Informing the electorate
We know that the race for Salisbury City Council is a non-partisan one, and I've asked the candidates a number of questions which touched on how they would approach city issues.
But there is also a question of underlying political philosophy, and one answer where this is best expressed comes from which party they are registered with (if any) and which candidates or causes they've contributed to over the last few years. Are they already politically active in that respect or not?
So I asked a friend who had the registration records for a hand in determining their age, voter registration information, and what elections they participated in, then went to the Maryland Center for American Politics and Citizenship website to look up a few pieces of information on each candidate regarding their political contributions. While most had contributed to some candidates or causes, none came close to the maximum $4,000 per candidate or $10,000 per cycle allowed for each four-year electoral cycle.
Muir Boda
Age: 37 (38 on General Election Day) Registration: Libertarian Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008. (The Libertarian Party has no primary.) Contibutions: Mike Calpino $25 (1 occasion), Libertarian Party of Maryland $180 total (4 occasions)
Terry Cohen
Age: 53 Registration: Democratic Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008; Primary Election 2006, 2008 Contributions: Jim Ireton $25 (1 occasion)
Joel Dixon
Age: 25 Registration: Republican Voting Pattern: General Election 2008; Primary Election 2006, 2008 Contributions: Anne Arundel Fire PAC $270 total (8 occasions)
Orville Dryden
Age: 64 Registration: Republican Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008; Primary Election 2006, 2008 Contributions: Ron Alessi $100 total (2 occasions), Bob Ehrlich $45 total (2 occasions)
Bruce Ford
Age: 50 Registration: Democratic Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008; Primary Election 2008 Contributions: none on record
Laura Mitchell
Age: 45 Registration: Unaffiliated Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008 (no primary for unaffiliated) Contributions: Martin O'Malley $20.10 (1 occasion)
Tim Spies
Age: 59 (60 on General Election Day) Registration: Democratic Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008; Primary Election 2006, 2008 Contributions: Jim Ireton $30 (1 occasion)
Michael Taylor
Age: 52 Registration: Republican Voting Pattern: General Election 2006, 2008; Primary Election 2006 Contributions: none on record; although there are several Michael Taylors in the state database none are from Salisbury.
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So we have a nice variance of ages (from 25 to 64) and affiliations here: three Democrats, three Republicans, a Libertarian, and an unaffiliated voter. Something for everyone I suppose.
Admirably, they all seem to be relatively active voters as well.
If this is a help to your decision, that's a good thing. I'm sure someone will criticize me for bringing party into a non-partisan election but it's worth remembering that people change affiliations all the time (this information provided to me on voter registration is from July, 2010) and not everyone marches in lockstep with party philosophy - many Democrats in these parts cross over to vote for Republicans but we saw a number of Democrats win in 2010 and it couldn't have been all Democratic voters pulling them through. Most voters cast a ballot for the person.
But in case you're wondering, the two who will remain on City Council are both Democrats so if you want party balance that could factor into the decision.