The Great Salisbury Election Date Scheme

Monday’s editorial in the Daily Times calls for a change of Salisbury’s municipal election dates back to November.  This seems to reflect the sentiment posed by former city council candidate Muir Boda in a recent letter to the editor.  This all works for me, but I would suggest that both Mr. Boda and the staff of the Daily Times do a little research before they dive headlong into this fray.

Contrary to the claims of the Daily Times, the real purpose behind moving the elections back to spring was not some half-hearted attempt to drive voter turnout.  Only imbeciles buy into an argument that a spring election, following a winter campaign, increases turnout.  Simply look at the turnout numbers from the last city election held in November to see.  Then research other areas that have done the same.  Spring elections depress turnout.  Former mayor Barrie Tilghman was masterful in her drive move the elections.  The city didn’t want to comply with federal and state deadlines.  They moved to non-partisan elections.  The Wicomico County Board of Elections had problems with the Tilghman-imposed scheme.  Therefore, Tilghman had ample excueses to move the elections to spring.  Depressed turnout worked in her favor, until her opponents learned how to target voters.
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Barrie Comegys Blog Gets Even Scummier Post-Election

Jonathan Taylor, the “mind” behind the unofficial blog of the Barrie Comegys ticket of Gary Comegys, Muir Boda, and Shanie Shields is on a tear.  While I didn’t think it was possible to sink lower than they did during the recent Salisbury mayoral and council races, I was wrong.  From calling the spouse of one individual a “Bitch” to posting derogatory comments about the spouse and child of Councilwoman Debbie Campbell, it is obvious that the Barrie Comegys team will continue to be practicing the politics of LIES, HATE, and FEAR for some time to come.

While we should expect this from individuals like Mr. Taylor, going after someone’s kid is low even for the likes of Jonathan and his sleazy pals.  This is particularly so AFTER Taylor promised to stop attacks on Mayor-elect Jim Ireton and re-elected councilwoman Campbell.

I have been thinking today about what direction I want to go in now that the
election is over. I have finally made my decision. I will no longer make any
more personal attacks on Jim Ireton or Debbie Campbell, I will reserve those
for Joey only.

That was on Wednesday.  I can only conclude that in the sub-70 IQ world of Jonathan Taylor “I will no longer” means “I won’t do it NOW”.  On Thursday, the chief scribe of the Comegys, Boda, and Shields ticket was going after Campbell’s husband Bill and their son Billy.  Bad move Jonathan.  Billy Campbell may just be the smartest person you’ve ever been in a room with.
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Muir Boda – Louise Smith with a Beard?

As Tuesday’s Salisbury municipal election approaches, certain things are becoming clear and more questions are being raised.  Mayoral candidate Gary Comegys and his supporters are showing their desperation by disseminating the most vile and hateful trash about Jim Ireton; that is clear.  The city’s slumlords are throwing thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars to illegally benefit the Barrie Comegys ticket of Gary Comegys, Muir Boda, and Shanie Shields.  District 2 council candidate Muir Boda continues to make statements which raise multiple questions.  However, they can all be summarized by this – Would Muir Boda simply be a younger, more masculine version of Louise Smith if elected to council?

Remember back two years ago.  Louise Smith ran for office promising to bring some financial sanity and accountability to Salisbury government.  We were told that Louise Smith would ensure that the city’s audits would be done on time and that city contractors would be held accountable.

What did Salisbury citizens receive?  Over $10 million of taxpayers money was improperly accounted for.  The city has yet to deliver an audit on time.  Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars have been thrown at contractors for change orders for the WWTP and we now know that it doesn’t work.  Smith’s first two concerns as a council member were to cut a deal with Gary Comegys in order to be council president and to vote for a charter change enabling a 17% tax increase.

Much to my shame, I actively supported Smith’s candidacy.  While I like Boda personally, I’m not willing to make the same mistake twice.  I’m a huge believer in the old adage:

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

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The $1.3 Million Endorsement

Salisbury’s slumlords simply LOVE Barrie Tilghman.  Unfortunately, Barrie realized that she couldn’t be re-elected.  So the slumlords and their dirty little guild, SAPOA, are placing all of their hopes behind Barrie’s chosen successors – Gary Comegy, Muir Boda, and Shanie Shields (aka the BARRIE COMEGYS ticket).

Why do Salisbury’s ruling class love Barrie and her heirs so much?  Tilghman has basically refused to enforce city zoning and building codes (at least regarding her SAPOA pals).  What’s a double-digit tax increase among friends when you can rape the city like the Vandals in Rome?  SAPOA is quite confident that Comegys, Muir, Shields (along with Princess Louise Smith) will continue to deliver.

