Town Hall Alliance

Rich Johnson of Valley Lee is a candidate for St. Mary's County Commissioner in the district which includes Valley Lee, Piney Point, Ridge, Park Hall and Hermanville.   All commissioners run county wide and voters will vote for all five commissioner posts.



Rich Johnson, left, with Commissioner Larry Jarboe on the Town Hall Alliance float at the St. Mary's County Fair on Sept. 26, 2009.   Photo courtesy of ST. MARY'S TODAY.

Rich Johnson wanted to find a way to help his family become energy independent and in the process the career engineer who works for a defense contractor at Pax River NAS - Naval Air Warfare Center, made it easier for everyone to achieve savings on home energy.  Johnson determined that the payback time for solar was too long and that since he lives on the water, as St. Mary's County has over 400 miles of shoreline and thousands of others live on the shore too, that wind turbines would help him and others.  

Upon applying to the land use office for a permit, he learned that wind turbines, which have been used on farms in the county for decades, were not permitted under the zoning rules.  He was advised by the land use staff to find a commissioner who was interested in sponsoring a change in county rules to accomodate those who wish to find a way to produce electricity.  

After dogged determination and endless trips to Leonardtown for hearings and decisions which were favorable to his effort, he learned the Critical Area Commission was blocking the final permit and found a sympathetic ear with Senator Roy Dyson.  Dyson hand carried a letter to the Critical Area chairman asking him to see to it that Johnson's permit was not held up any longer without a substantial reason for doing so. 

 The permit was finally granted and soon Johnson will have it functioning.  But in the process of gaining his permit, he found how to navigate the maze of county rules.  Johnson's efforts will pay off for all who come after him in seeking to use the winds off the river to heat and cool their homes.  Since SMECO has to buy any excess electricity generated by the turbines, citizens can even bank some of their efforts. 

A committed safe hunter, Johnson also worked hard to maintain public acccess to public hunting lands in the St. James area.  Rich was heavily involved in returning Public Hunting land back to the Hunting Public for the Elms Beach area.  During this effort he observed many “Back Door” politics of our County Government and State DNR as to how they tried to deny this return of Public Hunting property back to the Public.  With the aid of Commissioner Jarboe and Senator Roy Dyson, State DNR was directed to support this Hunting Property return.  These 85 acres are now available to the Public for Bow Hunting.

Rich and his wife Mindy have one son and live in Valley Lee.

Vote for Rich Johnson, who is running for commissioner in the south end of St. Mary's County. 

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