An open letter to:
Queen Anne's County Commissioners
Delegate Wheeler Baker

 This latest wrinkle, with the petition being declared deficient, is frustrating to those who want to feel they
actually have a voice and can make a difference.  This is precisely what causes folks to throw up their hands in disgust, adopt a feeling of helplessness, and not bother to turn out for elections or get involved in the process.  If this kind of powerless apathy is what the QAC government is striving for in its citizens, they have done a great job of it.  Until now.

I understand the petition was based on information provided by the Commissioners, and the QAC Board of Elections and legal counsel were consulted several times before the petition was circulated.  4,409 signatures were collected on that petition, twice as many as needed to bring this issue to a public vote.  20% of the registered voters in this county have actively told you they want this issue on the ballot.  The people have spoken!

And now a single individual has declared that petition "deficient"?  Is this what America is all about?  Am I alone in feeling there's something seriously wrong here?  I don't think so, and I doubt people will just let this happen!

I, for one, am sick of being pushed around.  Whether it's Site 104, Wal-Mart or Four Seasons being shoved down our throats, I'm tired of people assuming that we will just sit around and take it.  My wife and I moved to Kent Island for a quality of life we could find nowhere else.  The folks here were easygoing, trusting and courteous, and we were quick to adopt that same demeanor.  It may be this laid-back attitude that the developers are counting on as they steamroller our island.  It is sad to think that, even if we win, we will lose.  We may become less trusting, more defensive and more reactive to outside forces.  But if that's what it takes to protect our way of life, and to keep these people who don't even live here from coming in and destroying our community then I, for one, am willing to make the sacrifice.  And I bet there's at least 4,400 of my closest neighbors ready to do the same!

John Stinemire
Kent Island