The next installment of The Dagger’s Q & A with candidates in the 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election features the Republican candidates running for Harford County Council President.
Among the three candidates who filed to run in the Republican Primary Election for the council president seat (currently occupied by Billy Boniface, who is not seeking re-election) are former county council candidate Todd Paterniti, current County Councilman Richard Slutzky, and former County Councilman and County Council President Robert Wagner. Their answers to The Dagger’s three questions appear below. (Note: Slutzky was reluctant to participate and ultimately decided not to answer the questionnaire. His explanation is stated below.)
Dagger: County council members often make decisions in areas where they may not have expertise, such approving tax increment financing proposals, expanding the development envelope, or approving multi-million dollar capital projects. Briefly describe the experience/skills you would bring to the county council and how you make decisions in areas outside your expertise.
Paterniti: My name is Todd Paterniti. I am employed by Re-Steel Supply Company. My position is specialty steel business development manager. I am also an insurance representative for Mutual of Omaha, an entrepreneur and a Candidate for County Council President.
I bring multiple levels of expertise and skills to the County Council. My experience and skills range from business owner to a genuine concern and a large visual perspective for the community’s safety and growth. I have been involved in many youth programs in Harford County and groups for business growth.
My visual perspective sees families holding picket signs on weekends and community meetings for the over developing of land. I do not like seeing these events in the county. Any decisions I would make outside my expertise would come from the experts, which are the citizens of Harford County for they will have to live with the outcome of our decisions.
Slutzky: After much deliberation I decided to pass on this opportunity. I have made electronic responses to political questions in the past but have never been comfortable with this format.
My careers and experiences are available as public information along with my voting record and I would encourage interested citizens to look up that information.
Wagner: I have been a life-long resident of Harford County, attending our public schools and graduating Harford Community College. Currently I am employed as a freight broker, and am a farm owner and landlord. From 1990 to 2006 I was elected to serve as councilman and council president (2002-2006). I gained a vast amount of knowledge and experience during my years on the council. With regard to making a decision that I need additional insight, I would seek expert advice from a qualified source; i.e.:bond counsel, attorneys, business-people.
Dagger: Please cite a previous decision by the Harford County Council with which you either strongly agree or disagree, and why.
Paterniti: Rather than point out issues from the past, let’s go with decisions that the County Council needs to focus on moving forward. The fact that more children are denied a vocational education than the ones that receive one, traffic volume, traffic flow, the overcrowding of schools, safe growth of our community’s and that no child should be denied bus transportation to school.
Slutzky: – No response.
Wagner: I STRONGLY disagree with the way this current council has sought to re-write and manipulate the county’s charter for their own self gain. They changed the two year provision whereby now an elected official can go from losing a re-election bid to immediately being employed by the county. Proposing that deputy directors are appointed is a wrong approach and trying to “unload” the council’s duties as the zoning board of appeals is wrong. All these charter changes and proposals are self serving and do not serve the public better. Look to the mishandling of the proposed Walmart and Eva Mar projects as further examples of issues that should have been handled very differently and more openly.
Dagger: The Harford County Council is charged with certain responsibilities. Among them are: Enacting legislation, adopting the budget, overseeing the redistricting process, and serving as the Zoning Board of Appeals. Looking ahead, what issues within the council’s purview are of specific interest or concern to you and why? Please cite two issues.
Paterniti: The overseeing of the redistricting process and that the County Council needs to oversee all aspects of the county, including education in conjunction with the Board of Education for budgeting and future growth. Citizens build communities and poor planning tears them apart.
The second thing that concerns me is Zoning Board of Appeals, this is a key roll for the County Council and it needs to remain a key roll of the council. The County Council also needs a common sense approach to zoning and the appeals process. Each district has its own unique characteristics from buildings, homes, silos, cell towers, trailers, boats, tractors and farmland and we need zoning rules that apply a common sense approach.
Slutzky: – No response.
Wagner: As we enter what I believe to be even tougher economic times, very strong budget oversight is needed on behalf of the council. We will have to do more with less, wherever we can consolidate and share resources, we will. We MUST restore accountability, and transparency. I would welcome public participation, which I see as all but shut out currently. The council’s own budget needs trimming because of the waste this council has approved. To a large extent, what one council changes, the next can put back or fix. I don’t see the brokeness in our charter and would seek to restore much of what this council has found to be problematic. I welcome the challenges ahead and would like the opportunity to lead the next council, one that is responsive to the people that it serves.
Previous Entries:
Harford County Council President – Democratic Candidates
Slutzsk doesn’t say a thing and still looks better than the other 2 choices. When did Rob become adverse to development in the county? Was it after he developed his family farm into 100’s of tightly packed houses now known as “Wagner’s Farm”?
Thanks to those that chose to respond to public questions – questions that will help the electorate decide who should best represent us. Interesting to note that Slutzky who chose not to answer these fair and open questions, and questions he was provided ample time to peruse along with the other candidates also chose to ignore much the same format from Friends of Harford. I would request that Mr. Slutzky’s failure to respond because he “doesn’t like the forum” and I assume both here and from Friends of Harford might explain exactly what forum he thinks he has an obligation to answer to the citizens or is it “none of the above”. Whether it’s arrogance, fear in a misstep, inability to write or simple laziness it sure does suggest a lack of what we need in terms of guiding the entire council or representing the entirety of Harford County citizenry. Yes Mr. Slutzy you are required to respond in public and even in circumstances you might not like – there is no “gotcha” here. To think you deserve this office and do not have an obligation to communicate makes you the very worst choice for this job. Good riddance.
If you do not have the courage to even state why you think are qualified, you do not belong in a public office. Period. If you do not even believe in yourself, then what do you believe in?????? That you cannot craft a better answer to a softball question like that shows a total lack of creativity and thought.
