Years ago just before an election, I asked Buzzy for advice on how to vote on the referendum questions on the ballot. Buzzy was his usual direct self saying “Just vote yes on them because it’s the State trying to clean up something that should have been fixed before.” Through the years then I’ve heeded Buzzy’s advice on voting for most referendum questions.
This year it’s a little different as there are 7 questions on the ballot and only the first 3 fall into the Buzzy construct of cleaning up something that should have been fixed before. ( Question 3 in particular should be passed because it will prohibit an elected official convicted of a crime from remaining in office and collecting a paycheck. Makes you wonder why a referendum was even needed in the first place to make that a policy!)
 |
| New Congressional District Known as “The Crab” |
However, Questions 4 thru 7 are a little more “nuanced” than the Buzzy approach would dictate. Question 4 is tuition assistance for illegals, 5 is approving the new Congressional redistricting (right,) 6 is gay marriage and 7 is gambling.
I’ve been doing an informal survey of my Buzzy’s Country Store friends and the consensus seems to be overwhelmingly no on tuition and gays, 50/50 on gambling and don’t know/care about redistricting.
Side note here: Three states, Oregon, Colorado and Washington have referendum questions on legalizing pot for recreational use. (Seventeen states, including those three, and D.C. have already legalized it for medical use.) Instead of putzing around with wastes of time like the 4 referendum questions above, why couldn’t Maryland officials have stepped out on something important like legalizing pot as a referendum question. Like Buzzy said, “It’d take care of something that should have already been taken care of!”
