryland and you are now going to be part of the Jaffe revolution to put ETHICS into Maryland politics.

Ralph Jaffe, Pikesville
Democratic Candidate for Governor