Our most recent gathering of the leaders of county departments, our Cabinet, was last Wednesday at the new Nonprofit Center at Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park. We don’t do them like President Trump, where each member tells the boss how wonderful he is, but I was tempted to do exactly that to each of them. They are so thoroughly committed to the welfare of our residents that I just can’t help but idolize them.
I was asked in a recent interview what I wish all residents knew. I said that I wish they knew that public servants throughout our government actually measure the success of their work by the health and well-being of the people they serve. Period. It’s true.
My next stop that day was the academy graduation for 21 recruits at Ordnance Road Correction Center. It’s a hard job, and always attracts a very diverse workforce from all ages and backgrounds. The highlight was when an older white male maintenance supervisor gave an award to a younger Black female detention officer for reaching out and helping him get through the program when he thought he couldn’t make it. His voice cracked when he told the audience how moved he was by kindness from a place he never expected to find it.
After that, I went to the Police Real Time Information Center (RTIC) for an update on the drone program, and a demonstration of how the technology has evolved from doing crash site investigations to what they now call Drone as First Responder. It’s now possible to station drones that are stored at launch sites across the county, and deploy and operate them from the RTIC. That means that within seconds of a call, a drone can be in the air sending a signal to officers on the ground and in the RTIC showing suspects, reading license plates, offering vehicle descriptions, and more.
Every deployment gets reported to the FAA, approved, and publicly shared after the fact, so that communities can see reports on how and why they are used. They don’t carry weapons. They simply inform the brave men and women whose job it is to prevent violence and apprehend perpetrators.
We have a small fleet of officer-deployed drones in operation, but don’t yet have the technology I was shown. Systems are being researched, and I expect a request to be presented for consideration in next year’s budget. Tell me what you think about this kind of investment.
The next morning, I gathered with a couple hundred residents to unveil an extraordinary memorial at the Crownsville Hospital Patient Cemetery. On it are the names of 1,727 patients who were buried at the site in unmarked graves, names that were only recently discovered by Janice Hayes-Williams and her Friends of the Crownsville Hospital Patient Cemetery.
The ceremony was perfectly organized by a committee of county staff and community leaders, and the structure itself makes a bold statement to all who visit. This is a sacred place where the souls of those who were discarded and left out will speak to us, guide us, and help to heal us.
I spent Saturday wearing my new hat as Democratic Party Chair, moderating listening sessions in Mountain Maryland - Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties. I’m not supposed to promote the party in this official document, so I won’t, but I’ll just share something that I heard that made me glad to be governing in Anne Arundel.
An Allegany resident said that their County Commissioner told them that county government does not fund social programs. Helping residents who can’t make ends meet is a federal responsibility. That’s the social safety net. If it’s not funded by the feds, that’s not a county problem. Wow. Such is the fate of rural America.
At least in Anne Arundel, we try. Our public servants try. Because our success is measured by the well-being of the people we serve.
Until next week…