Annapolis Capital Punishment

The Ward Two candidate's forum went well, with all three candidates engaged in a lively Q and A with the audience of about thirty five persons. Crime was on everyone's mind, as was growth, development, traffic, property taxes, government spending, parking at the Navy Stadium, water pollution....and crime. Did I say crime?

The biggest disappointment was the sparse turnout. Sure, thirty or forty folks on a windy, cold night is good, but many of the audience members were close supporters of the candidates, some of whom came from outside the ward, as well as a few police officers and fire fighters. However, the fire station is but a short distance from everyone in the ward, so CP must ask, why can't people be "bothered"? The whole intent of the forum was to spark interest in the election and encourage people to vote.

CP believes we have three strong candidates for the open seat. I also think the race will be very close. I have known two of the candidates, and having had the opportunity to meet the third, I think that either one of them will bring a good skill set and commitment to City Council. One is a solid, longtime activist who has been involved and shown a commitment on many levels. One brings a professional background and enthusiasm that will prove valuable. A third appears to be bold and ready to handle tough and controversial issues with gusto.

I came away with a better understanding of the candidates and very strong positive impression of one in particular, although I was bothered by one of that person's answers to a specific question. One of the three candidates is probably the most unlike the rest of the current council members, and the most likely to stir things up. I say that in a good way.

As CP said in his opening comments last night, the bottom line is that any one Alderman, with only 11.1 percent of the vote on City Council is by definition, necessarily weak. The real challenge is how we will go about revising the City Charter to ensure a City Manager form of government, thereby almost guaranteeing a better managed government and a more equitable sharing of power between the Council and Mayor.



Will Small was kind enough to provide a video of the event (copy and paste into browser window):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7101855142205551860&hl=en


Here is The Capital's story:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/12_04-11/TOP

And from Talk of Annapolis:
http://talkofannapolis.blogspot.com/2007/12/ward-2-candidates-forum.html

Also see the post at Annapolis Politics:
http://www.annapolispolitics.blogspot.com/2007/12/ward-2-camdodates-forum.html%3C