This article is an extension of one on my Examiner.com page. Since I was the only person to cover it I really didn’t have to be in any hurry to write about it, did I?
Sometimes events like this really make me wonder about the state of our governed: what if you had a candidate forum and only candidates showed up?
Last Friday was such an event. Each week over the last month or so the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce has hosted what they call a “lunch and learn” event where a group of four politicians (none of whom are opponents to each other) plead their cases before whatever audience shows up. In this case, it was two other officeseekers, me acting as press, and two members of the general public. Even counting the moderator, politicians outnumbered citizens for this forum.
For me, it was nothing new except for getting to hear from County Executive hopeful John Wayne Baker. I have heard and seen plenty from the two Republican participants (Stevie Prettyman of Council District 2 and the unopposed Joe Holloway of District 5) and had just seen the other guest, County Council candidate Ed Taylor, at the NAACP forum.
At this forum, each gave an opening statement and then answered a series of questions – many of them posed by other elected officials or officeseekers.
For example, John Wayne Baker, who is running for County Executive as a Democrat, was asked by David MacLeod whether his very campaign would be a violation of the Hatch Act (Baker works at the Eastern Correctional Institution.) Baker replied that the warden gave him permission as long as he didn’t campaign on state time.
But in his opening statement Baker suggested that his TEA Party involvement led him to throw his hat into the County Executive ring, stating, “if you sit on your couch and complain, no one hears you.” And while he may not have a lot of executive experience he knows that in budgeting, “column A has to equal column B.”
Prettyman said that “clear vision and clear thinking” are necessary in a term where several items are on the table, such as redistricting, the comprehensive plan, and the charter review. She also touted her 25 years of business experience prior to politics.
Since Holloway is unopposed, he doesn’t have to worry about losing the election. But he still talked about following a “common-sense philosophy” of government over the last four years, using the example of westside land acquisition. He also recalled that “we were warned” about the upcoming recession back in 2007 yet the warnings were unheeded.
I asked Baker how he would see his relationship with County Council if elected – after all, he was potentially sitting with over half the County Council in the room if the election results turned out the correct way.
Baker replied he was a “very upfront person” who was a fiscal conservative and would return to budget basics. “We need a whole different philosophy in government,” said John. But since he already works with a “difficult set of clients,” working with County Council would not be that difficult.
Obviously holding a job with ECI did tie Baker’s hands in one respect – he would not comment on inmate release policies. Joe Ollinger asked that question of him, which may have been a bit unfair since both are running for the same position.
The fourth person scheduled to participate showed up a little late, but Ed Taylor gave as his reason for running again that, “I feel I’m doing the right thing (to) be part of the solution.” His experience of three previous terms would be an asset, theorized Taylor.
There was some discussion on a subsequent question from Joe Ollinger about the tax differential report done recently. None of the Council members present had the study’s cost, but the point was brought up that a differential would be revenue-neutral – however, the tax rates for various jurisdictions would be affected with city rates going down and rural rates increasing.
When asked about the spike in crime by David MacLeod (who was in the audience doing the grilling this week) Stevie Prettyman said that the legislative body had little to do aside from providing the tools for the law enforcement arm of the county to succeed. But the conversation turned to the former drill academy which closed several years ago and how it could have been effective given the right leadership and type of youth sentenced to stay there. “I was sorry to see it go by the wayside,” noted Stevie Prettyman.
But John Wayne Baker saw the problem differently. When asked about using different model communities for crime, Baker was blunt, stating that statistics can be deceiving and in the end “it has to be not worthwhile to be a criminal.” Kids needed a work ethic, he argued, and part of the answer was to “find some common sense in Wicomico County” and attempt to recruit kids away from the gang culture.
Some of that answer could be in parks and recreation, and an observer asked about those programs, particularly the proposed west side park. It was still in the works, said Stevie Prettyman, but Program Open Space money was “frozen.” Baker countered with the question of when we have enough parks (the county has 58, he claimed) and mentioned the successful private ventures of the Fruitland Falcons youth football program and the Crown Sports Center. Prettyman conceded we had to balance core functions with the quality of life.
These were just some of a number of interesting exchanges which most people missed. It’s a shame that candidates put themselves out and speak, but most people will vote based on reputation, party, or thirty second commercial rather than these face-to-face meetings. That’s a missed opportunity to be sure.
