Harry Dunbar, former Democratic candidate for Howard County executive who ran with a message of slowing growth, has endorsed Republican candidate Christopher Merdon.
“Merdon is the only candidate who has acknowledged the need for responsible slow-growth measures,” said Dunbar, who campaigned to control development and reduce school crowding.
Dunbar said he supported Merdon?s voting record on growth, specifically his vote against Comp Lite, a controversial bill that included dozens of zoning changes.
“He voted with the citizens, against the developers,” Dunbar said. “[Council Member Kenneth] Ulman voted for the developers.”
Dunbar said he was aware that Council Member Merdon, R-District 1, accepted campaign contributions from developers. Merdon appointed Dunbar to his campaign steering committee to provide feedback on how to best manage growth.
In the primary, Dunbar stole more than 20 percent of the Democratic vote from candidate Ulman, D-District 4, and helped to make growth a major campaign issue.
Ulman said he knew Dunbar would support his opponent.
“We all knew what was happening with [Dunbar?s] candidacy from day one,” adding that Dunbar worked for Merdon four years ago.
PLAN TO MANAGE GROWTH
Republican county executive candidate Christopher Merdon unveiled his five-point plan for “responsible growth,” which includes:
» Commissioning a task force to examine the financial impact of development on schools and transportation, and increase taxes and fees collected from developers to cover those costs.
» Stopping the Charette process for re-development of downtown Columbia and recommending that the Department of Planning and Zoning conduct more school and public safety studies.
» Vetoing any legislation that increases density, unless it has had a complete public review and serves a public purpose.
» Requiring independent traffic studies at the expense of the developer.
