A Boring Forum, With A Few Nuggets
March 18, 2009 by Cato
Filed under Maryland, Salisbury Politics
Wednesday night’s candidate forum for Salisbury mayoral and council candidates was quite possibly the most boring event I have ever attended. It wasn’t because of the candidates, the questions were actually better than the typical tripe thrown at events like the PACE forum, the sponsors did a good job. No, the problem was the format. You simply can’t ask good questions and then try to limit responses to one or two minutes and not give candidates a chance for rebuttal.
Despite a high boredom level, there were a few interesting nuggets of information to be gleaned from the evening. We’ll start with the two mayoral candidates, Gary Comegys and Jim Ireton.
I hate to keep saying this, but despite my heartfelt belief that Jim Ireton remains the better candidate of the two, Gary Comegys was the hands down winner. Ireton’s style simply doesn’t translate into debates. He likes to tell stories and deal in platitudes. These may be great in grassroots campaigning (if you have the time), but they simply don’t work with serious questions and a limited time frame.
Despite Ireton’s lackluster showing, Comegys’ answer to one question in particular was most telling. When asked about transparency in government, Comegys let something slip. He claimed that Salisbury city government is already “open”.
“Every work session, every council meeting is open to the public.”
First of all Gary, it’s required by state law. Second, if you have ever tried to get information from the Tilghman administration you already know that you are forced to fill out a PIA request and then usually have to pay a fee. They even tried to force Councilwoman Debbie Campbell to pay for information.
Comegys also stated that he “wanted the public to get the information in advance”. That sounds ducky, but the Barrie Comegys record tells a far different tale. If you are in the current council minority you often don’t get information until right before a meeting. Time and again, Gary Comegys has fought any effort to postpone legislation until after everyone has had a chance to review it. To argue that the public should receive all pertinent information in advance is just a tad disingenuous when you won’t even support the full council receiving all information in advance.
This was one of several chances for Ireton to draw a strong comparison between he and Comegys. Unfortunately for those in attendance he refused to do so. IF the object of his (so far) successful campaign is show him as the “nice guy” in comparison to Barrie Comegys that is fine. Perhaps I am wrong, but I think voters desire a leader and not a camp counselor. Ultimately, placing all hope on “bringing people together” and making the Wicomico River swimmable can backfire on Ireton. This is particularly the case since Comegys has adopted a stronger version with his “One Salisbury” rhetoric.
As for the District 1 council debate, there’s not much to say. Both Cynthia Polk and incumbent Shanie Shields are not at their best in this environment. Probably the most important question in this segment was “What is the greatest challenge facing the city?” While Shields went on about the need to work with young people, Polk hit a home run with a very simple answer – JOBS. Economic development remains the most pressing issue facing Salisbury.
I also learned something very interesting about Ms. Polk during the debate. At the end she discussed her interest in the “Go Green” initiative. She was articulate and passionate. While Polk shows nervousness when discussing other issues there was none there. If Ms. Polk can harness similar passon about other issues facing the city, she will prove to be an articulate spokeswoman for the citizens of District 1.
Probably the highlight of the evening was the face-off between Muir Boda and incumbent Debbie Campbell, who are running in District 2. Both candidates were articulate and cordial.
The District 2 candidates were asked about government transparency (as were the mayoral candidates). As with all of his answers, Boda’s was articulate. However, he showed a tendancy to keep close to the Barrie Comegys party line. Boda stated that while oversight is a legitimate purpose of the council, they shouldn’t micromanage. Where have we heard that line before?
Boda also expressed his opposition to a return to line item budgeting. Another quote from the Barrie Comegys playbook. If Salisbury really had adopted a program form of budgeting, he would have an argument. I would disagree, but the argument would remain valid. Unfortunately for Boda, his studies in the Barrie Comegys school of municipal government are a tad one sided. Their version of a “program budget” is to simply appropriate money to large, unregulated pots with no oversight. Remember, according to Barrie Comegys any questioning of the executive is “micromanaging”.
Mrs. Campbell pointed out that council’s oversight role is primarily financial. This is as it should be. However, if department heads are incapable of explaining (and justifying) their actions the public should be sceptical. They should also be thankful that someone is asking the questions. Remember, the public can’t get any answers at council meetings.
Watching Muir Boda hammered home two beliefs I have held about his candidacy:
- He simply isn’t the best candidate running for the post. and …
- He’s a good candidate who needs to spend a little time learning on this own and will hopefully run for office again in the future.
Salisbury and Wicomico County need more people like Muir Boda to run for office. It is unfortunate that he chose to throw his hat in the ring against one of the few people who has consistently displayed the principles he claims to want in city government – Honesty, Integrity, Superior Financial Stewardship, and the belief that government exists to serve the voters.
