Open Agenda - Episode 12: Mark Carroll
Show Transcript
Disclaimer: The following transcript was auto-generated and may contain spelling or contextual errors.
you're watching open Agenda here's our
host Joe
White welcome to open Agenda I'm your
host Joe White in the studio with me is
our executive producer Joe venosa Joe
thanks for being here today thank you
Joe how are you wonderful I tell you uh
Fall's a great time of the year right
humidity is gone yeah finally yeah it
can even be hot but it's really not
terrible that's right uh so we have a
County council meeting this coming
Tuesday which is October 1st it's a 6:00
meeting in room
301 there are some hearings for some
grants that will be accepted by the
county executive for the airport for
Arthur dou pdue Stadium uh but one of
the topics that's on this County Council
agenda is regarding the Ross building
the the the Horizon tax credit there's
two of them one's Enterprise and one's
for the subsidy for housing I'd like for
you to speak a little bit about that I
know you have a a better sense being a
city resident as well
yeah we've we've experienced or endured
you know depending on your perspective
this issue for quite a while um because
The Horizon's program you know to sort
of put it in in layman's terms is
basically a subsidy for development or
developers and really what this pertains
to specifically is one particular
building right the Ross which is a
project that has been developed for the
past few years that has put a sort of
high-rise building in Downtown Salsbury
and at play right now now is the feature
of that project or that program in
regards to the County's role in it okay
well I think the their resolution is
whether or not they're going to extend
this deadline for an application and and
really we're not 100% sure so I mean I
don't want to act like we we understand
and in fact that's one of the reasons
why I want to go to the meeting to get
more information yeah it will be
interesting because I think there's some
uh I think for some people have
expressed a desire to maybe have a work
session about it we don't know if
that'll happen or not but um this this
County council meeting will at the very
least give us a sense of what will
happen or what could happen what do the
council members views of it and you know
it be interesting to see if they are
able to do an actual open work session
to see what the county Executives office
feels about it and actually we need both
I think often we get we get classified
as some sort of mouthpiece for the
County Council obviously we go and speak
out against things that they're
considering all the time all the time
yeah but what we really love is that
that we are allowed to exercise our
right to do that yeah and to see it and
to see it with our own eyes or on pack
14 but we just really don't know what we
don't know because if this if if this
tax credit whether you agree with it or
not is due then it should be paid but if
it was in fact a miss deadline or or
maybe there's other some other uh piece
that wasn't done then really I think the
public is is deserving of an explanation
by all of their elected leaders correct
uh just our County Council is the only
one who has open meetings so go figure
that's where we'll be right open Agenda
so uh I I did have a chance to go to the
parks and wreck meeting on on Tuesday uh
September 24th this meeting was great
there there was a lot there uh and I
don't want to go through everything but
there's a lot of really cool uh projects
that are happening uh whether you're
talking about Cove Road Beach uh with
tipin Arthur W produce Stadium uh some
of it like Arthur W produ stadium is
being funded and run by the Maryland
stadium authority to the tune of $28
million but Cove Road Beach which you
and I have heard in the community
there's a lot of questions they're
actually having a public meeting on
September 30th at 6 o'clock at the
Westside Community Center which is down
in B valve uh really encourage anyone
who has questions uh to to go to that
meeting ask your questions find see the
renderings uh when Joe and I or I'm
sorry when Mike and I were down filming
for uh our segment for for uh Cove Road
we could see the construction it was
really more of the preparation I think
now if you go to this meeting you'll see
what they're what the finished product
is going to look like yeah it's great uh
The Folk Festival is another great event
it was just last weekend uh I know you
were there I stopped by with you on on
Friday can you talk a little bit about
the Folk Festival sure well first off my
8-year-old son and I jumped up and
touched every sign that was on the side
of the street so you know we
accomplished our goal uh on that front
but uh the city accomplished its goal
too because they really had a fantastic
three-day Festival um if you recall um
the end of the national Folk Festival
which Salsbury hosted for three years
then transitioned to a smaller scaled
state-based one so Salsbury is now the
host city of the Maryland Folk Festival
and I believe this is the third year
