Despite the fact that he holds no federal office, County Councilman Jones choose to be photographed with American flag bunting. …Maybe he really is running for President?
For those of you in Baltimore County’s District 4 who may have been wondering whether or not Councilman Julian Jones was paying attention, the answer is a resounding “Yes!“
“Attention to what?” you ask, because you’ve been living under a rock.
For months now, residents of the County’s 4th district that includes Owings Mills, have been highly vocal. Through telephone calls, emails and their standing-room-only, often loud attendance at two town meetings held in August, people have been expressing their opposition to allowing a Walmart Supercenter to anchor Kimco Realty’s redevelopment of its Owings Mills Mall property. But was Councilman Jones paying attention? Many doubted that he was, listening that is, or that he had the councilmanic balls to do anything about it. Was he just one more elected official skating by, patronizing his constituents until the next election cycle?
That question has now been unequivocally answered in the form of Bill 85-16 that Councilman Jones introduced last Monday, November 21. According to the County Council offices this morning, the bill was introduced on Monday, but will not be discussed until the next working session which is November 29 and then voted upon at the next legislative session which will be December 5.
And here, in the following PDF, is what Bill 85-16 has to say…
It’s short and to the point, which is characteristic of the best legislation. Most importantly, it gets the job done. In just a relatively few words, Councilman Jones has protected established commerce along Liberty and Reisterstown Roads. The Walmart Supercenter in the Liberty Plaza shopping center and the regular-size Walmart on Reisterstown Road are now safe. Had a new Supercenter opened in Kimco’s Owings Mills Town Center, these Liberty and Reisterstown Road stores would have been closed and left empty with seriously negative impact on local business and surrounding neighborhoods.
Good work, Councilman Jones! You’ve stood up and taken care of your 
constituents whose respect you have just earned. That’s the good news. The other news is that you’ve now set a high standard. Like the great quarterbacks, no matter what kind of game or season you’ve been having, fan support can evaporate in heartbeat with the next interception you throw or fumble. The good news for District 4 is that we think you’re up to the challenge.
For now, what you’ve done is an extraordinary example of council government at its best. You’re represented your constituents well and deserve their support and appreciation for your service.
Our thanks also to the many hundreds of District 4 people who read our articles on the subject, left their comments and signed our petition.
