As a Republican candidate for Carroll County commissioner in District 5, I am proud that I have not been endorsed by any union, PAC, builder/developer, current or past political office holder and therefore I am not beholden to anyone except the citizens of Carroll. I have refrained from asking either friends or family from writing “support letters.”
I founded the Eldersburg Eagle in 2001 and was the Publisher-Editor of that weekly newspaper until its sale in 2004. The thought was to connect my community by publishing the local news, youth achievements, promotions, business openings, recreation sports, club events, crime reports, etc.; a good news story paper that the community embraced.
Through that newspaper we annually selected and awarded The Eldersburg Eagle Person of the Year. It enabled us to recognize and shine the spotlight on such local luminaries as Ken Whalen, Paula Langmead and the late Harry “Moe” Haight.
The run for the commissioner’s office is a choice we all have made. Therefore, the obscene healthcare benefit that the current and previous boards of commissioners have voted to privilege themselves with will not be accepted by me and I sincerely hope all successful commissioner candidates will pledge the same.
The healthcare coverage for commissioners, and to a lesser extent by department heads, cost the taxpayers thousands and is not available to county workers even those with 25 years of service. I will not accept a healthcare package that exceeds the one available to county employees and will work to eliminate the current onerous healthcare for life deal enjoyed by the elected elite.
As commissioner I will insist that the board and everyone connected to county government abide by the federal government budget guideline regarding overnight stays, food and travel expenses when on official government business. Thus ending the $300 a day stays in Ocean City for MACo week.
It is time for us to address the traffic snarl in Eldersburg. It is time to arrest the opioid crisis and stop the trafficking of heroin to our county. It is time to step up nightly patrols of our communities. It is time to develop the Warfield Project for new and prosperous jobs for our residents. It is time to develop and maintain recreational areas. It is time for the only candidate to graduate from a Carroll County high school, South Carroll Class of ’70.
It is time for Greenwalt.
David Greenwalt
Eldersburg
The writer is a Republican candidate for county commissioner representing District 5.