that we had it and last year the second
year that that we hosted it as a city uh
we just had awful we WEA it was you know
it was coming in Friday night and you
know people kind of went there because
they sort of assumed that we weren't
going to have it on Saturday and Sunday
and they were correct it was it was
basically two days of of 20 inches of
rain I think we had a remnants of a
tropical system it was it was incredibly
uh heavy rain and so it was a good
weekend for ducks it was they were happy
they didn't perform but they they they
were happy and then ultimately this year
we had phenomenal weather we had a great
turnout some incredible National and
local acts um again you know not not not
to plug any particular group but we have
some incredible local bands especially
through the amp program The Academy of
Music performance nice and so we got to
see what our youth based musical groups
and activities can do well and uh you
know at the Folk Festival uh you were
out there uh and I I joined you Friday
passing out information about question a
uh you know obviously we encourage
people to consider voting yes for
question a yeah but we uh but more
importantly I think you had a chance to
speak with with the public about their
questions their concerns it was it was
great um you know by my account at least
from my end I I hand out about 150
brochures and interestingly enough um
there were a few individuals who I guess
had either
initially received against question a
signs or were going to vote against
question a and then after discussion
after giving them some information you
know just talking about where we're
coming from they actually return their
signs and uh essentially uh you know
informed us that their intention is to
vote for question a however folks end up
voting um we just really want them to go
out and get as much information as
possible yeah get a chance to vote with
their heart um you know obviously early
voting starts uh October 24th through
the 31st and then we have of course the
the election the first Tuesday in in
November yeah so you know we're kind of
coming into that part of the year so
yeah so uh speaking of questiona and and
and folks in the community uh going to
have a chance to sit down with Mark
Caroll who's the director of Park W from
sharptown uh you know we're we're going
over some of the parks and W stuff uh
and and he's very active he runs a a a
large scale Youth and adult soccer
program out in sharptown but just last
year he he really ran into a lot of
roadblocks with the county executive uh
with regard to the West Metro cors Park
uh which actually sits in the tri Town
District um some of the planning uh
wasn't initiated through the towns of
Hein Mell and sharp town
they kind of pushed back um and uh
really interesting story and he tells he
talks about all the positive of the
program also those challenges maybe even
some of the threats he had so yeah it it
seems like it was a cautionary tale that
luckily had a good ending for
him time did and we and we saw that with
Mike Goldberg you know luckily there's
some video evidence that dispelled that
but also here he had such a a large
following from the community on the West
Side uh he does such good work with the
young kids out there yeah but um I I I
encourage everyone to to listen to his
story yeah so stick around when we come
back I'm going to have a chance to sit
down with Mark Carrol from sharptown
Parks and wreck we're going to find out
a little bit about the history of parks
and wreck in sharptown the current
challenges they're facing the threat
that they had last year and really some
of the bright future out there stick
with us we'll be right
back welcome back to open Agenda I'm
your host Joe White with me in the
studio is the director of parks and
recreation in sharptown Mark Carol Mark
thanks for being here today yeah thanks
for having me feels weird to be on this
side of the wall I bet it does it's a
it's a little different a little
brighter on the side yeah it is a little
hotter too so tell me a little bit about
yourself and what your position is with
the parks and recreation in sharptown um
well I actually didn't grow up in
sharptown I grew up in in Salsbury I'm a
a transplant moved there about eight
years ago uh and right around that that
time uh I decided to uh do things that I
was passionate about and things that
made me happy and um I you know stopped
reading the news as much as I was doing
and I tried to uh focus on positive
things um so I looked for opportunities
and and when an opportunity came up to
join the recreation of parks and and
Coach a soccer team I took it why are
you so passionate about youth
recreational
soccer well I played a lot when I was
younger and a lot of my U fond memories
from when I was younger revolved around
that and back to the you know the whole
positivity thing I thought it would be
something that I could help share with
others do you think it really shaped
your childhood and and maybe even you
know propelled you into what you do it
now as an adult yeah absolutely uh there
