Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cohen Outsources Annapolis


Fellow Citizens:

It's been said Britain is a nation of shop keepers. If so then Annapolis is a citte of fudge and ice cream purveyors, t-shirt hawkers and gin joint operators. A motley crew.

But they are our motley crew.

Mayor Cohen has said he wants to help them. “Buy Local” he says.

His rhetoric is not keeping up with his actions.

You see, the City has moved many of its purchases out of town. Printing, for example, is now being done in somewhere named “Millersville”. Annapolis still has three independently owned and operated print shops. At least one of which probably go out of business this year. As one did in 2009.

Even attorneys are not immune from the 'off shoring' by the Cohen Administration. The lucky – and connected - multinational law firm of DLA Piper was recently awarded a $50,000 retainer to do legal work on the Markethouse. Over a number of local firms. Including one that relocated out of downtown last year over the harassment it received by the City in trying to operate out of the Historic Core.

And, of course, the $50,000 retainer is just the beginning of the billing.

Mayor Cohen's pushing of work out and off is not limited to the work itself. He has stiffed City payments. This has included holding off owed monies to a number of small business people and sole proprietors who are due in some cases significant funds – tens of thousands. This has created an appearance of non-payment for crass political reasons. Or just incompetence.

Do we need to mention the level playing field provisions of the 2 am bar ordinance? That this Mayor fought. One group of owners had them. And profited. While others were excluded. And lost. (Some have suggested that those without often appeared to be deprived of an equal playing field for reasons of ethnic or religious background. An off chance only I'm sure.)

And now these new license applications are mired in red taped at City Planning and Zoning.

Not since the days of Mayor John '10%' Apostal has government said one thing and done another quite at this level. While shaking down and damaging businesses in Annapolis.

Yet all of this leads us to agree with the Mayor. It is a long held objective of many of us to take commerce out of the Ancient Citte. Return the streets to sheep grazing and illegal games of chance run by street corner entrepreneurs.

This capitalism thing has gone too far.

King of George

30 comments:

  1. rumor has it Josh is speaking with numerous connections in India about outsourcing the entire city government.

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  2. Apostol wanted 30% of some businesses.

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  3. Joshua J. is an evil-doer hell-bent on wasting our tax dollarss on consultants and over-priced corporate out of town law firms--I think he likes giving money to people that have connections outside of annapolis so he has a place to work after this temporary gig is over.

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  4. isn't it about time for Josh to go run for another office ?

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  5. annapolitans are weak and lack the taste for blood. This new boy-mayor has made some very juicy mistakes and his lies ooze from the sores forming on city hall, but still the people listen and fail to rise up against this boy-mayor. Wee friends, what if I told you he has secret fees ( taxes) and other revenue sources up his sleeve. If he hits you wallets will you then go after him ? Don't wait, strike while you can, set him up and knock him down Now.

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  6. Cohen will protect our pocketbooks - bring back Smith!

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  7. After being the second one elected Cohen abandoned his base. He is suffering the consequences of his actions.It looks like City Hall insiders are leaking information seeking to discredit him and bring down his Administration and cause a political crisis.

    For what purpose we want to know. Is King of George really an Ellen Moyer plant inside a divided City Hall ? What does Doug Smith do all day ?

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  8. Some say KOG is Ellen Moyer.

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  9. Foer has again torn apart our boy-mayor in a recent somewhat analytical entry. Now if only he can stop bashing the black people, and ridiculing those that live in projects he may still have a chance at righteousness.

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  10. We are in a Depression folks. Get the cheapest stuff at Walmart and save the city money and please give us free parking so we can visit the old downtown without getting tickets. Don't raise our taxes and cut the government in half. Outsource back of house services to India and cut the bloated do nothings. Get rid of all non essential people who just float around and get in the way.

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  11. Sources say Josh is secretly working on a plan to make himself appear knowing. Sources also say this plan is so secret none of us will ever get to see it executed.

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  12. A Finance Dept. EmployeeAugust 25, 2010 at 10:19 AM

    We stole the money from the safe.

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  13. I'm very angry I did not know first

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  14. Foer, downtown bitchin' merchants & down and outer residents are going to ambush the Markethouse this afternoon after lunch from 1PM to 3PM in City Hall - should be fun and good political theater - don't miss it.

    They want to see it crash and burn baby burn.

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  15. We love Josh, Josh is going to clean up the environment !! Leave Joshua Alone !!!!!!

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  16. Thank you Josh for saving us money!

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  17. Thank you Josh for borrowing 16 million instead of cutting more from the budget !! Thank you.

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  18. Thank Josh you for throwing my children and their children into perpetual debt to saving unnecessary gov't jobs that needed to be cut.

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  19. Why is Boy Josh promoting a major re-development deal for the city dock when we are broke and he can't even tell us if he will need the extra six million dollars or not ? Why ? huh ?

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  20. Oy vey, Josh is in bed with the out of town developers. Their influence was bound to manifest itself in one form or another, It's payback time for all the campaign donations . His own mother, turns a blind eye to his slippery ways. Oy vey.

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  21. It's all a mirage - the city is not broke - it s just a political ploy to flush the Republicans in the open where they are exposed and will look like fools when the problem is solved.

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  22. KOG is NOT Ellen Moyer. Ellen Moyer has NEVER been this civil.

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  23. Dale Maddox maybe ?

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  24. sources say an unbelievable revelation about our city governemnt is on the threshold

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  25. Is the City bankrupt?

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  26. Yes. the city is intellectually and politically bankrupt.

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  27. Josh will turn it all around.

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  28. You mean he will spin it again ?

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  29. We are on the brink of a major Cohen screw-up from which he will not recover.

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  30. Cohen to join Ehrlich as Lt Governor, no new taxes ? Cohen to run for county executive--low masculinity quotient, no threat to females ?

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