Sock Puppetry

Oh, how I miss Frederick County:

Frederick County Commissioner Mike Cady caused a stir at Brunswick Railroad Days on Sunday when he toured the crowd with sock-puppet caricatures, seemingly making fun of fellow board members John L. Thompson Jr. and Jan Gardner.

All three are seeking re-election to the board in a campaign centered on Frederick County growth and development.

One of the puppets had blonde hair and a red hat, portraying Ms. Gardner.

The other had a shock of black hair and was dressed in a white suit, Mr. Thompson's trademark, according to several people who saw them and were later interviewed by The Frederick News-Post.

On Monday, Mr. Cady said his puppetry was 15 to 20 minutes of harmless fun and that was that, as far as he was concerned.

For outsiders, let me bring you up to date: Cady, a Republican, is a militant supporter of development in Frederick County. Thompson is a Republican and Gardner a Democrat, but both are strongly in favor of limiting, if not halting, development in order to preserve open land and the county's small town atmosphere. All three have frequently been at loggerheads over development during the past four years. Moreover, Cady has had a history of outlandish behavior: last year he tried to have a county employee fired for not taking off his hat during a Board of County Commissioners meeting; when that failed, he tried to delete the employee's salary from the county budget.

As for his performance, as it were, this past weekend, here are some of the reviews. First, from Del. Rick Weldon (R):

The puppet show at the Republican table made Mr. Weldon uncomfortable. Mr. Weldon, a Brunswick resident, sponsored the table for all GOP candidates who made it through the primary.

He laughed when the Thompson puppet was brought out, he said. Then it got weird.

"After a couple of minutes, though, it frankly got a little creepy," Mr. Weldon said.

And what did the Democrats think?

Newly elected local Democratic Central Committee member Diane Fink was staffing the Democrats' table when Mr. Cady arrived. It was the first time she had met the commissioner, she said.

She said Mr. Cady stood at the table for about 10 minutes doing his show, acting as mediator between the Thompson and Gardner puppets.

Mr. Cady hugged the Gardner puppet into his shoulder, and said, "Now, now Jan, don't cry," Ms. Fink said.

When Mr. Cady repeated his shtick on Ms. Gardner crying, Ms. Fink responded.

"Look, Jan Gardner's a wonderful woman and you really need to be nice," Ms. Fink told him.

Mr. Cady patted her shoulder, Ms Fink said.

"Aren't you just sweet," he replied before walking away.

I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head in embarassment. One thing's for certain, however: Cady needs to go. Frederick County residents should consider voting for Gardner and Thompson (my first and last endorsement of a Republican), as well as the other Democrats running: Ron Wolf, Dick Floyd, and of course, Kai Hagen.