Council aide Reggie Oldak has stepped out of the shadow of her boss, Councilmember Roger Berliner, to opine about a recent column written by dem curmudgeon Blair Lee.
The dem establishment is rarely happy when one of their own fails to drink the kool aid. And Blair Lee is one who rises above his own affiliation to hold officials accountable, reminding readers of inconvenient truths about past actions and words.
What’s startling about Ms. Oldak’s letter is not so much its content, but how it jives with her current job. It’s clear that Ms. Oldak is more concerned about proving her activist bona fides to prepare for another go at the general assembly, than actually serving her boss. In her vulture-like gaze on the seat held by Marilyn Goldwater, Ms. Oldak forgets the first rule of staffing a public official…be invisible.
Ms. Oldak isn’t the first council aide to seek political office, but the last one had the decency to resign before issuing public statements…
June 07, 2007
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7 comments:
I think this post sets some kind of record for the most misguided and off the mark points in modern blog history. Where to begin?
Let's start with the idea that Blair Lee is a "dem." While he may have, in the deep, dark distant past, run for office as a Democrat, he is no more a Democrat today than is Tom DeLay. Blair Lee is, in function if not in form, a Republican, and a very wealthy one who has made his disdain for all things "D" related very clear. Not to mention taxes.
So the idea that Blair Lee is "rising above his own affiliation" in talking about the state budget crisis is patently absurd and says more about your preconceived notions than anything else.
Moving on, let's discuss the notion that a County Council employee has no right to speak on issues of public concern. According to whom? You? Ms. Oldak did not muzzle herself when she took the job with Roger Berliner. And she is, by the description of her background, eminently qualified to discuss taxation issues, having been an assistant branch chief at the IRS.
Considering this same issue further, how is it inconsistent with her Council job to speak out about state budget issues? And where is it written that Council staffers are supposed to be "invisible"?
Next, your reference to the "seat held by Marilyn Goldwater" is used, I presume, euphemistically, considering that Delegate Goldwater missed every day of the 2007 legislative session after February 2. I would think that the voters of District 16, not to mention the rest of the County and the Annapolis leadership, would be much happier and better off if District 16 had its full complement of delegates. As things stand right now, both District 16 and Montgomery County are down a delegate, and the House as a whole is down a committee vice-chair. But a Gazette op-ed, now that's just not right, huh? Can you say "misplaced priorities"?
Finally, you attempt to compare Reggie Oldak to Valerie Ervin, suggesting that before someone can speak on issues of public concern they must first have "the decency to resign before issuing public statements." A ridiculous statement and an even worse comparison.
Based on the Gazette article, Reggie Oldak isn't running for anything (FYI, the next state elections are in 2010). Are you suggesting that in addition to being struck mute because she is a Council aide, that Ms. Oldak, having been a candidate previously, is doubly gagged and bound? A very curious notion of public discourse, I must say -- I would think that those who are the most involved in politics would at the very least have equal rights to speak. But perhaps because you don't like her and her affiliations, you'd just as soon she not speak out?
As to the Valerie Ervin comparison, Valerie Ervin was an aide to George Leventhal at the same time that she was a member of the Board of Education and later when she was a candidate for the County Council ITSELF. Both of these circumstances presented serious ethical questions, questions that were addressed and resolved. Again, are you suggesting that any Council employee who either has had or may in the future have interest in running for office should be subject to greater scrutiny or greater criticism for speaking out on issues of public concern?
Here's what I think. Having looked at your history and your obsession with Roger Berliner, it appears that you don't like Roger and you don't like Reggie Oldak, primarily because she works for Roger. As a result, you look for ways to criticize her (and implicitly, him) regardless of how absurd you look in the process. And in this case, absurd is a mild description for your blather.
Seems I touched a raw nerve among my progressive friends who want to stifle all debate within the party. Such rudeness and disdain for members of ones own party! It’s such a tribute to the utter ineptness of MD repubs that they have been unable to capitalize on this fratricide.
Still, Lefty, hypocrisy in the name of progressive causes is still, well...hypocrisy. That’s why folks like you have such a hard time with Blair, his words strike too close to home.
BTW, I'd love to see how Ms. Oldak's public activism would fare under the employ of a serious politician, like Senator Mikulski. I can tell you surely, this sort of behavior would have a short life in her office.
