Vallario has been blocking unsafe driving penalties
Del. Joseph Vallario (D-Calvert, Prince George's) doesn't care about the needs of Maryland citizens, or for the democratic process.Vallario is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis, which is charged with voting on numerous bills that would make Maryland safer and protect its citizens. Only many of those bills never make it to a vote in the committee because Vallario makes a single-handed determination as chairman to keep them from being voted on. There are 21 other delegates in the committee who are unable to express their opinions because Vallario thinks he knows best and doesn't give them a chance.
Here is what happened to my family: In 2008 our 15-year-old son was killed by a person speeding over twice the speed limit in Baltimore County.
This person was deemed reckless to the point where the state's attorney wanted to charge him with automobile manslaughter, which could involve a jail sentence.
However, Maryland doesn't have an adequate law to enable this to happen. Therefore the driver was charged with five driving violations and paid a fine of just over a thousand dollars.
Our family is destroyed, but the driver is free to go. It is true and happens many times each year.
For the past five years, legislators have introduced bills to establish an appropriate punishment for speeding and killing, and every year Vallario refused to let the committee vote on it. He is a defense attorney and often defends this kind of person, making lots of money. Is there a connection?
My wife and I went to testify for the bill's passage this past spring, and Vallario walked out on our testimony. He ignored the pleas of state troopers and the state's attorneys. Afterwards, I met separately with Vallario and he gave no reason other than that he doesn't believe there should be a bill like this. He didn't care that the speeders/killers went unpunished, or that the members of his committee didn't have an opportunity to vote for their constituencies.
Joe Vallario needs to step down from this very important position and hand the reins over to someone who believes in the democratic process and who cares about the safety of Maryland citizens.
Ed Kohls, Baltimore
<a href="http://www.somdnews.com/stories/10012010/reclet134153_32395.shtml">http://www.somdnews.com/stories/10012010/reclet134153_32395.shtml</a>;
Via <a href="http://stopthemud.org/2010/10/vallario-has-been-blocking-unsafe-driving-penalties/">http://stopthemud.org/2010/10/vallario-has-been-blocking-unsafe-driving-penalties/</a>;
And I will highlight their comment:
"There is something fishy in Annapolis. Wasn’t Vallario the one that also blocked new drunk driving legislation involving breathalyzers installed in vehicles? The Maryland cell phone law was reduced to a law difficult to enforce because it can only be brought to bear as a second and included offense. This delegate appears to have a serious conflict of interest given his behavior and his occupation. Vallario’s penchant for preventing enforcement should be a red flag to the rest of us concerned about the Maryland Unsafe Driver. Our Maryland delegates SHOULD BE removing this man from his post."
What's Related