County Commissioner Judy Boggs held her Town Meeting of 2/12/2005 at the Ocean Pines Library. She decided to hold a vote of those present, asking each person to write YES or NO on a "mystery card" as to whether she should allow her Town Meetings to be videoed.

At the conclusion of the meeting she announced the results. The vote was 35 NO, 28 YES. On that basis she said video would not be allowed at any of her future meetings. I did not vote.

Actually, the vote was much closer than might have been anticipated, considering a fair number of the people attending were likely strong Boggs supporters and she had already made known her negativity on the issue.

Nor was Boggs totally honest with those attending. She said her concern about video was it might make those in the audience feel uncomfortable asking questions or making comments. She initially opposed video because she said she was afraid she might say something that could be used against her in future elections. Naturally her current single expressed concern is politically safer.

If Boggs wanted a true democratic vote she would take a vote prior to each meeting and allow or not allow video at any meeting based on the vote. After the meeting she said that would not happen.

In her opening remarks Boggs said current library policy allowed her to decide about video. The policy of the Worcester County Library Board of Trustees currently states the individual reserving the room may ban video, if such a ban would not violate any county, state, or federal laws. Boggs did not mention the latter wording to those attending the meeting.

If the video ban did violate any law, the vote Boggs took was meaningless. One law her ban might violate is the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Consider that Commissioner Boggs is an elected official, holding a public meeting in a public library, with everyone invited, including the Press.

Ultimately only a court can decide the legal issue. Is the ability to video Boggs' meetings worth the trouble? Given nearly everything she reports is essentially old news, widely disseminated in local papers and on this web site, probably not. Her reports to the OPA board and comments she makes during County Commissioner meetings are already on video available on OceanPinesForum.com.

Library policy also prevents use of the facility for partisan political purposes; witness the ban on the showing of the film about Iraq during the past presidential election. Surely no one believes one of Commissioner Boggs' purposes in holding these meetings is not political gain.

Interestingly, in her opening remarks Commissioner Boggs referred to me as an "entrepreneur," not a member of the media. This was no slip of the tongue, and not the first time she has done so.

Boggs told me that she does not consider me a member of the media, just an entrepreneur. If making money precludes someone from being a member of the media, one can only wonder whom Boggs considers media. Is the Ocean Pines Independent or the New York Times non-profit, or are these businesses operated by entrepreneurs looking to make a profit? Maybe Boggs doesn't consider the Independent or the Times media.

After the Boggs meeting in the morning I attended and videoed the Manklin Creek Group meeting in the same room at the library. The turnout was larger than I anticipated, over 40 in attendance.

Here's the comparison for audience participation:

• Boggs - 60+ people, no to video, about 8 people asked questions or made comments.
• Manklin Creek Group - 40+ people, yes to video, over 20 people asked questions or made comments.