… This is especially true if your name is Rinnier.  Besides all of the special treatment afforded SAPOA, the Rinniers were able to pocket a cool $1.3 million at taxpayer expense thanks to Barrie Comegys.  Remember the Marley Manor lift station?

Perhaps that’s why the Rinniers have illegally spent money to benefit the campaigns of Comegys, Boda and Shields.  Keep in mind, that you can only spend $250.  I find it hard to believe that the Rinniers were able to print all of these letters and paid people to distribute them throughout the Rinnier rental empire for $250.

Maybe they expect another fat subsidy if their candidates prevail on Tuesday.  We think the taxpayers of Salisbury’s have paid enough.

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That Slumlord Cash Just Keeps Coming for Comegys, Boda, and Shields

While the legal, over-the-table cash from Salisbury’s major and minor slumlords continues to be heaped upon the head of the Barrie Comegys ticket – Gary Comegys, it’s the illegal, under-the-table money that I find most interesting. Billing themselves as “a group of concerned rental owners”, a group of anonymous slumlords has spent thousands of dollars on a mailing to benefit the candidacies of their chosen ticket – Gary Comegys, Muir Boda, and Shanie Shields.

Little more than baseless lies, this mailing appeals to fear:

If you don’t vote for Comegys, Boda, and Shields we’re going to raise your rent!

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A Boring Forum, With A Few Nuggets

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.
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It Ain’t Over Yet Salisbury

After the humiliation of a 13 point loss in yesterday’s Mayoral primary, don’t expect Salisbury Councilman Gary Comegys to slink into the shadows.  The fight has just begun.

While it is still possible for former councilman Bob Caldwell to oust Comegys with 200 absentee ballots still out, the probability is less than 50-50.  Given that, don’t think that the special interest who have invested so much in Barrie Comegys will go into that good night.

Because Comegys’ lost to Ireton in the primary by over 13 points, Salisbury voters can expect SAPOA to pull out all the stops.  They will attempt to put their ticket (Gary Comegys, Muir Boda and Shanie Shields) over the top through a variety of methods.  Voters can look forward to the following:
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Salisbury Needs to Vote on Tuesday

Tomorrow, voters in Salisbury have an opportunity to take the first step in bringing out real change.  The choices are simple:

Do you want to continue paying higher property tax rates (or higher rents)?

Do you want Salisbury to continue its current path of bureaucracy run amok?

Do you want Salisbury to continue subsidizing the privilege few at the expense of its citizens?

If you answered no to these questions, then your choices are clear.  You need to go to the polls on Tuesday and vote for Bob Caldwell and Jim Ireton for Mayor.  If you live in District 1, you need to vote for Tim Chaney and Cynthia Polk for city council. (Remember, there is no District 2 primary.  Voters will choose between Muir Boda and Debbie Campbell on April 7.)
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The Fiscal Mindset of a Barrie Comegys Administration

Last night’s Salisbury City Council meeting was relatively short but instructive on so many levels.  The most instructive point was the glimmer of what Salisbury could expect under a Barrie Comegys administration.

During discussion of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY2010 – FY2014 an amendment was made by Councilwoman Debbie Campbell to remove two items from the CIP:

• a fire boat for the SFD

• a study for a new city hall

I happen to disagree with Mrs. Campbell about the fire boat.  Assuming that the vessel would be adequately maintained (I know, a big assumption given SFD’s record with watercraft), the boat would be a good (and needed) investment for Maryland’s second largest port.  However, that’s not the real issue.  Campbell, either intentionally or not, laid a rhetorical trap for mayoral candidate Gary Comegys.  Surprisingly, he fell right into it.
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The Hypocrisy of the Barrie Comegys Clique

In a vain attempt to “kill the messenger” and deflect attention from their own actions, various acolytes of the campaign to keep the Barrie Comegys train running OVER Salisbury are telling blatant lies AND showing the worst hypocrisy imaginable.  This morning’s op-ed from our local King of the Slumlords, Richard Insley, is just the latest example.

The premise of Insley’s argument is fallacious to its core.  Insley takes another stab a presenting his political views using the notion that “those dirty rotten bloggers” have been claiming that he has leveled personal attacks against his political opponents – namely Councilwoman Debbie Campbell and mayoral candidates Bob Caldwell and Jim Ireton.  After a search of local blogs I cannot find where such a statement was made.  It certainly hasn’t occurred here on Delmarva Dealings.

On Monday, we used a Daily Times article on Insley’s letter to his tenants to illustrate that the paper printed false information.  We did not claim that Insley was personally attacking anyone.
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