A Crofton Online Exclusive Interview
Marsha Perry: 'Sauerbrey Opposed Every Bill I Ever Introduced'
Says County Hurt By Partisanship of Greenip and Baldwin

Crofton area Delegate Marsha G. Perry says that "Ellen Sauerbrey opposed every bill I ever introduced" in the Maryland House of Delegates. She also says that Anne Arundel County has been hurt by the partisanship of fellow delegates Janet Greenip and Roger Baldwin.

Crofton Online recently spent several hours with Mrs. Perry discussing the fall election, her accomplishments and frustrations during her years in the Maryland House of Delegates, her advice to potential new delegates, and her plans for the future.

Saying that Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey was philosophically opposed to any mandatory regulation of business, Mrs. Perry explained why, in her opinion, such regulation is sometimes necessary.

"We sail the [Chesapeake] Bay. I love the Bay...The biggest remaining issue is the Bay is still loaded with toxics and there are industries in this state that are still discharging pollutants into the Bay at a rate that when he [her grandson] is an adult and far older than I, those toxics will still be there. We have not reduced the toxic emissions into the Bay in the way that we should have.

"We tried...a voluntary program with industry reducing their own toxic pollutants and it just hasn't worked. It became very unpopular politically to mandate any requirements on business. Ellen Sauerbrey did not believe in mandatory regulations on business.

"The bottom line is if we're not getting the results on a voluntary basis, and if one business is doing it on a voluntary basis, their costs are higher than the guy that isn't. We need to raise the standard so that all are required to do it."

We asked Delegate Perry if our district wasn't short changing itself by sending two Republicans and one Democrat to represent us in Annapolis. Frequently the delegation has been split, with her vote in effect being cancelled out by the votes of the two Republican delegates from our district. Mrs. Perry said, "I was elected in '86 when there were two Republicans there. It is not the identification of Republican or the identification of Democrat. When I was elected in '86, as far as I was concerned, once the election was over, partisan politics were over. "While I served with Dottie Smith and John Gary for eight years, we worked very well together and in fact it was never two-to-one votes. We spent an awful lot of time discussing issues, especially environmental issues, which they considered me the expert on. They worked very well with me on those issues. So it's how the people choose to serve in the office. "The difficulty now is, the two that hold office [Janet Greenip and Robert Baldwin] are very partisan in their politics. When you are in a legislative body of 188 people, there has to be some room for compromise. "In order to move the state forward you must consider the entire state. There are some in the delegation who have voted against the budget! You have to have a budget to operate the state. You can't not have a budget. "If one is always casting protest votes, I'm just not sure what that says, but I also know that it angers other legislators. They look at this kind of voting pattern and they say, 'What's going on in your county?' Our county ends up being the losers because when it comes to bond projects we want...the rest of the state says, 'Well, your delegation voted against all of our projects.' You know, paybacks are hell. "When there was really an issue of importance, John [Gary] was on board with me on it and Betty [Smith] almost always was. But it's just different now, and it's not because it's Republicans, because there have always been Republicans there. It's just how the people choose to serve. It shouldn't be that way. I know it can be different."

Delegate Perry had lots more to say. Find out why she says she should be the first woman sheriff in Anne Arundel County, her thoughts on retirement, and what she has to say about the three S's: schools, sewers, and symphonies. We will be publishing the rest of this very interesting interview soon. Stay tuned.

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