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Candidate Bio
Larry C. Porter
208 South 1st Street
Denton, Maryland 21629
Retired: President, Cabell Corporation Real Estate Development and Management Corporation headquartered in Caroline County.
Candidate- Caroline County Commissioner
Greensboro Elementary School
Riverview Middle School
Graduated North Caroline High School
Continued studies Salisbury University
Past Mayor and Council Member -Denton
Past President and Life Member -Denton Volunteer Fire Company
Past member Caroline County Library Board of Trustees
Current Caroline County Commissioner 2010-Present
Some of the issues that are important to Caroline County voters are issues that require long-term strategy, such as Economic Development, Community Development, Housing, and Transportation. What can the county do to help positively influence these larger issues that affect Caroline County families?
“As commissioners, we can influence areas of economic development and community development by, I think, identifying resources and resolving issues relating to regulation reform and land control and trying to remove impediments and restrictive zoning. Affordable housing continues to be a difficult subject, because utilizing all the available methods of well and septic innovation would open more land, but it's trying to get through the regulations that have been imposed by the state with regard to septic systems and sewage disposal. Most of your affordable multi family development is going to occur in the municipalities, which the county really doesn't have much control over, but I just think that it's going to have to be a situation where the state is going to have to figure out and investigate what impediments they're putting in the way of developing affordable housing. Instead of just saying we need more affordable housing.
As far as transportation, I just think we need to continue to work with our regional partners to improve and facilitate DCT, which is the regional transportation network, and try to really match up the routes with the people who need the rides. It's [been] concerning over the years to me that we see a lot of empty buses. We see routes that are going places that it doesn't look like people really want to ride. There has been an awful lot of ongoing discussion about that. And sometimes it's going to require eliminating routes that aren’t being used adequately and rerouting so that the buses are taking people where they really want and need to go.”
The county has a very strong work relationship with the Board of Education and the school administration. What would you do to strengthen that relationship?
“Well, when I came into office, and in prior years, there had been a very strained relationship between the Board of Education and the County Commissioners. There were times when the two entities wouldn't even sit in the same room together. I'm especially proud that during my terms, we have been able to develop really a long term collaboration with the Board of Education. We now have dinner budget meetings. I have actually gone, when we built a new Greensboro school, I went to Annapolis and appeared before the Board of Public Works with the Superintendent and the Chief Financial Officer, which at that time was unheard of throughout the state – for County Commissioners and Board of Education members and staff to work together. This is particularly important [because], you know, we not only built a new elementary school, but we are going to build a new middle school. And it takes a good amount of commitment and cooperation between the Board of Ed and the County Commissioners to work out the details to try to make sure that we're doing this in the right way. The common goal for both the Board of Education and the County Commissioners should not be arguing and debating, but it should be what's in the best interest of the children of Caroline County. That has to be our goal. And I think over the years we have been able to establish a good working relationship and been able to resolve differences by getting together and sitting down and looking at everything from a common sense standpoint.”
Caroline County is not divided into election districts, however, there is a sense of North County-South County-Denton. What will you do as a Commissioner to make sure that voters know that you’re representing them at large regardless of where they live?
“I've made every effort that I can over the 15 years that I've been a Commissioner to show up at functions and events and support local fundraising efforts and nonprofit organizations in every area of the county. And I think the important thing is, you do it every year. You don't just do it when you're running for election. And I think people catch on to that right away.
I understand completely that if someone approaches me in public with a question or they have an issue, I understand that I'm the person on the ground that they see. They're not going to see the President of the United States, they’re probably not going to see their Senator or their Congressman, but the County Commissioners are the guys that are in the grocery stores, they’re in Walmart, they’re at ball games, and I understand completely that that is an opportunity, when I see people, for them to ask me questions, and I do everything I can to try to answer. My newest thing that I've done over the last couple of years is to ask them to email me their questions or concerns for a couple reasons. Number one, I don't have to try to remember what they say, you know, when I'm shopping or trying to do something. The other thing is by emailing, it gives us a trail, so that when they email me their concern, I have it in their words, and I can forward that email to the other Commissioners, and if necessary, to the department where the concern lies. That way we can keep track. We can know when responses are made and really understand what the timeline is to get them to get them responses.
So, I mean, there's really no issue that's too small. People have concerns, and I really have tried to make an effort over the years to try and address questions. Over a period of years, I have had to say no to a lot of people, and I've had to answer questions with answers to people don't like, but that's part of the job, because you cannot lie and you cannot make things up, and you can't tell people things that you just think is going to make them happy or go away. So you have to be honest and you have to be upfront. So that's what I've tried to do.
I think I'm a member of every historical society. And when I go to functions and events, I am more likely to walk up to someone and say, ‘How's everything going? Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything you need to talk to me about?’ So I'm just as anxious to approach them as they are to approach me.”
The County continues to work through the solar development issue. What is the next impactful issue on the horizon that you view as similar to solar?
“I think the next thing that is going to impact the county in a similar way as solar, is the idea of preemption and the state legislature assuming responsibility and trying to preempt or usurp the duties and powers of the local government and County Commissioners. I mean, what I see is this idea that the state is trying to make everybody one-size-fits-all. And I think we're losing local autonomy. I think we've been losing it over a period of time. And what I see more and more all the time is this idea of ‘We want to tell the counties how to run their elections. We want to tell the counties how to zone their land. We want to tell the county what form of government they should have.’ And that is really something that kind of worries me and keeps me up at night, because I see this coming. Our local legislators, our local district representatives, our delegates and senators, fight an uphill battle all the time. And I mean, I give them a tremendous amount of credit in going in every day knowing that they're outnumbered, but they still fight hard, and I think they do the best they can, but there just seems to be this mentality at the state level to take away local autonomy, and it worries me a tremendous amount. It's not good. I think it really takes away from the reasons that people would be interested in running for office. I mean, if you want to come into the county as a county commissioner, your goal is to make the county better than it was when you got there, and if all of your decision making authority and power is taken from you, then there's really no reason for anybody to want to sit up there and devote their time.”
Something that we hear from a variety of people is that "there is nothing to do in Caroline County." How do you and your family entertain yourselves and spend your free time in the county?
“Well, my family and I, which is basically now my wife and I, we certainly enjoy going to the different functions and activities. I think when you say there's nothing to do, I think that [the Caroline Review] does an excellent job listing the events and and festivals. I mean, we have Summerfest, the Strawberry Festival, the county fair. I think [the Caroline Review] does a really good job listing those events in a calendar, so that people know what's going on. We try as hard as we can to shop local, eat local, and spend our money local. We enjoy, of course, going out to dinner, but I particularly enjoy going to events and festivals, ball games, and again, interacting with people, and getting the lay of the land and hearing what people have to say. But I would tend to disagree…I think the Little League organizations, the soccer associations, I think those people do a tremendous job. I'm not going to argue about it, but I would kind of push back a little bit on that ‘there's nothing to do.’ I think there's plenty to do if you look for it, and I think you can be as active as you want to be if you just simply participate and do the activities. A lot of these activities are fundraisers for nonprofit organizations, which is vital to them continuing to be able to operate. But again, we try to spend as much time in the county as we possibly can, and as a way of entertainment for us, it is to support local local organizations as much as we can.”
