NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES 373

the best instruments to serve and fulfill individual expression. State
government, while it may often parallel local government in service,
is sometimes divorced from individual confrontation and more re-
mote from individual concerns. Frequently, it is the zoning policy of
the county rather than the capital construction program of the State
that arouses acute citizen concern.

State government deals with the representative, the lobbyist, the
civic leadership. Local government deals directly with the citizen. State
government, due to the scale and scope of its programs, must act slowly
and depend upon the consensus of divergent interests. Local govern-
ment requires less ambitious programs to serve a more homogeneous
population. Local government may act swiftly, its action simplified
by its limited scope. Local government need not always compromise
to accommodate a broad spectrum of public opinion; it may frame
programs specifically to respond to the immediate community of in-
terest shared by all its citizens.

In Maryland, I have devoted a considerable amount of time in my
first six months in office to stressing the importance of local govern-
ment. From my own experience as the chief administrator of Balti-
more County, I recognized the communications void that existed be-
tween the State House and the Court House. I pledged during the
campaign last fall that I would visit every county in the State for a
face-to-face, executive-to-executive talk with the County Commission-
ers and to open a channel of communications between local govern-
ments and the State.

These visits began in April, immediately after the Legislature ad-
journed. With key members of my staff, I have now visited the top
administrators in 21 of our State's 24 political subdivisions. The re-
maining three visits will be completed in the next seven days. We
have discussed mutual problems of developing and financing pro-
grams, planning and the implementation of plans, and, above all, the
importance of day to day liaison within the executive branch of gov-
ernment. It has been a difficult schedule to maintain, but I believe
this groundwork will yield important and positive results in the days
and years ahead.

County government has the potential to become this nation's most
vital and viable political instrument. But, as is the case with all in-