Lee Havis

City government officials have proposed a charter amendment to change the current 2-year term of office for Mayor and City Council to a 4-year term instead. As a long-term citizen of College Park, I strongly oppose this proposal, and favor instead to maintain the current two-year term of office for all elected officials of the […]

Today, taxpayer funded public education in Maryland has grown into a large, corrupt business that serves many special interests that have nothing to do with good quality education for the students attending. In this situation, Governor Larry Hogan has been seeking to provide some public accountability for this wasteful and destructive use of public funds,

On November 29, 2018, the Kirwan Commission to improve “innovation and excellence” in Maryland met to hear public testimony concerning what recommendations to give to the Maryland General Assembly in this matter. Speaking for my organizations, International Montessori Society and Trust Tutoring, I urged the commission to support more choice and competition as the best

Have you noticed your Prince George’s County property tax bill rising in recent years? Notice the new item marked “Supplemental Education” which adds some 4% to your bill that wasn’t there before. Since 2016, this property tax rate increase exceeds the tax cap and voter referendum requirement set in 1978 by County Charter 812 and

The bill HB1461 is unwise and dangerous legislation that would threaten public safety, increase taxes and interfere with the enforcement of federal immigration laws that are vital to the safety and well-being of all Maryland citizens. I therefore urge your opposition to this bill. This bill would deter public safety in several significant ways. For

At the national level, a president’s commission on election integrity is looking into voter fraud, to see how serious and widespread it may be in tipping the election in one direction or another. By comparing voter records among the various states, the commission seeks the commonsense approach of comparing their voter roles to see how

The state of Maryland recently saw fit to create a commission on Innovation and excellence in education to consider how to improve education here. Since members of the Commission include representatives of the state education agencies as well as elected officials, there is every likelihood that their research will find its way into official government

In 2015, County Executive Rushern Baker, in cooperation with the Prince George’s County Council passed a controversial increase of property tax rate that is now being challenged in court by two homeowners in the county asviolating the County Charter (TRIM), which requires approval of voters in advance. As reported publicly elsewhere, County Executive Baker says