were lessons that I learned in practices
and games that you know stuck with me uh
and you know the being able to have an
organized event that you could get to
with your friends and see people on a
regular basis it was great for me
especially because at the the time we
lived out in a farm on dabur road not
near much else so so what's your
proudest accomplishment with the
sharptown parks and
wreck uh that's you know it's it's not
anything that anyone formally recognized
but uh I'm I'm really happy that I have
set myself up in a position to see
things from a perspective perspective
that not very many other people get to
see uh for example um I was refereeing a
soccer game that's what I do when I
don't have enough breaths I will referee
the game and uh volunteer and do it and
so I was standing there about 20 feet
away from my daughter when she scored
her first goal nice and I was right
there I was watching the whole thing I
wasn't distracted I got to see the whole
thing so um that was amazing and then
you know even further on I cre ated an
over 16 league and now I get to play
soccer with my son who is a phenomenal
Defender and I'm a goalie so okay it's
and it's so it's his job to protect you
it is it is and it's really it's a
really interesting uh change of uh uh
positioning and uh it was kind of weird
at first but I I like it and it it I
don't know it's it's a lot of fun it's
the most fun I have with soccer now now
I think those are proud accomplishments
but I also think you're being just a
little modest um I have here that you
were the 2018 youth coach of the year in
W Comico County and then even in 2019
you were the uh youth at sports
administrator the year yeah that is true
true so your your passion has led you to
help other kids in the same way maybe
Youth Sports helped you growing up and
is this a high-paying job or is this a a
volunteer job what explain uh I'm I'm
paid in satisfaction nice and
gratification uh there's no no Monetary
Exchange well now I want to dive a
little bit deeper into a situation that
happened to you as the administrator out
at sharptown obviously this is you know
a a volunteer position but at one time
this this this job of yours this this
commitment was was taken almost taken
from you from the county executive is
that correct that's correct yes I want
to hear more when we come back can we
can we dive a little bit deeper into
what what calls that situation and where
you stand today yes so stay with us I
wanted to spend some more time with Mark
Carroll the director of Parks and
Recreation from sharptown I want to find
out more about this story what happened
to him what role the county executive
played and where does he see the future
of sharptown parks RQ so stay tuned
we'll be right
back sharptown in W Comico county is
home to two side by-side parks along the
banks of the upper Nanticoke River just
a 15minute Drive Northwest of Salsbury
Cherry Beach Park and C Bennett Park
offer an assortment of recreational
opportunities and special events that
will please children and adults alike
Cherry Beach and C Bennett parks are
located next to the Route 313 Bridge
spanning the Nanticoke River and are
connected by a pleasant walking trail
along the riverfront from both parks
you'll get unique views of the high
overhead bridge and if your timing is
right you'll get a close-up look at
tugboats pushing enormous barges up and
down the Nanticoke River between Seaford
Delaware and destinations all around the
Chesapeake Bay if you're a boater or
fisherman then Cherry Beach Park is the
place for you the boat ramp provides
easy access to the protected Waters of
the upper Nanticoke where many fishermen
pursue freshwater species not typically
found further down river and if you're a
hardcore fisherman you won't want to
miss the catfish and invasive species
tournaments host of the Cherry Beach
every year there's no charge for use of
the boat ramp and plenty of parking is
available additionally Cherry Beach has
a soft launch for kayaks and canoes but
be mindful of the river's strong tidal
currents before setting out if you don't
have a boat just a short walk down river
from C Bennett Park is a public fishing
area along the bank where no fishing
license is required in addition to a
fishing pier which is a converted
section of the old bridge this is a
terrific place to enjoy a leisurely day
of fishing and don't forget to sign up
the little ones for the kids Fishing
Derby held every September and any place
called Cherry Beach has to have a beach
right of course it does although you may
have to bring your own cherries you can
relax and catch some rays on Cherry
Beach's White Sands while getting relief
from the summer heat by taking a dip in
the Cool Waters of the upper Nanticoke
River if you're an active Sports
Enthusiast at C Bennett Park you'll find
a light at softball Diamond as well as
pickle ball and Tennis Courts C Bennett
also hosts an annual pickle ball
tournament as well as an outdoor family
movie night in the spring and fall and
the ever popular Halloween party in
October one of the year's biggest events
