Anonymous whining about private councilperson-to-councilperson talks. Glad to know our government is ever so effectively worried about what THE PEOPLE think. And they wonder why folks have lost faith in elected officials.

Hold it right there! The councilpersons didn't want their names revealed? How in the world do they think they'll get anything done if they can't work these things out, face-to-face?
I disagreed with Mr. Marks on the trans-gendered bill and had the guts to tell him to his face how disappointed I was. What's wrong with these people?
Is this Middle School, and the tattling, or the County Council, representing a population of over 800,000 people?
GROW UP, folks! You're an embarrassment to your office.

I think it shows a lack of character and conviction for an elected official to lodge criticisms against another elected official colleague publicly on the condition of anonymity. I suspect that these criticisms are a latent response to the term limits bill which was introduced recently by Marks and eventually tabled upon motion by other councilmembers. How can those councilmembers say that they promote transparency when they hide behind the condition of anonymity?

When you vote the will of your constituents ( you know, the job of a representative) you don't have to hide your name

Without a doubt Marks is going to be remembered as one of the better council members in the history of the county. He acts on behalf on his constituency which brings him into conflict with the rest of the pensioners, oops, I mean politicians he interacts with.

Additionally, having decided to self term limit himself he is the only one who has the courage to act independently. Everyone one else just wants to stay on the gravy train - right KK?

It's a neat little niche he's carved out. A citizen serving his fellows for a brief amount of time, committed to doing the best job possible and then returning to private life. Too bad the rest of the county executive arm can't do the same.

I applaud David Marks for having the courage to stand up and vote the way his constituents wanted him to.

I am a lifelong Democrat and can say without hesitation that David Marks has represented me and my community better than any person, Democrat or Republican. I may not have agreed with all of his votes, but David Marks always has time to listen to his constituents and explain the reason for his decision. His dedication to the overcrowding in schools and his commitment to represent ALL of his constituents should be lauded. I will be continuing to support David Marks as will most people in his district for he is the rare politician who casts his votes in a thoughtful and reasoned way. He voted against the transgender bill in order to allow it to pass without amendments and for that I am proud. The council members who speak out against him should take a moment and realize that he is representing his constituents and I for one am proud to call him my councilman.

I guess these "unnamed sources" who don't have the guts to identify themselves don't like it when someone doesn't blindly follow their direction!

From the revitalization of Towson to zoning initiatives in Perry Hall, Councilman David Marks has been one of the hardest working and effective members of this County Council. Here's hoping that Councilman Marks keeps pushing term limits and other things these Democrat bosses find to be "unacceptable".

Thank you Councilman Marks. You truly are a man of the people!

JD: I'm pretty confident in saying that the other councilmembers act on behalf of their own constituencies as well. Let's not be myopic here.

As far as the "anonymous speaking to a reporter" it's just the best defense/response he could give. Here's the thing: There's no news if there's nothing to report.

Something important needs to not be lost in this:

It's not about Marks' votes on these issues themselves. it's about him 'giving commitment votes' (so to speak) to other councilmembers that differ from his final vote. Once is an exception, twice is a coincidence, three times becomes a trend.
It makes Councilman Marks begin to look difficult to work with. That's not a moniker he needs to carry around - even if 55-60% of his constituency agrees with it.

You can't just go in and do what you - or the people - want without going through the channels that will ensure that your OWN legislative goals (you know, for your people) also get passed.
Who knows, his law on term limits may have been tabled for no other reason then this. You can't make actual adversaries out of your own council members. You can get public support locally behind decisions and flip flops like this - but in the end the people aren't passing the bills for themselves. Most people don't understand (or want to) how the sausage is made...

As he himself intimated, Councilman Marks needs to be a little more cautious in his verbal commitments down the line. Rookie mistakes, it happens.

And something else needs to be said about these cowardly Democrats...

A member of Councilman Marks' immediate family died last week. Instead of attending the funeral, one Council member used the time to send angry text messages to the Councilman criticizing his vote. How classy was that?

Every time I hear something else about Councilman Marks, I like him more. The only bad part of the article is the other councilman and women who think it is preposterous to listen to your constituents and vote with the majority. I think this whole country would be better if there were more politicians like Councilman Marks. Too bad I think most work on all of these backroom deals and vote with what is best for them rather than the constituents they serve.

Just for the record, I was fine with the transgender bill, I am just glad that Councilman Marks voted the with the majority of his constituents.

Thanks again for your service.

I think we need to know who these "unnamed" sources are. Hiding behind that curtain of anonymity does not add validity to the charges in this piece, and purely suggests speculation.

