WORCESTER COUNTY–
Incumbent Worcester County Commissioner Madison Jim Bunting Jr. is engaged in a
heated political battle for the District Six seat with Linda Busick.

Bunting spent six
years on the Worcester County board of Zoning Appeals prior to being a
commissioner, including a 4-year stint as chairmen. The candidate was also chairman
of the Worcester County Planning Commission.

“I’m head and
shoulders above my opponent,” Bunting said. “I have over 20 years of owning a
surveying and land-planning firm. I’m a professional land surveyor in Maryland
and Delaware. I worked on a daily basis with staff in Worcester County. I’m
very aware of zoning, and I’m an expert on the comprehensive plan.”

Honesty, integrity
and experience have been the slogans to his campaign.

“I think ‘experience’
has been the key to me having this position as Worcester County Commissioner
for the last four years,” Bunting said. “I’m concerned about the key issues for
Worcester County. Everybody wants to do what we can for our school system; everybody
wants to keep our waters clean.”

Bunting supported the
feasibility study to discuss a Showell elementary school expansion. The
candidate also labeled economic development as the cornerstone of his campaign.

“We have a big
revenue problem as far as our tax base,” he said. “In 2007 Worcester County was
worth over $20 billion for the tax base. Now that number is $15 billion. In
2007 the County Commissioners could fund anything and everything, which I think
was poor planning for the future.”

Bunting urged fiscal
restraint going forward. He also dispelled the notion that he blocked an
environmental initiative earlier this year. Busick accused the commissioner of
stalling a Maryland Coastal Bays initiative to plant trees in an athletic
complex.

“That land is a
county park,” said Bunting. “It’s owned by the taxpayers of Worcester County
(and) that specific piece of land has been used as an alternate field for
practice. I was very concerned about taking that cleared piece of land away and
planting trees on it because – due to conservation laws – once you plant trees
you lose the land, and I did not want to take that away from the public.”

Bunting believes his
record speaks for itself.

“We’re
doing good things,” he said. “We’re finally getting some economic development,
and that’s what we need to increase our revenues and increase our tax base.”