Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1962-06-07
Barbee Denies

new one al over again - as
Stunning, and not too wildly
either, that We'll never get
permanent reappOrtiOnment
through the legislature"
Leading opponents of reap
portionment are already ready
ing for another crack at it, and
it may go to another court case,
before a new judge, all over
again in 1866" he declared.
Barbee claimed the county's
chances of permanent reappor-
tionment would have been
stronger without the meddling
of lot of self-ordained ex-
perts."
The legislators strong de.
Tense of his move to water
down Gov. Tawes' seating bill
followed issuance of a state.
ment by the Montgomery
County Fair Representation
Committee lauding five of
seven members of the cOun-
tvs Annapolis delegation for
"hOlding firm" in the success.
full fight to secure interim re-
appOrtiOnment of the House
of Delegates.
The committee praised Dels.
Blair Lee III, Edna Cook, Alice
HoStetler and Warren Brown
ing for their staunch opposi-
ton to a compromise measure
introduced by Barbee. The re-
naming candidate is Charles
Woodward, who voted with Bar
bee on his bill.
Committee president Phillip
Thorson said Barbee "sold us
down the river when in the
House Judiciary Committee he
started the "diluting process"
of the governors barely ac-
ceptable" proposal by introduc-
ing the first amendment calling
for fewer seats for urban coun-
ties than originally proposed.
The county's State Senator,
Margaret c. Schweinhaut, also
came in for praise for her
gallant fight against over
whelming odds" when Gripping
amendments were supported by
rural counties represented on
the Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee.
In response to the commit
tees personal attack, Barbee
ISSUED a statement, which
said that the proof of the
pudding is in the eating" and
that his bill could have passed
as the very constitutional
amendment which the Iegisla-
ture failed to act on.
He justified reintroduction of
his bill which had been the
first reapportionment measure
to get through the House of Del
egates in recent history-in this
fashion:
'Tn the first session, my bill
passed with a safe margin, and
was a constitutional amendment
that we're going to have to
have. 1t seemed only logical
and good psychology to pass
the same bill again, just a few
months later"
Although he credited Gov.
Tawes with creating "the force
that came to pass reapportion-
ment in the Senate in any fash
mo-" Barbee added that if the
governor had spoken with the
force he did before the Senate
chopped it up" the bill creating
permanent reapportionment
would have passed.
at could have passed the
Senate just as well in my
FORM" he added, "but the con-
ference committee, cOmprO-
missing for the sake of the
Senate, put it right back into
the original draft that the
governor sent down, feeling
that il would be better TO re-
vert back completely with the
hoDe OF getting something
and that's all they got, some
thing"
His overall reaction to the
final measure was that "a whole
lot more is needed in q sense Of
stability"
In addition to tossing bou-
quets at the five members of
the county who held out for
the original seating bill and
roasting Barbee, Thorson's
Committee commended Gov.
Tawes for "rescuing reappor-
tionment from legislative obi
WON"
Result OF the Annapolis
campaign was that we secured
the best stop-gap measure pos
sible under the existing circum-
stances" he said. 1--WE now will
have more delegates to push for
strong permanent legislation in
T~~~N~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~N<