The Revenge of Michael Busch

SOURCE: Baltimore Sun

Thank you to all of those who called Speaker of the House Michael Busch concerning his decision to silence Delegate Jill Carter (D-41) by moving her to a committee other than the Judiciary Committee. Your calls worked and reports are coming out of Annapolis that Del. Carter will remain on the Judiciary Committee where she has served her constituents faithfully. (For those unfamiliar with the legislative process here in Maryland – when a bill is introduced it is assigned to a committee to review and either vote it up or down. In baseball terms, a bill getting to a committee is first base. The committee decides whether or not it goes to second base or gets thrown out at first. That’s why it’s important to have allies on the Committee.)

However, fighting to keep Del. Jill Carter (D-41) on the Judiciary Committee did not come without repercussions. Speaker of the House, Michael Busch did not appreciate at all the flood of calls that came to his office – what he described as “unnecessary shenanigans.” For her punishment, Busch has decided to keep Carter on the Judiciary Committee, but has stripped her of her Sub-Committee Chair position (She Chaired the Estates and Trusts Sub-Committee) and banned her from all “backroom discussions” where real decisions get made. He basically has demoted her to the position of a freshman delegate.

Imagine that. After 6 years of being in office, Delegate Jill Carter has been pushed back down to square one. Can you imagine being on a job for 6 years and making great progress and then all of a sudden being punished because of your track record of doing what your constituents want you to do?

This is the same Michael Busch who came to New Psalmist Baptist Church in January 2005 begging Black Clergy in Baltimore to support him in his efforts to block slots in the State of Maryland. He’ll talk to us when he wants us to get in line behind him. Let’s see if he’ll talk to us now that we want him to get in line with what we want.

We didn’t call and email just so that Del. Jill Carter could keep a seat warm on a committee where she is stripped of all access and responsibility. We called so that she would at least be fully restored to where she was before all of this.

So now it’s time to go to the next phase. Remember, “Power concedes NOTHING without a demand.” Now it’s time to show Mr. Busch that we’re serious. An informal Coalition of the Concerned are looking at taking a trip to Annapolis in the very near future to sit in Busch’s office face to face and let him know what we expect. It’s no time to party. There is yet work to be done. Let me know if you’re interested in taking the trip to Annapolis.

For those in Baltimore, please tune in to The Larry Young Morning Show on WOLB 1010AM on Monday, January 19, 2009 as they will be continuing to discuss this injustice from 6AM – 10AM. Tune in and call in to voice your concern about what is being done to Del. Jill Carter. We’re especially looking for all sororities and female organizations to support. You all stood together strong with City State’s Attorney, Patricia Jessamy in her time of need. We’re praying that you do the same for Del. Jill Carter – another strong sister in the city doing a great work on our behalf.

Tags: Delegate Jill Carter, Speaker Michael Busch