Once every year for the past 49 years, people from across Maryland and beyond travel to Crisfield in Somerset County. Crisfield is Maryland’s southernmost incorporated city and is also widely known as the Seafood Capital of the World.
This annual journey to Crisfield is to participate in the J. Millard Tawes Clam Bake and Crab Feast, often referred to as Tawes.
The event honors Crisfield native J. Millard Tawes, who is the first and only Marylander to be elected state comptroller, governor, and state treasurer. It was launched originally as a community gathering for Crisfield and nearby residents.
Since then, attendance has grown as Tawes has become a popular meet-and-greet schmooze fest with countless numbers of local, state, and national politicians in attendance.
Paul Ellington, a campaign advisor for numerous candidates from both major political parties, said in Maryland Matters, “If you love Maryland politics, it’s the place to be.”
That was certainly the case this year when WBOC TV News estimated 4,000 people attended Tawes. They came despite ominous weather forecasts of torrential rain and high winds, which ultimately did not materialize.
For some attendees, Tawes is a place to enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet. That buffet includes crabs, oysters, fish, corn on the cob, french fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, watermelon, plus water, soda, and beer, all for $75 per person.
For other attendees, Tawes is a chance to meet government officials from the Governor to members of town councils.
Candidates and office holders at Tawes this year included: Governor Wes Moore, State Comptroller Brooke Lierman, State Treasurer Dereck Davis, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Co, Maryland’s 1st Congressional District candidates Andy Harris and Dan Schwartz, State Senator Mary Beth Carozza, and State Senator Steve Hershey.
Appointed office holders in the Moore administration at Tawes this year included Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks and former Eastern Shore state delegate Carl Anderton who now serves as director of rural economic strategy at the Maryland Department of Commerce.
On the drive home from Tawes, I thought about what made Tawes special.
It is not just abundant amounts of great fresh seafood.
It is not just an opportunity to catch up with long-term friends and colleagues, as well as meet and get to know new friends.
It is not just an opportunity to meet a wide array of government officials in a relaxed and quiet spot in Maryland.
It is not that Tawes is open and welcoming to the public. Anyone and everyone willing and able to travel to Crisfield is welcome to purchase a ticket and attend.
It is all of the above reasons plus one more that makes Tawes very special.
It came to me on my drive back to Easton. I turned on the radio for the latest news from Washington DC. Per usual, the news made me depressed, frustrated, and angry.
The news was dominated by reports on the never-ending lack of civil discourse and overall civility in Washington D.C. It is not new, and it gives every indication it may be permanent.
The news included the latest details on Republicans and Democrats arguing, grandstanding, and lobbing insults at each other. No wonder why a September 2026 Ballotpedia’s Polling Index report showed a 39% job performance approval for Donald Trump’s second term and an even lower 34% job performance approval rating for Congress.
Tawes was a welcome respite from the toxicity and lack of civil discourse in our society that has resulted in deep divides and even permanent estrangement from friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors over intense disagreements about politics and election outcomes.
That is not to say everyone attending Tawes shared the same perspectives on politics and public policy issues. Far from it.
What I did experience at Tawes was that it was a place to engage in civil discourse with every attendee I met for the first time.
My experience was the same regardless of our different respective party affiliations, support for different candidates, or for support on a wide range of contentious policy issues of the day.
Tawes is an oasis in a desert environment where people interested and active in politics could have strongly held positions that were not a barrier to engaging in civil discussions before and after elections regardless of the outcomes.
We listened to each other, respecting the fact that listening is more than waiting for your turn to talk.
We respected each other with an unspoken code of conduct to not use our possible differences of opinions to conclude the other person was a Nazi, a fascist, a racist, a bigot, a communist, a socialist, a deplorable, an uninformed person, or worse.
Tawes confirms good people can agree to disagree on politics without being disagreeable.
Going forward Tawes can and should serve as a model for political discussions everywhere.