You want to persist in the fantasy that Blair Lee is a Democrat, go ahead. For me, I'll say just one thing more. Find me one article last year, just one, that favored Martin O'Malley over Robert Ehrlich. One. Then I'll listen to your inane prattle about Lee being a Democrat. Until then, it's just that -- prattle.
As to Reggie Oldak, the only hypocrisy I see here is yours. On the one hand, you post an item telling a county employee to shut the hell up. Then when I criticize you for that, you accuse ME of "stifling the debate." Yeah, sure, whatever.
Finally, I fail to see the relevance of your reference to Barbara Mikulski, other than to take yet another pot shot at Roger Berliner. We're bordering on the pathological here at this point. I'll just note that (1) you have no idea whether or not he knew about the op-ed or not (I don't either, but then again, YOU wrote this pile of dung, not me), and (2) Barbara Mikulski, whatever her politics may be, has a rather infamous reputation of being a difficult employer. Might not want to use her as the paragon of political virtue.
In closing, I find it ironic that you never even discuss then substance of Ms. Oldak's Gazette piece. Do you agree or disagree with it? Why? Did you even read it? Do you think your readers might be interested in the substance of the article, rather than just the fact that it was written by Roger Berliner's aide?
Instead, you continue on your sophomoric game of gotcha with Roger Berliner and Reggie Oldak. You don't like the substance of the article that Ms. Oldak wrote, write that. But the idea that it was illegitimate for her to even so much as open her mouth is just dumb. If you could step away from your "Roger problem," maybe you could see that.
*sigh*
My take on the substance of Ms. Oldak's column? Actually, I liked what she proposed. I wish her luck though. She'll need it. The "wealthy ones", like Blair Lee, who bankroll the state party may have something to say about it. Aside from Bobby Haircut's 4 years, we've had plenty of time to do something to make the tax system more progressive, but failed to do so. Why is that?
As to Ms. Oldak's freedom of expression? As a staff person to an elected official, her first job is to make Roger look good. Any policy ideas she has should be heard through his mouth or above his signature. Revising the state tax structure could have been Roger’s policy initiative for him to put on the county’s priority list and testify in favor of. Many, many legislative aides come up with lots of good policy ideas, but do they write op-ed pieces? You tell me.
Sophomoric blather, indeed. I’ll side with “Lefty,” if I may. Many of us Council staff, and Reggie is my colleague next door on the 6th floor, had active political lives before we signed on with the Council. And we still have active political lives outside the Council.
That you suggest that Roger should make revising the state tax structure one of his priorities just highlights your lack of understanding of the way the County Council works (a fact you made clear last month as well). Reggie, as a tax lawyer, is eminently qualified to opine on the state tax issue, and I haven’t heard any rumblings from next door that she overstepped her bounds. Apparently Roger is not threatened by having such an adept political activist on his staff. She does make him look good. I think her piece was very well written and I agree with its content. I’m proud to be considered her friend.
Of course, you don’t think much of my boss, either. And so it goes.
Welcome Dr. Beyer!
Maybe my information is out dated. I hear the council sends a list of legislative priorities to the delegation every year. Perhaps that's changed.
BTW - I like Duchy and voted for her. But I think she wasted everyone's time on the transfat issue while major problems sit on the horizon -- including the ongoing crisis in mental health. I also think Dan's story about Duchy's "Communications Director" was priceless, but a sad reminder of how public office will go to a person's head.
Thanks for publishing my response!
In following up on the comments on Reggie, I would like to point out that she did NOT target Marilyn in the primary. She was concerned that it might be seen that way, and waited until the very last minute to file. As a matter of fact, she only filed after Charlie Chester had already entered the race, and that was a very important consideration to her.
In addition, one doesn't target individuals in the delegate race, one runs for a seat. Which one you get is of little concern, as long as you win one.
As for trans fats, well, I am personally very proud to have been a part of that effort. As a physician, I am very pleased to be preventing 3-400 unnecessary deaths next year and each following year in Montgomery County. And I plan to work to have the ban extended to the state, saving thousands of lives annually. As a physician, that's what I do, and I proud to work for Duchy and help her do it.
You should note that there will be legislation introduced, probably next month, out of the HHS committee, requiring nutritional labeling in fast food and national chain restaurants. That is another attempt to save lives, improve the quality of life and prevent disease, now that obesity and overweight are affecting 64% of all Americans. THAT is a very major problem, not only for this county but for the entire country, with significant impact on the larger crisis in health care in America.
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