sharptown Heritage day is held every
September at Cherry Beach Park this
familyfriendly event features Fire Works
food and craft vendors history exhibits
a parade and a whole lot more both cop
Bennett Park and Cherry Beach Park are
improved with children's playgrounds in
addition to Pavilions with picnic tables
for Gatherings with family and friends
just bring your own Barbecue Grill
Cherry Beach Park is entirely funded by
Pavilion Rentals and all Park staff are
volunteers so plan your next family
outing at Cherry Beach and help support
this amazing Recreational facility for
more information on Cherry Beach Park
visit the sharptown recreation and Park
website additional information about cop
Bennett Park is available on the W
Comico recreation parks and tourism
website this is Mike Goldberg for open
Agenda welcome back to open Agenda I'm
your host Joe White in studio with me
sticking around is uh Mark Carroll the
director of parks and wreck from
sharptown thank you for staying sure
that was a great segment you had in
between there oh was yeah you like that
yeah I'm not editing so I'll be
surprised it's along with everybody else
so uh so I want to find out more about
what your role as the Director of
sharptown parks and W and the the story
with the West Metro core Park and just
how that evolved into at at some point
your your your role almost being
eliminated in sharptown
sure um it's a very complex and long
story so I'll I'll summarize it as best
I can um you we we had become aware
that the park was was being developed
and planned and everything like that now
this park it's on leev to Shield Road
and it's called the West Metro Corps
Park but it's actually in the tri town
area which includes sharptown Hein and
Mardell is that is that right that's
true it is in the tri town planning area
but it but it's been built as the West
Metro core Park yes okay so continue
please I'm sorry to interrupt no it's
all right so we we thought that there
wasn't enough representation from the TR
town
uh area uh in in the park planning and
we raised some objections um
and how did you become aware that there
even was a plan um we were we were told
it was in the works because um at our
meetings at the time we had a a county
representative that would come to our
Recreation meetings every meeting and we
were told something was in the works and
you know they were working on a plan and
that they would have a a public reveal
date at at some point in the future uh
and then we were they sent us the press
release to let us know when that was
going to be but when the press release
came out it it did not offer any
specifics of the plan but you later
found out about the plan from Facebook
from a Facebook post with the West
Salsbury little leag yes that's true
that's how we that's how we initially
found out about it um which was
discouraging because we I guess we kind
of thought that that first meeting was
going to be more open and that there
would be more plans presented and that
we would have more of an input so the
first meeting you're talking about was
the one at rocka Walkin Church yes and
but by this point there really already
was an initial concept that included
input from West Salsbury little leag
amongst some other folks but did not
have any input specifically from the
parks and recck Department in Hein
mardella or sharptown at least to your
knowledge no that's correct and yeah
they did not have any input either so
were you surprised at the at the first
town hall meeting that the executive
hosted yes I was um mostly because I I
thought that there was going to be
several plans and that we there was
going to be a dialogue and a discussion
uh about it um and there was only one
one plan what did the plan look like um
it was um baseball
fields um with soccer fields set into
the outfields the baseball fields now I
saw the plan later I did not see it I
was not at the first meeting I was at
the second one but the basically the
outlay was a a humongous rectangle a
rectangle large enough for six baseball
fields yes uh artificial turf I believe
and and then these fields could be if
desired could be converted to square
Fields whether for field hockey soccer
lacrosse if there wasn't home run fences
put over the center of this rectangle is
that accurate that's that's exactly what
we saw so this is about the same time I
became aware of the project that
actually through your parks and wck
Department that works closely with the
parks and wck departments that I
volunteer with um this was about the
same time that you that you asked for
maybe input from other folks who are
volunteers boots on the ground tell me a
little bit about what happened next
especially leading into the second town
hall meeting in at mardella fire
department um well since we we felt we
weren't being represented
we um yeah we issued a statement
sharptown Mardell and Hein issued a
statement well how do you do that uh we
issued a press release okay I mean you
did personally no no no no it was the
recreation department anything that goes
through that is um we vote on everything
