Jack Johnson

If you have been reading my blog, Maryland Politics Today or the blog where I am a contributor, Red Maryland, then you know what will be happening in the ensuing paragraphs. However, I think it is important to recap the events that happened that drove us to this point according to news accounts.

On Tuesday, July 29, the home of Cheye Calvo, the mayor of Berwyn Heights in Prince George’s County, was raided by the county sheriff’s SWAT team and narcotics police officers. Prior to the raid, police posing as deliverymen delivered a package to the home addressed to Calvo’s wife, Trinity Tomsic. Calvo’s mother-in-law, Georgia Porter, was instructed to leave the package on the porch.

The last day of July was a happy day for me. I was able to meet fellow Red Maryland contributor and Towson University Communications Professor Dr. Richard Vatz. More importantly however, I read the announcement that Prince George’s County Police Chief Melvin High is resigning, effective at the end of August. Gray skies actually did clear up that day, figuratively and literally.

The sole purpose of this column is to burst the bubbles of those who want to lavish praise on the outgoing chief…I think we are better off without him. Yes, some crime has gone down in the county over his five-year tenure. No, the homicide rate has yet to dip below 100 and that is where my problem with High is. I am a Prince George’s County resident who is proud of the fact that we are one of the most affluent counties in the country (take that Montgomery County!) Any homicide rate over 100 in a county like this is unacceptable.

Late last week, Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson (D) announced that independent experts will review policies and procedures at the county detention center. The American Correctional Association and the National Institute of Corrections will be doing a top-to-bottom assessment of the county corrections system. The Washington Post says that the ACA will be receiving $25,000 for their trouble while the NIC, which is within the Justice Department, is doing the assessment for free.

I apologize if I am not excited about this. A review of the county detention center is coming after the worse case scenario happened (I would argue that an inmate dying while in custody due to a another human being as a very bad situation.) There should have been a review BEFORE the worse case scenario, especially after Alfred McMurray Sr., the county corrections director, was fired.

McMurray was fired after a series of incidents in the last few months, including:

Anthony Brown and Nancy Kopp spoiling your clambake fun? But you rock on just the same, Peter.

It's Maryland's Winners and Losers for July 4, 2008. CLICK HERE.

Consider this piece to be my no confidence vote in Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson (D). OK, to be fair, I never had confidence in Johnson in the six years he has been county executive. Thankfully for the first two years of his era, I lived on the Anne Arundel side of Laurel.

First let me discuss the main reasons that he was elected. In 2002, he was elected on his campaign to root out police corruption, in addition to being in a very crowded field to succeed Wayne Curry (D). Candidates that year included council member Jim Estepp, former delegate the Rev. C. Anthony Muse and then-delegate Rushern Baker III. Two years ago, Johnson won by running (literally) from Baker.

And now for the monthly round up of things you should know about, things you haven’t heard about yet or things you already know but I’m going to tell you what I feel about it anyway, it’s time for Burns-pourri to wrap up June.

Starting up with two things from my blog…

This week, I am going to do something different. Have you ever had so many issues you want to talk about, but do not know where to begin? I do on a regular basis (this week, more than anytime and it’s compounded by the fact that I try to keep this a weekly column.) It is that premise that I present to you “Burns-pourri.” This is where I take those topics and condense them. It will either be something I have an opinion on, something you probably should know about… or both.

This week's Democratic congressional win in Mississippi has some in Maryland smiling and others frowning. Here are this week's Winners and Losers.

More PolitickerMD.com coverage: The not so pledged delegate

When Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson (D) proclaimed during an interview published today with The Washington Post that he could not "in good conscience" go to the Democratic National Convention and not support Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), several questions were raised about the county executive's ability to make such a decision.

Johnson is one of 28 so-called pledged delegates who were committed to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to represent her support within the state. Obama defeated Clinton by a margin of 60.7 to 35.8 percent in the Feb. 12 Free State primary.

Conventional wisdom seemed to indicate that Johnson was bound to Clinton due to his status as a pledged delegate.

So, could Johnson legally support Obama at the convention if so desires? If so, could he do it on the first ballot? According to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the answer is yes.