I do have my suspicions, though.

What about Tom Quirk? Here's a guy who, during the Transgender bill debacle, has been sending nasty Facebook posts, found peeping out of his blinds while his office in Catonsville was being demonstrated. What immature behavior.

What about Cathy Bevins? I noted that during the same Transgender hearings, she shed tears over every pro-gender identity rights abuse, but sat stone faced when told of teachers arrested in CA for giving children semen-laced cookies! Seems a pretty angry person to me.

And then, finally, what about Johnny O? Is he just throwing his weight around again? He was going to vote against the transgender bill, and now voted for it (after amendments of course).

The County has no time for these childish shenanigans. David Marks has proven to be more productive than any member on the County Council. Ultimately, he answers to his constituents, not the other 6 that sit with him.

Councilman Marks, I have stated this before, I would stay away as far as possible from from the rest of that body as I could.

Stand your ground. There is so much going on that you want no part of, and that is a fact.

Remember the old saying, "he who laughs last, laughs best."

How about the next time a PUD comes before you from the club, you let the public know who the lawyers are, how much it cost the taxpayers, and when they ask for your support tell- em you're busy!

Unlike his accusers, I have no problem offering my name in support of Mr. Marks, who I find a thoughtful community leader and an elected official who bases his decisions on sound current data and the wishes of the community he serves. Rather than subscribing to a political agenda, Mr. Marks listens and hears the will of those he represents. It is thanks to his efforts that our community will soon enjoy the benefits of an off leash dog park, a recreational amenity that not only enhances the quality of life for residents but has increased property values in areas that include a dog park. Further, Mr. Marks is accomplishing the establishment of this valuable asset to his district without using tax funds.

That Mr. Marks changed his mind in regard to a vote tells me one of two things. The legislation was flawed and he will await a better bill being put forth or his constituents voiced their views and he is doing all he can to represent THEM. It is all too easy for those we put into office to rubber stamp popular bills as a way to make it appear that they care. The difference is that Mr. Marks truly does care and rather than supporting a piece of legislation he feels could or should be better, or that those in the community he serves do not support, he stands up for the best for his constituents. I'd say that is exactly what we should champion in any elected official and as a registered independent, I count myself as fortunate to have Mr. Marks in my corner.

The real story here is not David Marks, but the sudden lack of journalistic integrity demonstrated by Bryan Sears.

I have been a critic of Councilman Marks where it was appropriate. However, this anonymous commentary is nothing but an attempt to make a story out of thin air.

Nobody cares what anonymous councilman have to say - because they don't exist. Real council members can speak publicly and have their views weighed or speak from the shadows and be ignored.

Reporting on anonymous commentary allows politicians to damage their opponents without having to stand behind their argument.

I fully expect this out of the members of the council. I didn't expect this from Bryan. Shame on you, Bryan. Cite your sources or don't waste my time.

Councilman Marks is a good example of someone who's more concern with representing the citizens of his district and living up to his campaign pledge to represent is constituents, than being apart of the go along to get along crowd. I wonder when the last time Johnny O ask the citizen's of his district, what their thoughts were on a controversial bill like 3-12. O! I forgot he's the senior most member of the do as I say crowd. He knows what best for us poor uninformed citizens of Southeastern Baltimore County.

Dear David, do what you think is right. Do not listen to people like Andy Harris. The best thing to do is turn it around and challenge Andy Harris in his primary. You got my vote.

Although I too am not fond of the anonymous nature of the commentary, unlike most of you I actually can objectively appreciate the brilliance of it.
It gets the desired message across, and puts the Councilman on the defensive because he can't just lash out at one or two people in particular. Remember, every councilmember has their own personal agendas from a legislation standpoint. Putting your name behind something like this may provide no extra benefit in the longer term for their respective agendas.
All the people calling this 'cowardly' would make ineffective legislators imho. That's okay though - governing isn't for everyone.

Besides, unless I'm misinterpreting things - it's not his votes they are upset with alone. It's the flipping on said votes.

Regardless of what an elected official says about his intention to vote one way or the other, I want him to keep an open mind until all the comments from constituents are in - right up to the time of the vote. Guess the lesson is to not explicitly state how one will vote, only say "At this moment, I am leaning towards voting a certain way".

You can always get back in good standing with Congressman Harris - just carry a large national debt chart by your side.

An interesting article and following comment from Mr. Kamenetz considering his recent decision on the council goodies for the old line. Talk about perks!

"In a statement, the Kamenetz administration called the legislation an attempt to save taxpayer dollars and "eliminate an arbitrary perk that sweetens pension benefits for a single class of employees."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-co-pension-overtime-20120307,0,4143819.story

I believe they call that an oxymoron, the quote I mean.