No employer in this county would hire someone who answers a question like that in an interview. Think about that. Could you imagine being interviewed for a job and telling the employer “My qualifications are public record, go it look it up yourself”? He would not get hired at McDonald’s with answers like that in an interview.
And he is asking us to hire him to run the County Council???? Really???
This answer speaks volumes as to the complete lack of qualifications “Coach” Slutzky has for the position of Council President. We cannot allow him to become the next Council President. Please get out and let your voice be heard this month by voting him out.
Concerned Citizen and Money Tree indeed have the right idea. “Coach” Slutzky stands only for
himself and his pro-developer friends. He knows most voters will not bother to “look up” his record and will likely forget the crass, short-sighted and pro Slutzky votes he has cast in the past.
He tries to hide his lack of knowledge and wanting sense of public interest behind the avuncular phrase “coach.” Wagner is far from perfect but seems more distanced from the Power Brokers in the County.
Mr. Slutzky seems to feel that being an elected official has elevated him to some sort of nobility where he need not answer questions from us common people. Unfortunately, this is true, in a way; once elected, they’re pretty much assured a position for as long as they want it, as few voters take the time to look anything up, they just pick a familiar name on election day.
So very true. How can you even vote for someone that has no input.
What scares me is that if Mr. Slutzky is elected then we will never get a school built in the proper place in this county. He already proved with Red Pump that he prefers the local builders vs the local families.
If I was still a resident of Harford County you know where my vote would go. After almost 40 years as a resident of Harford County I would be voting for my son, Todd.
Truth be have it Donna your son is new to the game and has an uphill battle on his hands, but I bet when it comes right down to it his hands are much cleaner than all the rest and he probably really is more possessed of the selflessness that being a true public servant really entails. Bottom line in this go round I’m not sure he can get there…if he really wants to help with the county and doesn’t prevail hope he stays in there, and keeps trying. We need honest, decent people because there’s a been a scarcity of that of late.
You are so right, Todd has an interest in what happens to Harford County since he was raised in Harford County. Few people see what has happened to the county after so many years. Muddy waters run deep and so do pockets. My opinion may not count for much but the county certainly needs the clean hands and a fresher view from someone raised there and watching from the outside and knowing without trying to correct the problems the county’s problems will never be solved.
I grew up in Harford County and agree with you that things have changed, and not necessarily for the better. Good luck to your son. I will be voting for him. Wagner is a tired good ole boy who was quite comfy with the developers. Slutzky has done some crooked things that for the life of me, I have never understood how others in power just sat back and let happen. We have a very corrupt political structure currently and it would be a breath of fresh air to actually have folks in power who are genuine and want to make things better for others rather than only thinking of themselves.
Thank you Miss Gulch, I hope your friends and others will see how a fresher view may help the county.
Yes, muddy waters run deep and so do pockets in Harford County. Clean hands and a fresher, younger view are needed. Trying to obtain a position to help the county is certainly worth the try. I wish him a lot of luck and hope others will feel the same way about their county and vote for him. Abe Lincoln wasn’t elected on his first try and look what a great president he turned out to be.
ABC!
Anybody But Coach
On behalf of all registered voters in the county, I’d like to thank Councilman Slutsky for his thought provoking and riveting answers. Dick, you really let us know where you stand on the issues. Thanks again.
My money is on Mr Wagner, We were Neighbors once. His Mom & Dad were great people As well as His self. Very fine family.
Is this a joke, Slutsky? I pay your salary. DON’T tell me to “look up” anything… YOU work for me! What a jerk.
After the mud slinging post I received in the mail today, I can surely vote for anyone but slutzky. I will vote for all new businessman across the board. If they are sponsored by any politician (that has a picture taken with all of the candidates) or trashy news media they automatically won’t get my vote. This county needs to be ran like a business by its taxpayers. The new blood has great potential if you just do some checking.
Sounds to me like Harford County could use a fresh face. You’ll never know unless you try, so I say give the new guy on the ballot a shot and see what changes he can make in your county, it certainly cannot do any harm.
Slutzky’s silence speaks volumes. As a council member representing our district he spoke little on any matter that would reveal his position. When it came to ignoring bills that permitted him to speak to his constituents (Bill 14-33), supporting political patronage bills (14-18), sponsoring abdication of responsibility bills (14-21), or voting for zoning bills that allegedly benefitted his biggest contributors, his vote spoke loud and clear. He was a great coach. Hopefully, there’s a job opening somewhere for him other than in politics where he has to represent all his constituents. Clean out the council. Go WAGNER!
As Jet says “CLEAN OUT THE COUNCIL.” Wasn’t Wagner involved once before?????
I would gladly vote for Wagner if someone would meet me in person in the middle of the 100’s of houses in the Wagner farm development and point out where the farm went.
The man is a developer telling people what they want to hear and they believe him.
Sheep.
If Wagner’s farm in the development envelope? Did special rules or favors happen to maximize the number of houses at the expense of the neighborhood? Was there a TIF involved? Did he try to mash basically a office/medical complex inside a residential/rural area? If the answer is yes, no, no and no in that order then your comment means absolutely nothing. People are not against all development. It would be unrealistic to expect that even if that would mean a healthier, safer and more inviting county, but we do object to the strings being continually pulled while we’re at work or sleeping to insiders in cahoots with county leadership and our county planners. We expect balance and we expect that our voices matter when it affects the communities where we live. Slutzky is so far up Snee’s azz that he can high five Craig when he gets there.
Don’t be a dick and don’t vote for dick because you may find yourself wondering how you were on the receiving end when you got dicked.