Hall of Shame – August 12, 2020

Posted on August 12, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

Today, we induct Howard County Councilmember Liz Walsh (District 1) into the Hall of Shame. Why, you ask? Is it because of her obstruction of affordable housing? That would be reason enough, but no. The Hall of Shame is not necessarily intended to highlight political differences, but rather, people behaving badly. I’d say putting down your fellow duly-elected Councilmembers using a vulgar name qualifies, no? Is this one of those embarrassing reply-all gaffes? Now, I’ve been known ...

Housing is a Human Right

Posted on August 5, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

I recently read Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. It was an eye-opening read that made abundantly clear the link between housing and the downward spiral into lifelong poverty that is a reality for many Americans. Desmond's firsthand accounts shine a light on what poverty looks like, how easy it is to fall into, and how impossible it can be to extricate oneself from it. Most importantly, his writings reveal the central role of housi...

Hall of Shame – July 22, 2020

Posted on July 22, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

The Howard County Republican Club recently took to Facebook to paint the youth-led HoCo For Justice group, who has recently organized rallies in support of Black Lives Matter and in protest of ICE, as “radical progressive extremists.” Their choice of words - characterizing youths who support immigrants and Black lives as “lawlessness” and “racism” - makes you wonder what it is about a movement based on compassion, equality, and justice that gets under Republicans’ skin. (The HoCo For Just...

Screaming Into a Pillow

Posted on July 18, 2020August 17, 2020 by Jenny

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in Howard County. I’m starting to think I need to get a special pillow just for screaming. Does anyone else find themselves doing a lot of that lately? We had County Council Chair Deb Jung muting Councilman Opel Jones in a council Zoom meeting, the technological equivalent of walking over and putting her hand over his mouth. I can’t say I’ve ever seen Board of Education Chair Mavis Ellis ever do that for one of Christina “DeVos” Small’s lengthy sighing di...

Let’s Talk Redistricting (Part II)

Posted on July 17, 2020August 19, 2020 by Jenny

This is a two-part series reflecting on the 2019 HCPSS redistricting process. In Part I of my series on redistricting, I explained my position on the 2019 HCPSS redistricting process, and I stated that I while I supported the plan, I understood much of the opposition to it. Today, I’m going to discuss opposition that had a different, distinctly malignant flavor. This opposition was at best disingenuous and at worst covertly racist, characterized by vitriol filled with half-truths...