Suffice it to say that 2020 has been a hell of a year.
I could write for hours about the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial justice protests, the presidential election, and many other significant things that have defined 2020 in good ways and bad. But I’ll leave that to Time Magazine.
Instead, I’m going to talk about 2020 from the perspective of the Howard County Progress Report. After being recognized recently by legendary blogger Julia McCready of Village Green/Town² as well as Jason Booms and Bill Woodcock of Forward Maryland, I thought I would take a moment to look back over a remarkable year in my small corner of the Howard County blogosphere.
I launched the Howard County Progress Report in late April 2020 at the behest of several community members who enjoyed and appreciated my Twitter and Facebook commentary on local issues. My first post, The BOE Partisan Debate, noted that the Howard County Republican Club’s “recommendation” of certain Board of Education candidates demolished any pretense of non-partisanship in the BOE race. It would be the first of many posts covering a variety of topics – public education, affordable housing, the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, school redistricting, county council issues, and more. My writing has often required research, reading, and asking questions, and each piece has presented me with an opportunity to learn and grow. Some pieces have garnered little attention, others have attracted a lot of attention, and some have been shared widely as a resource for learning about local issues and candidates for public office.
Shortly after launching my blog, I wrote an analysis of each of several virtual BOE candidate debates. My analysis for District 3 exposed the vile, hateful memes posted by candidate Gian Alfeo on his Facebook account, and it quickly went viral, garnering over 7,000 views in a matter of days. While some in the community chose to focus on the iniquity of my having referred to Mr. Alfeo as a “neanderthal,” others rightfully raised a red flag and noted that his hateful views on Muslims, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and others made him unfit to serve in public office. Not long after I published the piece, Mr. Alfeo withdrew from the race. It was this exposé that brought me out of relative obscurity and into the local limelight.
My Hall of Shame, intended to be a trenchant body of work shining a light on examples of how not to behave, saw fourteen entries in 2020 – including everything from racism to reopen protests. District 5 County Councilman David Yungmann had the honor of being the first member inducted into the HoS, and I wrapped up the year with a Bama of the Year Award bestowed upon a group of boundary-challenged parents protesting at an elected official’s home. The HoS has been a successful showcase of bad behavior, revealing the sad reality that Howard County is not immune from the worst of human nature. Unfortunately, I have learned that the downside to the HoS is that some have come to see earning such recognition as a badge of honor. (Folks, this was not meant to be an exercise in reverse psychology. Do better.)
As you might expect, my blog has attracted both positive and negative attention in its first year. I get a lot of positive feedback from my followers and readers, of course. I was excited to be a runner-up in Howard Magazine’s 2020 Best Of Howard County Reader’s Choice contest, which ain’t too shabby for a brand-new blog. But I found myself the target of negativity as well, which, sadly, was not surprising or unexpected.
All in all, I am proud of this blog. I’m pleased with the learning and growth I have experienced by writing, and I enjoyed the connections I made with readers throughout the year. Thank you to all who have read my work, found it worthy of sharing, used it as a resource to inform others, or simply hit the “like” button. I appreciate your support more than you know.
And finally, allow me to blow a kiss to all my haters out there; we all know you’re reading this.