Her is the other part of that thingy I was referring to - or quote if you choose.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-02-28/news/bs-ed-baltimore-county-pension-20120228_1_council-pensions-pension-credits-pension-fund

Mr. Marks does not benefit under Mr. Kamentz's - New Deal!

Am I delusonal or do we elect politicians to represent the will of their constituents. Mr Marks has always been honest and forthright. He really doesn't care if you are Democrat and Republican; Mr Marks represents all. It would behoove other Maryland poliiticians to take a page out of Mr Mark's book. They SHOULD vote the WILL of their constituents not of their own self interests or the interests of paid lobbyists.

You are asking a question that is much deeper than what one may think. Would slavery have been abolished if the vote of the people were taken? Would women have the right to vote if the vote of the people were taken? Would Blacks have equal rights if the vote of the people were taken? I would argue our elected officials are elected to lead and sometimes that means doing the right thing, not the popular thing.

Regardless of how the information gets out there, the flipping is a problem. It is not just a problem among the other council members. There were constituents who were certainly led to believe, up until the 11th hour, that Mr. Marks would vote yay on the Human Rights Act. Although he denies it, it is just too coincidental that the change of heart came on the heels of a call from Andy Harris. Do all of these moderates in the district really want Mr. Marks to do Andy Harris' bidding? Many people don't understand what a representative democracy is, but yes, we have one. What this says to me about Mr. Marks is that he is not confident enough to trust his instincts on issues and do what he thinks is right. Blaming constituents gets old and it is the ultimate form of political expediency. What threat can Andy Harris make to Mr. Marks that convinces him to change his vote? It has nothing to do with a constituency. It has to do with staying in office and keeping the power. Even if Mr. Marks is doing a good job, keep you eyes open. He is obviously capable of being manipulated and everyone needs to know who is doing the manipulating.

I knew it wouldn't be long before the paranoia

I would prefer to have a councilperson who tackles issues as they are presented, and not as they were. The transgender bill had amendments added that made it unenforceable. I like that Mr. Marks thinks on his feet, and changes his opinion if it is necessary. I don't want someone who is so inflexible to be a robot.

Some might call that flipping; I call it facing facts.

David Marks made promises to his constituents, and he has stuck to them. He has downzoned over 500 acres of property to protect the citizens from uncontrolled development, and he proposed the Term Limit bill, as he promised. He has solved many problems in my neighborhood of Towson in direct and economical ways.
He has been a positive force regarding school overcrowding, and has really made a charge to improve the business environment of Towson.

We are lucky to have him as our representative to the County council.

Hey Councilman Marks! What's up with Bueller trying to stifle the First Amendment?

From Bueller:
"This can be done the easy way or the hard way.
Reference CC# number 12-040-0914, call CID Unit at Pct. 12, 410 887-7309 and ask for Det. Sgt. Gallaway.
If he does not hear from you we go to the next step.
Under the statute I warned you and you chose to ignore that warning. "

I am getting ready to go on vacation so I wish Bueller would direct his bud Sgt Galloway to call

I think we re all for free speech, but come on..is this the place?

Mr. Armstrong, I sent you a private message to give you the opportunity to resolve this issue, but now, since you have chosen to make it public then I will respond.

You would save time by calling and revealing to the Sgt. your identity. Otherwise during the course of an investigation, because of privacy acts a certain protocol must be followed.

I gave you the opportunity to reveal your identity by making a phone call. I am assuming at this point you have not and the Sgt. will follow the proper guidelines in identifying you.

The First Amendment does not cover the right to harass or maliciously engage in a course of conduct that alarms or seriously annoys the other. Read MD Criminal Law Article 3-803 under Harassment.

Freedom of speech does not allow 27 full pages of remarks and 6,000 words similar the ones I will illustrate below.

I apologize to the readers for the language being used.

You have crossed a line between public discourse (free speech) and the crime of Harassment a long time ago with repeated remarks like the following:

Robert Armstrong
10:58 pm on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Buzz, read my comments You are a Stupid Asshole.

Robert Armstrong
11:18 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
LOL Bueller No difference??? One you are in the ring getting the shit kicked out of you and the other one you are just a poser.
Kinda mimics your career. How did you manage to get a 4f to avoid Viet Nam when you were a bodybuilder???

Mike, how do you stop this? I have tried numerous times. I would not have made a comment, but now he's involving a councilman in this issue.

I have been the subject of his vicious and slanderous attacks for a long time and I decided to take a stand so that others won't have to deal with this.

