President's Message

Hi WHCDC Friends,

Summer is winding down and the kids are getting geared up to go back to school. Vacation season is coming to a close, as well. The Howard County Fair is one of my favorite events of the summer. The club was well represented in the Democratic Booth at the Fair. Thank you to all who signed up to participate!!

At our last meeting, we had a presentation from county and state planners on the widening of Route 32. As you probably have noticed, building of the Burntwoods Road interchange has started. We want to watch closely the impact of the significant increase of new jobs at Ft. Meade (and the families who will move here) with the BRAC changes and the widening of Route 32 on our way of life in western Howard County. We will study issues related to zoning pressures, school enrollment, traffic patterns around the interchanges and the environmental impact of increased housing and traffic. We had a rich discussion of how the club can respond. This will continue to be a focus of our club over the next few years.

The elephant in the room of politics these days is the Democratic Presidential Primary Campaign. I hope you can join us on Tuesday, August 21st for our Ice Cream Social and primary preview. We have invited folks from the various Howard County groups supporting the Democratic candidates to join us and give you a chance to talk with them about their candidates and sign up to help the campaigns. At the end, we will have a straw vote with all present invited to participate. We will continue to follow developments in the campaigns as we move toward the Maryland primary in February.

I hope to see you all Tuesday evening!!

Clyde Robinette
President

Western Howard County Defined

For purposes of defining the WHCDC service area, Western Howard County is defined as those 40 precincts that are included in Council District 5, Legislative District 9A (State Assembly) and Legislative District 9 (State Senate). For all practical purposes, that includes a crescent-shaped area west of Folly Quarter Road, north of U.S. 40 and south and west of Clarksville to the river, including Dayton, Fulton, and parts of Laurel and Scaggsville

By precinct, that includes the following precincts:
Election District 1: Precincts 01-04 and 01-05
Election District 2: Precincts 02-01 to 02-03, 02-05 to 02-19. 02-22 to 02-24.
(All of BOE District 2 except for Precincts 02-04, 02-20 and 02-21)
Election District 3: all, Precincts 03-01 to 03-05.
Election District 4: all, Precincts 04-01 to 04-04
Election District 5: Precincts 05-01, 05-11, 05-19 and 05-20.
Election District 6: Precincts 06-03, 06-25, 06-28, 06-32.

So defined, candidates for these offices share constituents with Council District 1 (Courtney Watson) and Team 13 (Md. Senator Jim Robey and Md. Assembly members Shane Pendergrass, Frank Turner and Guy Guzzone.) Courtney Watson is our Democratic representative on County Council.

WHCDC Holds Organizational Meeting

Following a year of meeting informally under the leadership of organizers Clyde Robinette and Romayne Smith, and Marty and Barbara Wasserman, the Western Howard County Democratic Club adopted a set of bylaws (see our website) at the April meeting and elected offers and established membership fees at its May 15 meeting.

Inaugural officers include: Clyde Robinette. President; Bill Hudock, Vice President; Jim Mellicant, Treasurer, and Mearl Grabill, Secretary. Their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed elsewhere.

These four officers plus the chairs of the five Standing Committees will serve as the Executive Committee. The Standing Committees include: Ways and Means, Issues/Platform, Voter Services, Membership, and Communications. Club officers will serve as a primary contact in each Standing Committee and will have a lead roll in identifying leadership and shaping initial goals and objectives.

In addition, ad hoc committees may be established to respond to special issues or interests. Club members are encouraged to volunteer in one or more standing committees and indicate interest in leadership positions. (See the membership application form.)

Any individual who shares interest in Democratic values and issues (a special invitation to unaffiliated voters and dissatisfied Republicans) are invited to attend club meetings. To qualify for membership, you must be a registered Democrat in Howard County. Club dues are $25 per year per individual ($10 for each adult in families) per year. Annual membership fees for Seniors (65 or more) are $20 and igh school or college students are $10 annually.

A copy of the Club by-laws may be found elsewhere on the WHCDC Web Page. (Coming soon, ed.)