No one ever suggested that Delegate Thomas A. Rymer’s (1970-1987) bill to create five county commissioner districts was wrong or ill suited. However in recent years it was questioned as outdated. Discussions took place at various levels of government. Citizens were polled, and people formed their own perspective on whether or not it should change to a more modern system.
A recent vote by the Board of County Commissioners struck down the idea of changing the long held process for electing County Commissioners. Two years of deliberations and a questionnaire sent home to citizens giving them three questions to answer gave them the ability organize the answers as part of the process of consideration.
Each commissioner had their reasons for voting the way they did. Pat Nutter for example, who opposed the change from the beginning, described a careful process of consideration that involved reflection on the fact that a majority of voters wanted the system kept the same.
Striking down the proposition, Commissioner Pat Nutter was joined by Commissioners Slaughenhoupt, (District 3) and Commissioner Jerry Clark, (District 1). The simple fact is that voters understand more than government realized. Now with the suggestion to change the system struck down, the genius of Tom Rymer’s vision even 30 to 40 years after the fact proves prescient. The same arguments made and the same results concluded suggests that we already have the system that is just right for us.
Since only ten to sixteen thousand votes separate the candidate from the office, we should be thankful that our system for electing commissioners is built on the ideal that equal representation is vital to successful government. For decades, new Calvert residents preparing to vote have asked the natives in their communities, “What’s up with the way we elect commissioners?” The answer typically compels us to cordially nod while receiving fragments of information from what has become a multi-generational oral tradition about how the Election Districts really work.
Some have recently called it downright confusing, while others speculate about the origin of what they term a “convoluted” system. Former Commissioner Barbara Stinnett knew too well the pain that this system can cause. She won in the popular vote over Mark Frazer, but lost due to the way the districts are structured. This same system benefited her years later when she ran and won a seat.
In the 1960s, families in Calvert were having kitchen table discussions much like ours today. Every four years they too would discuss upcoming local elections and the candidates they have seen out and about. By the end of that decade, Calvert County was still comprised of farms and bayside communities; however, with a growing population of over 18,000, the government began to explore the issue of Charter Government as their neighbors in surrounding counties had done. Essentially, Charter Government would