This article just appeared in the Sun and is causing serious concern.

http://soetalk.com/2012/03/05/school-bullying-on-you-tube/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harassment_by_computer

Who will stand up for me if not myself. He's now involving Councilman Marks. Who's next?

I must take a stand which hopefully will protect and prevent others from becoming such victims.

This kind of conduct cannot be allowed in public discourse. There is a line, otherwise, God forbid what harm may some do to another's reputation.

There are two legal issues here, one is slander, which I am addressing through council, and the other is criminal which is why I filed the report with the police.

I was asked at the bequest of the authorities on who the person might be and if I could provide assistance in identifying him it would be helpful. I told them I was not sure. His true identity is unknown and I offered him a chance through a private message to come forward.

He chose to make this a public matter now.

You stop by stopping, don't respond to buffoons . If they continue and you ignore, it's on them

Mike, and what happens to your reputation? What happens to your name. I did stop it does not work. This has been going on for a year. Guy's like this don't let go. They can't. It becomes an obsession.

Suppose a person is married and someone begin to accuses them of adultery or committing crimes against children. Are you saying ignore that? Let it go on and on?

I tried your way and it did not work. Do you think these people listen to reason?

"It's on them", I don't think so, not when "them" are accusing me of crimes.

Here are two examples of what I'm talking about. I think AdamBaum is one in the same as RA.

http://dundalk.patch.com/articles/friends-family-hold-vigil-for-fallen-soldier

http://dundalk.patch.com/blog_posts/lincoln-electric-acquires-local-firm-techalloy-70-million-in-sales-and-55-jobs-lost-to-area

I don't mind buffoons but I do mind when that person accuses me of commenting crimes along with comments like this that never stop:

Robert Armstrong
1:35 am on Sunday, February 5, 2012
...and stay away from my kids you creepy fat pervert.

I tell you what, if anyone out there wants to provide me an example of your advice I will take it. Until then I will stand up and fight. Americans are noted for that.

this is a public forum, not a court room. If you suffer because of comments here, you have options legally. If you re referring to comment somebody writes in a blog, you don't have much sympathy here. I have been called many things by some despicable people online...their opinion is of no consequence to me. However this may offer some solace, in this age of instant information availability we can find out anything anytime. The upside is that these comments are just as quickly forgotten. I also question this as the proper venue for this discussion in the first place.

To directly answer your first question, your reputation is not sullied if the person doing the sullying is not reputable.

Buck, I'm posting this link to shed some light on the issue. There are two aspects to this situation. One is a civil tort and the other is a criminal matter.

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458#1

Here is the statute under MD law: Criminal Law Article 3-308 which states under HARASSMENT - Defined Penalties - ... or maliciously engage in a course of conduct that alarms or seriously annoys the other: (1) With the intent to harass, alarm, or annoy the other: (2) after receiving a reasonable warning or request to stop by or on behalf of the other.

After a 28 complete pages and 6,000 words, that is enough.

That is the law. I to have engaged in may acts of discourse on this site and have never had a problem, because most of us are adults and after a few barbs we shake hands and move on.

Mike, how many cases involving crime figures or how man murders have been solved based on testimony from unscrupulous characters. Who put John Gotti away for life - Sammy the Bull. The impact of the words are more serious than the one speaking them.

What I don't understand is why isn't there a concern from others who comment on this site over this kind of conduct. Is it because of the proverbial - it's not my problem, or have people become so jaded that anything goes.

Jaded? perhaps, but I see it as filtering out the noise so that I can actually hear some of the statements. Nobody can give everybody attention on the internet.

You lost me on that one.

OK, I'll make it really simple,
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE ABOVE ARTICLE?

................and yet another thread hijacked.

then we should just stop posting

This is hilarious. You filed charges against someone who probably isn't real. What would have happened if you won an election and people criticized you? Would their criticisms have been cause for action? You should probably find out everyone's name who didn't vote for you. I supposed their actions annoyed you. I'll be the first to confess, I didnt' vote for you; of any Dem.'s in the primary, as I'm a proudly registered R.

What is your point? Is that just a manifestation of your disibility/link-fetish or is that link somehow relevant to you pressing charges against an internet message board name? What is wrong with you?

You tell me, you have all the answers. Does it bother you that someone who was there questioned your motive for the things you said.

" ... who are these people complaining that the media were there? Unless they were his students, his friends, his comrades in the National Guard ..."

You were not any of the above.

The Dude is flat out nuts. If you don't want him stalking you on Facebook or hiding out in your driveway, don't respond to him.

I know I'll be looking for that 10 foot pole.