and any responses to the Press everyone
voted on how to respond back there was
an email chain about how to answer any
queries or things like that that's our
department is is run that way where any
anything that comes out from it publicly
has been approved by um the the
department as a whole uh in fact me me
being here I am the director of the
recreation parks when I'm not
representing the recreation and parks so
this is your personal experience yes
this is just my personal experience but
you're a recreational parks meetings
there in sharptown are they open to the
public yes absolutely do you do all your
business in a transparent format you
have to take votes and you talk about
your your financial statement and that
sort of thing yes and we go over the
minutes from previous meetings we
approve the minutes through the
financials and it all gets entered into
the public record so you keep minutes
yes okay yeah so I guess you have a
secretary and and all that yes secretary
treasure y So you you're talking about
this press release uh what role did heon
and Mardela play in the press release
that came from the sharptown parks and
wreck they actually um they helped us
word a lot of it we we sent that around
to them um to see if they wanted to add
anything to it or change the way some
things were worded uh and they did and
then you know sent us back what they
thought was what they wanted to say how
they wanted to be represented so at the
initial Rocka Walkin uh church meeting
the one where you actually got to see
the baseball only plan or baseball
Centric plan for the first time what was
the Press coverage like after that
meeting prior to your press release
coming out um the Press coverage after
that was very uh baseball Centric
despite the tone of the meeting being
more uh rectangled
based support so you don't think that
the local media captured the essence of
the feedback that the public had at the
meeting no and it was very strange um
and it it U it caught us off guard um
because it did not that was not the tone
of the meeting so did it change after
your press release that came out from he
sharp toown in mardella
no um no no it didn't and then we ended
up we got some media coverage and it was
it was two weeks after that which was
outside of the survey window which is
what we were trying to get in we were
trying to get it in before the survey
was closed so that we would have a
larger group respond on our behalf so
the the the the presence at the Mardel
fire department meeting the the hearing
or not the hear the the town hall that
happened it was the second hearing or
second Town Hall uh what was the public
outcry at that time for the most part I
mean obviously there was some folks
there who were supportive baseball but
what was the majority uh it was majority
soccer yeah soccer rectangle Base Sports
are you against having baseball fields
in mon Comico County no not at all um
you
know we have a a lot it's just a matter
of what what do we have already and what
do we need now well I mean how would you
describe the soccer uh playing field
experience in W Comico County for our
youth sports Now versus say 20 years ago
when you were playing oh uh when I was
playing I feel like there was a field
everywhere uh I used to play games at
the complex Under The Lights which was
always you know I still remember the way
those night games smell you know what I
mean that cool four Fields there right
all all lit yeah what's there now um
they took those out um about what eight
to 10 years ago and put in uh baseball
fields I believe or softball softball
fields yeah um what do I mean those
those fields now are mostly used for uh
tournament play outside tournament play
in fact I coach youth girls softball and
our opening day for many years was
pushed back to Mother's Day weekend
because that was one of the few weekends
that the complex wasn't booked out for
an outside tournament uh so we would
play like two weeks of the Season then
have our opening day out of the Parker
complex like two weeks in we had all
these softball fields but they're really
made for for tournament play not for you
Sports yes so it's a shame I mean uh
baseball was always my passion but I did
play soccer under the lights at the
Parker complex and it was really cool as
probably my favorite part of playing
soccer oh yeah so that and I liked going
when I was younger I liked going out to
the outer towns to play I loved playing
down at uh Cedar Hill um that was always
a fun experience I don't know if my
parents shared in the joy of having to
drive all the way out there but I
remember just being in the back of the
car just super excited that we were it
might have been might have been when gas
was only a dollar so maybe not as big a
deal yeah so uh you know you you talk
about how important it was for you to
have that Youth Sports Experience night
games the whole experience right does
your your youth soccer program have that
now in sharptown Oh Yes actually we are
we're very lucky um because we we have
one one lit field in sharptown it is the
