January 11, 2015

Thank you for making The People’s Voice such a success! In a short time, we have created a comprehensive hub of information on development, financial and educational issues, and many other County government activities. We seek to serve Howard County by providing this information year-round, and by advertising the avenues that exist so you can have input into the decisions that affect you.

 

Civic organizations like The People’s Voice are essential to Howard County because it is difficult to find unbiased sources of detailed on-going information that are accessible, transparent, and credible.

 

As a case in point, Mr. Bill Woodcock (a local blogger) recently stated that a “local patriot” filed a complaint, including evidence, with the MD Board of Elections that calls into question the November 2014 campaign finance report of The People’s Voice (TPV). A call to the Board of Elections confirmed that one complaint had been filed.  Mr. Woodcock himself filed the complaint, and included a copy of our Ethics Ballot and our finance report as his "evidence".  Mr. Woodcock speculated that possibly more funds were spent, and requested anonymity.  Tom Coale stated in his blog that he found it "remarkable" that The People's Voice accomplished what it did in such a short time for so little.  So do we Tom, thanks.

 

TPV has followed all finance reporting laws. The Board of Elections finance director, Mr. Jared DeMarinis, told us that he has seen these kinds of attacks “1000’s of times” and believed this would be "resolved shortly".

 

We should all be proud of the work we are doing, and the fact that it is getting noticed!  Our Facebook followers number over 1300 now, and we have over 250 members.  So spread the word to go to www.PeoplesVoiceLLC.org and see the civic work being done in addition to the Ethics Ballot. The website, run by volunteers, has become a one-stop shop for community information, providing hearing schedules, project descriptions, financial and development issues, Board of Education activities, and much more to help citizens stay informed, and to highlight forums for public input.

 

Thank you,

 

Lisa Markovitz

Founder/President, The People’s Voice, LLC