Outfield of a of a baseball field but
we' we've made it work is is it still
used for softball very often now uh in
this in the springs yes and then we also
started a kickball program in the spring
for adults so we have that as well um so
it gets used most of the year um so we
do have that um so so even though you
don't have the Parker complex anymore
you still give your kids that experience
yes absolutely and then we have another
park with with no lights that is has
larger more more fields that we can play
on so we we've kind of laid the
groundwork about where where the
situation was and and and ultimately the
the the final conceptual plan that the
engineers came was was a hybrid system
that had F phase one had square or
rectangular Fields but that really
wasn't the end of the story for you uh
there were some ramifications from your
your involvement in and getting this
press release out and getting the public
to understand where where things were so
what happened there um well uh the
county executive and uh some some others
I believe bunkey buffin yeah okay and
director Administration yes and and
maybe one or two other people that I'm
not I'm not sure who they are um they
called a meeting with the president
president of the commissioners of sharp
Town kind of like your mayor exactly
that's exactly right and um he thought
that they were calling the meeting to
discuss the park because at this point I
had been going to town meetings and
saying hey you know this is technically
our Park it's in our planning area we we
should have a lot of say in this we
should be represented in this um so he
he was aware of the situation and so
they sat down and they met and the
purpose of the meeting was not to
discuss the park uh the purpose of the
meeting was for them to tell him that if
he didn't get rid of Mark Carroll then
the county was done with sharp toown so
they weren't going to support the
programming or the maintenance of the
parks out in sharp toown for the kids to
use it was it was very from what I
understand the threat was big and it
wasn't uh it wasn't um you there wasn't
anything specific that was said cuz
there are obligations that they would
need to fulfill cuz the parks are
owned by the county in sharptown the the
soccer park and the baseball park are
both County Parks um so I'm not sure
exactly what the implication would would
have been and he he told me this
immediately afterwards and then um the
Commissioners uh asked him in a
subsequent meeting of the town so it's
also on their minutes as well well
speaking of minutes yes were you accused
of uh falsifying minutes for yeah
actually so I guess guess the what what
happened with that threat because our um
our you know the president of our
commissioners is is a man of integrity
is a good man and he stood up for me and
he um told them he was not going to get
rid of me actually what's interesting is
that um my position I'm triple vetted um
in order to become the you know the
president of the um Recreation of parks
I have to be approved as a member by
commissioners of sharptown I then have
to be elected by the other people I have
to be chosen and elected by the other
people in the commission who had to go
through the same thing okay and then
once I am voted in I go back to the
commissioner to say hey is this guy
president material I have to be approved
three times before I'm I'm for a job
that you don't get paid for job I don't
get paid for
yes I want to find out more about the
county Executives accusations that you
actually falsified minutes from the
parks and wreck department there in
sharptown yes so uh that was a very
surprising um meeting um I did not
expect that to happen and never thought
the county executive was going to show
up to a Recreation and Parks meeting in
sharptown on a Wednesday night um but
but that's what happened uh the county
executive showed up to our meeting and I
guess this is was the um the aftermath
of the our you know being being stood up
for by our uh president of the
Commissioners uh and so she showed up uh
to tell us that they were no longer
sending a county representative to our
meetings um
after I don't know how how long um maybe
10 or 15 years there's always a county
representative in our meeting uh we
weren't going to have one anymore um and
then she said that she accused us of
being abusive to the representative um
and we assured her that we had not and
that she could check the records and
check our minutes at which point she
said that our minutes were all false and
contained misinformation and that we
were manipulating the public record so
that must have been hard to hear after
you had already been through quite a bit
I want to find out more of just about
how what kind of position that put you
in and maybe even what Peril that put
the Youth Sports Programming in
sharptown Ed but I also want to get an
update about actually where you're at
now what the the future of sharptown
Parks and Recreation is would you would
you stick around one more segment yeah
sure when we come back we're going to
spend just a few more minutes with Mark
Carroll and find out exactly where
sharptown parks and wreck is today and
where do they see themselves going into
the future stay with us we'll be right
back so after we shot this episode of
open Agenda with Mark Carroll he
actually reached out to us um part of
that interview was a little a little bit
tough to watch uh Joe I'm going to ask
you to read Mark's statement it's a
little long but I think it actually
expresses his true feelings really well
sure again these are the words of Mr
Mark Carol and what he sent to us
regarding that
segment I apologize for losing my
composure during our interview it has
been over a year since everything
happened and I thought enough time had
passed that I could talk about it openly
without it affecting me emotionally
clearly that's not the case you asked me
how it felt when the County Executive
tried to have me fired from my volunteer
position when the county executive
targeted me it was overwhelming both
emotionally and mentally it felt like
the weight of the entire County was
against me I began questioning
everything I had done every conversation
every decision every move I had made in
my role as a volunteer I thought I must
have done something wrong but in
hindsight that wasn't true I was
targeted simply because my department
asked for transparency and inclusion
values that should be at the core of any
government instead of addressing these
concerns the county executive chose to
cut off our communication by removing
our County liaison from our meetings
showing up to make false accusations and
even accusing us of falsifying
documents it not only upset me but also
a room full of dedicated volunteers who
were just trying to make a positive
impact in our community at the time I
didn't fully understand the weight of
what was happening but looking back it's
clear that that the county executive's
actions were an abuse of power when an
elected official can retaliate against
individuals or departments simply for
advocating for transparency it reveals a
deeper issue within the system the
actions I experienced weren't just
personal attacks they were a misuse of
the position itself to silence
opposition and that's why the lack of
accountability in this role is so
troubling if it happened to me it could
happen to
others even though I wasn't fired I
almost quit The Experience took a toll
not just on me but on my family as well
it got in the way of my work and it
disrupted my ability to plan for the
soccer program I came close to walking
away entirely the only reason I didn't
quit was because many people friends
colleagues and volunteers reminded me of
what would be lost if I left their
support kept me going but the emotional
cost of this experience was profound the
most troubling part was there was no way
to challenge this the council had no
power to intervene and I was left
feeling powerless the lack of
accountability is what hurt me the most
not just for me but for others as well I
know many County employees who were
afraid to attend town halls or speak up
because they feared for their
jobs this atmosphere of fear and
intimidation is not how government
should
operate what I realized through all of
this is that the problem isn't just the
individual in the position it's the
position
itself the county executive has too much
unchecked power and anyone in that role
could abuse it in the same way this
isn't how government should function
especially not in America government
positions should serve the people not
silence them we the people have an
opportunity to correct this we can vote
for question a my experience
demonstrates that the county executive
position as it stands lacks the
necessary checks and balances to ensure
accountability you years ago voters
supported the creation of the position
because we thought it would Balance
power between the C Council and the
executive but now it's clear the
position is all
checks and no
balances it allows one person to control
too much without being answerable to the
people they're supposed to
serve voting for question a is an
opportunity to correct this imbalance
and return power to the people a
transfer of power that the opposition
refers to as a power grab the position
of county executive should not be used
to intimidate or silence anyone and a
County Manager someone
qualified
accountable and able to be removed if
they abuse their power is a far better
solution this isn't just about my
experience it's about protecting
everyone in the community from an
unchecked system no one should ever have
to go through what I did just for an for
expressing an opposing viewpoint
Joe thank you for taking the time to
read Mark's statement and I also want to
reach out and thank Mark Carroll for
coming in the studio as we have talked
to several uh County Employees uh folks
in the community uh we have realized
just how incredibly difficult it is to
stand up at the podium stand up for
yourself but we want you to know there
is a community out there that is
supportive of you we'll be back next
week with another episode of open Agenda
thank you
Topics:
