Annapolis Capital Punishment

How a candidate runs and performs in a campaign IS IMPORTANT. It tells us a great deal about their managerial, organizational and leadership skills as well as their ability to articulate issues, garner support--and to raise and spend money. In many respects it is a precursor to how they might behave if elected. This is why I have paid such careful attention to their campaign performance since March and why I have rated their campaigns six times since then. I have interacted with all the candidates, watched them perform in public, communicated with them through various means and have been able to gain a good idea of their communication skills, reliability, effectiveness and efficiency. Below you can read my ratings at each stage of the campaign. Again, this does not look at their stands on the issues nor does it constitute any kind of an endorsement. These are candid and subjective reviews of serious observations and as stated repeatedly, they would become more stringent as the campaign progressed. These are NOT indications of any personal feelings about the candidates or their stands. In fact, I personally like and enjoy working with all the candidates very much and know that each of them brings strengths and abilities and a drive to serve--but they each have campaigned in very different ways.

Campaign Ratings were on April 15, May 1, May 15 and June 1, June 24 and July 31. Today are the final ratings of the primary campaign.
A means candidate is ready to be mayor
B means candidate really wants to be mayor
C means candidate wants to be mayor but we'd like to see more conviction
D means if you want a decisive person in office, you'll probably have to find someone else.

When I began this, in order to get an A, the candidate had to have filed with the city clerk, made a public announcement, have an active campaign and active web-site. I have made it become gradually harder to maintain high ratings as the campaigns progressed and I consider overall activity, public presence, visibility, involvement with issues and how they are communicating about the issues to the public and media. I regularly ask each candidate for updates. Some respond quickly with details. Others are less forthcoming. In fact, some candidates have generally been extremely responsive while others have been less than satisfactory--and that counts. (Updates this time in red again).

Summary for each candidate starting with first and last two ratings (I, R and D are self explanatory...I hope):

(I) Fox Began with B Minus, Upgraded to A, now at B

(R) Cordle Began with A Minus, Downgraded from B to C, downgraded to D


(D) Cohen Began with B, Upgraded from B to A, maintained at A
(D) Shropshire Began with B, maintained at C
(D) McFall Began with A, Holding Steady with an A, Maintained At A
(D) Pierre Began with C, Upgraded from A Minus to A, Maintained at A
(D) Taylor Began with C, Went to D, Upgraded to C
(D) Renaut Began with C, Maintained at C
(D) Sears-Deppa Began with C (just entered race), moved up to B

Overall review:
A --Cohen, McFall, Pierre
B--Fox, Sears-Deppa
C--Shropshire, Renaut, Taylor
D--Cordle

This time we start with The Republican:

Dave Cordle, announced, actively campaigning, papers filed, active web-site Rating on April 15 A minus (has not knocked on my door yet) UPDATE: How come no activity on web-site for two months? Did attend Scott Bowling's kickoff. Where is the public outreach? The man is a busy alderman and has a full-time job, but how about some news or web activity? Rating Today downgraded to B. Some supporters held a fund-raiser for him, but it was not even promoted on his web-site, which has not been upgraded in months. Two different sources told me that 15 people came. These same supporters sent out an email invitation attacking Democrats. I give the candidate leeway because he is a hardworking alderman and has a full-time job but sooner or later, this presumed Republican front-runner must start campaigning as if he will be getting the Republican nomination. No activity on his web-site for months. However, he does attend some Sip N' Blogs and has told me that more campaign activity is planned or is soon to be underway. Rating downgraded to B Minus, but again with the above conditions in mind. He's busy doing his aldermanic duties and I suspect he is working a lot behind the scenes. His web-site has not been modified since he announced in February. Rating maintained at B-Minus. I Received this from Steven Crim of The Cordle Campaign: Last month, we had several small events where we listened to the concerns of many residents about the direction our city is heading. We look forward to more of these events as we expand our support network.

We will also continue our efforts to listen to the small business owners, landlords and other participants in the Downtown Annapolis Partnership. Rating upgraded slightly to B but the fact that there has been nothing new on the web-site since it started in February makes this grade tenuous..I still don't understand why this well-known candidate has remained so low-key. Read a few lines above and ask why he has not launched his new web-site or opened his campaign headquarters since that was mentioned months ago. I don't see any signs nor am I aware of any public events sponsored by the candidate although he has made some public appearances. He put out a card that tries to paint him with a green makeover and does not even mention he is a Republican--THE Republican. Perhaps he is confident of getting the Republican nod so he is biding his time until he faces Fox and the Democratic nominee but how will he expect to capture the Democratic and Independent voters? He chose not to participate in CP's mayoral debate by ignoring invitations and then had his campaign consultant answer by saying there was a "previous commitment." I have to downgrade this campaign to a C.

Independent:
Chris Fox, detailed but not recently active web-site, collecting signatures to be on ballot Rating on April 15^th B minus Fox has been at Sip N' Blogs, at other events and people are beginning to talk about his candidacy with some seriousness but he hardly got any votes on our online poll. If it were not for his frankness and seriousness as demonstrated to me and through his web-site, I would not know how else to grade him, but I am waiting until we see some more sustained and public activity. He did attend Scott Bowling's kickoff and he plans an official announcement in a week so this grade may improve quickly. Upgrade to B NEW: Fox was a guest at Sip N' Blog and has been attending regularly. He had good crowds at both his official announcement and a fund-raiser. He continues to gather signatures to be placed on the ballot and has done some upgrades to his web-site. I've seen some signs up and Fox did attend the Ward One Resident's Association meeting. Upgraded to B Plus. Fox regularly attends Sip N' Blogs, has hosted or is about to host a series of fund-raisers, has beefed up his web-site and advertising and he and his campaign manager Devin Heritage attend city council meetings. I have seen more of his signs around town. Maintained at B Plus. He has organized and attended events, and continues to collect signatures to place him on the ballot, though I believe it is an unfair disadvantage to Independents.
From campaign manager Devin Heritage:
-Fundraisers at Fado, Castlebay and Dock Street in the last 2 weeks.
-Meet and greet in Eastport on 6-14
-Attended the President's Hill Residents Association Summer Picnic on 6/13.
-Made major pushes for signatures in Wards 3, 4, 5 and 7 in the last 2 weeks.
-Hope to make pushes in 3, 7 and 8 this week and weekend.
-All plans indicate that we would like to have the petition to get Chris on the ballot completed before July 1st. At that time we will officially file with the city.
-Planned meet and greet with downtown business owners July 7th at Slyfox to discuss the forthcoming elections and its implications on local businesses.
- Plan to have a presence at the Irish Festival on MD Ave in June
- Plan to have a part in the 4th of July parade
Rating maintained at B Plus, mainly in keeping with my own standards, which require filing to receive an A, although I understand this is likely due to him being an independent and needing all the signatures to actually get on the ballot--a distinct and unfair disadvantage.
With getting on the general ballot, Fox got a big boost and showed he is not only viable but organized and assertive. He continues to be visible, assertive and shows energy and enthusiasm. I think his campaign deserves the grade of A.
 

Democrats

Josh Cohen, announced, actively campaigning, active web-site Rating on April 15^th B He has not yet filed but he is out in the public eye, was a guest at Sip N' Blog, did not gather many votes on CP's online poll, and he is about to open an office. Once he files, he will likely move to an A if he remains active. Rating Today remains at B. He has opened an office, is out in public and I even see some bumper-stickers for him around town. I don't know why he has not filed. His campaign says he is knocking on doors but no details were provided as requested. As with Dave Cordle, he too holds elected office and a full-time job so I give him that benefit. Maintained at B. Cohen is quite busy as a county councilman and budget season has just concluded. He is racking up endorsements and is speaking at another Democratic breakfast. I suspect a lot is going on behind the scenes. For being what many consider to be the presumptive front-runner, I am not seeing much activity and his campaign has not answered requests for updates. Will hold at B for now but we must ask, why has he not yet filed? He has finally filed as a candidate. I expected that filing would have been more of a priority than racking up endorsements for an elected official with this much campaign experience, with staff and an office. He is making some public appearances and I have spotted some of his bumper stickers. I will maintain him at B mainly because when I asked for a bullet list of campaign activity updates, I received a puff-piece extolling the virtues of the candidate and the campaign but no updates of substance upon which to make a determination. With an office and paid staff, one expects better. However, I provide it here in its entirety as written by campaign manager Kathy Nieberding and readers can make their own judgments:

Cohen remains active and visible and has stepped up his presence through advertising (including here, joining the other leading candidates), emails, and is supposedly launching a sign campaign but I have not seen them yet. However, his role as a county council member may have limited his ability to maintain a presence with ongoing city issues. Never the less, I feel that his campaign deserves an "A" as it is clearly assertive, and well-oiled.
Sept 10-The power of money and connections. This campaign remains well-oiled and assertive with phone-calling, many signs going up, lots of fund-raising activities, numerous and fancy campaign mailers,  public appearances, lots of endorsements. Candidate and manager have been exceptionally responsive and forthcoming. Between his family life, full-time job and county council job, I have to wonder how he balances it all--and what are we losing at council? Do not know about his door-knocking activities except he came to my home, but I think the campaign is relying more on big events, endorsements, repeated, colorful and expensive mass mailings, email blasts and signs more than anything else. Cohen has not been performing in public as effectively as he has before, and he seems a bit tired which is understandable, although last night he really shined. Was off-base with his "silly season" email. The momentum will have to remain very high and I can only imagine what is in store for the last few days. Maintained at A.

Sam Shropshire, announced, actively campaigning, active web-site Rating on April 15^th B (has not filed) . He still has not filed, but he is making the rounds and remains in the public eye. I have to downgrade him for not responding to repeated inquiries as to whether he supported putting the city manager petition on the city's website. Rating today down to B minus. He has some web updates and public activity including his ill-advised charter amendment to push the elections back which he quickly withdrew. He has posted a paper about this on his site. Has some events planned. Rating maintained at B minus. Recipient of much recent publicity, albeit unwanted, Shropshire appears to be maintaining a low profile and his original manager Lee Caudle has resigned. Did not reply for requests to update. Rating maintained at B minus and he has not filed. He seems to have become mighty quiet lately and there are no updates at his web-site or events scheduled. He has not filed as a candidate nor has he replied to any communication and I downgrade him to a C.
He waited until the last minute to file and left the City Council meeting to do so, which is cause for concern but he said it was because Jesus had said the last will be first. He was out of touch due to a series of cyber-mishaps and loss of data and ability to communicate. There has been no recent activity on his web-site and although he has maintained some presence, his campaign has faltered and lost steam. In any event, I maintain him at C because he is plugging away..
Sept 10- Shropshire remains an enigma. He is to be arraigned in circuit court on criminal charges the day before the primary yet he remains in the race and plans to introduce a controversial bill the same evening. I am not aware of serious campaign activity but if fund raising is an indication, he has been active in the ward he represents but not so much in other places. He appears at debates and is a powerful public speaker, though he almost always goes way over the time-limit, and grandstands as is his habit. He has not updated his web-site or blog in months yet continually reminds everyone at debates to visit his site. He does not appear to have held any events either. Maintained at C.

Trudy McFall, announced, actively campaigning, papers filed, active web-site Rating on April 15^th A. I would like to see more activity on web-site, but she did get the most votes on CP's online poll and remains active on issues and testifies at city council. Rating Today A. McFall remains actively involved in issues and legislation and testifies at City Council, attended budget hearings, as did her campaign manager Dennis Conti, also a regular at Sip N' Blog. Conti told CP "I can say that Trudy is continuing to door-knock every single Saturday and Sunday and will continue to do so through the elections. I can also say that she has personally door-knocked on over half the Democratic voters in the City." This is the only campaign to provide a specific update on this as requested. McFall was at the recent Ward One meeting as well. I maintain this campaign's rating at A. McFall spoke out on the budget and remains active with city issues along with her campaign manager Dennis Conti who reports, "As of last weekend, she personally completed walking 5 of the 8 wards and has been on a pace of a ward a month". Maintained at A because she is continuing her consistent momentum from early on. As I have come to expect, this candidate responds first and with the most complete answers to my request for campaign updates. I received the following from campaign manager Dennis Conti:
1. Trudy has testified at City Council on the budget and has attended a number of community association meetings and get togethers.
2. She continues to door-knock every weekend and meet voters one-on-one.
3. Trudy has attended a number of meet-and-greets hosted by local residents.
4. Trudy's web site, http://www.trudymcfall.com/ has been updated with the following (see Breaking News on her home page): Trudy's Letter to the Editor on the City Budget, her response to interview questions, and an overview of her efforts helping Annapolitans with housing. Regarding filing status, Trudy filed a political committee on August 30, 2007 so that she could begin to raise and spend money, as required by City Code. On January 13, 2009 she filed for candidacy for Mayor. Maintained at A.
McFall has demonstrated great staying power and has posted signs all over town, sent out mailers, knocked on doors and more than any other candidate has consistently remained active and visible in a host of city legislative issues. Her campaign is maintained at A.
September 10-Has run the longest and most sustained campaign, has raised the most money, and has the most cash on hand so something big must be about to happen any minute!  Has appeared at every debate, and has certainly knocked on more doors than any other candidate. While her speaking skills are a little rough, she genuinely connect with her audience at times, while at others seems less comfortable. Her responsiveness and accessibility has been second to none as she is almost always the first to answer questions, or provide information when I inquire. Her web-site, while it could use better design, is constantly updated and provides more details about her stands and positions than that of any other candidate. Her signs are just about as prominent as are Cohen's signs. McFall is the only candidate who I have consistently rated as "A" since I began rating candidates and A is where she remains in the home stretch.


Zina Pierre, announced, active campaign and web-site Rating on April 15^th C Has not yet filed but her announcement was well organized and attended and she got a close second place finish on CP's online poll. Plenty of campaign material but still not much writing of substance or positions on issues. Still not well known outside of core support group but is showing momentum. Was guest at Sip N Blog. Rating Today Upgraded to B. She has been coming to Sip N' Blogs, City Council meetings, has been updating her web-site, has sent out news releases, and has some events planned. She spoke to the Ward One Resident's Association. The campaign has shown great energy in the last few weeks and it looks as if this momentum will continue. I'll upgrade her to an A. Pierre has put on some events, attends city council meeting, other events and has an active web-site. She writes, "We have been door knocking for the past month and a half, however we have put flyers in various communities for the past two months. To date, we have been in parts of Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 8. Because these are such large wards, we will finish knocking doors in 5, 6, and 7 first and then repeat all of them as we continue. In between walks I am touring different parts of the city with residents sharing their concerns in various communities and we are steadily continuing our community conversations in the homes of interested voters." I'll maintain her at A. Zina has had some events and appearances and normally responds to communications but not in this instance. The energy which her campaign began with has seems to stall a bit. Downgraded to A Minus. Pierre has shown renewed energy and drive and has held gatherings where voters can meet her face-to-face. She has walked in my n'hood and passed out campaign literature and many signs are appearing. Her campaign is upgraded back to an A.
Sept 10    Despite looking for an office for months, she was finally able to open just a few weeks before the primary which is a testament to her tenaciousness and commitment to take it to the general. Has attracted many enthusiastic and friendly volunteers, put up lots of signs, held many public events and appeared at all debates. Although her ability to light up an audience was most evident at her announcement speech, her speaking skills seemed to have worn a bit thin, but she still comes off with passion and sincerity. Though a distant third in fund-raising, her campaign has through sheer vitality and creativity made many positive impressions and getting Bill Clinton to do a "robo-call" probably buoyed her along. Ads on 1430 WNAV will not hurt either. At first appearing as a long-shot, I'd have to give her the most improved campaigner badge and say she is clearly in the running. Maintained at A.

Wayne Taylor, announced, actively campaigning, inactive web-site Rating on April 15^th C His web-site is still a big nothing, he has held some public meetings and knocked on doors. Where's his literature? Upgrade to C plus this time because he's making the rounds with public meetings. Where is Wayne? I have not heard a word and he has not answered email. His web-site is still a big nothing. He has not yet filed. Downgraded to D. He held a fund-raiser on a boat last night but I have not received a report. His web-site remains a big nothing--a big, outdated nothing at this point which did not even promote his fund-raiser. He did appear at a Democratic breakfast. It's very hard to find his stand on issues or his record as an alderman. Moved up to C Minus because there are at least some signs of life. He has not yet filed nor did he provided an update despite two personal email requests. Wayne has had little activity, no updates to his web-site, and has not provided any information nor has he filed although he indicated to me that he is finally getting a web-site up. That web-site is now up and it is a slight improvement over the original disaster. Similar to his earlier site, there is a big picture of the candidate looking very serious with an American flag draped in the background, but the stars on the right and the bars are on the left (?). There remains little if anything of substance on this site and I cannot understand why he seems to have such trouble providing information about himself or articulating his positions. He has not yet filed. I have to downgrade this campaign to a D.
As with Flyntz, I wish I could say something positive but Taylor just does not appear to be making an impact at any level. His fetid web-site still includes his "Five Points of Life" a vague collection of almost imperceptible ramblings that seem to suggest more government involvement in every aspect of life and more government funding of social programs. He has clothing for sale with his photo but where is the beef? Plus, the police raid on the storefront which supposedly also housed his campaign headquarters and was owned by his campaign manager did not help. He sent an email blast and none of the links to his web-site were active. Did not attend CP's debate. Maintained at D.
Sept 10-Lagging in fund-raising but heavy on the personal drive and energy, Taylor has the ability to wow an audience with his speaking skills and positive messages, although his messages often seem a bit unclear. I do not believe his energy and positive demeanor has caught on. A respectable number of signs have gone up and he has attended most debates, but both his literature and his web-site tell us remarkably little about the candidate. He spent over $500 to give out beads at the July Fourth parade and thousands on a fund raiser on a boat which appears to have gained him nothing. Email blasts have misspellings and typos and days and dates have been mismatched. Maintained at C due to his energy and enthusiasm.

Gil Renaut, I believe he has announced perhaps not with a public presence or kickoff party, but he has not filed, and his web-site is hardly active, so I'm gonna have to go with Rating of C on April 15^th. Renaut got a respectable third on our online poll, he is seen at Sip N' Blog and was a guest but his web-site is still barely adequate and I don't see any literature. I'll upgrade him to a C plus/B minus. The candidate stays in touch with CP, attends Sip N' Blogs but I see little evidence of an active campaign or web-site, although he is making some public appearances such as at the Ward One Resident's Association meeting where he said he is hiring professional staff. Maintained at C plus/B minus mainly because of lack of web-site activity. Renaut continues to attend Sip N' Blogs, city council meetings and made minor additions to his web-site. He has not yet filed nor did he provide an update. Maintained at C plus/B minus. The candidate says he has done some door knocking in his own ward and he posts some occasional thoughts on his web-site. He said he was hiring professionals but no word on that yet. He has finally filed so I maintain him at C plus/B minus, but we expect some more activity.
Renaut's campaign has yet to take off and the candidate gives the appearance of being hesitant or unsure about how to campaign. He created a brief video on his web-site, but it added nothing to our understanding of the candidate who seems not yet to have found his voice. He begins by saying "I want your vote" and speaks of the need for outreach but seems to be doing little actual outreach. He concludes by saying "I need your vote". However, he is appearing and speaking in public and seems to be doing better behind the microphone. I slightly downgrade the campaign to C.
September 10-Continuing to give the impression that he is not as serious or committed to being mayor as the other candidates are, he appears to have taken a lot of bad advice from consultants in attempting to fashion an image of him--based on a peculiar photograph with a blue sky in the background--and in making a videotape on his web-site--but doing nothing to drive visitors to that web-site which seems disorganized and poorly designed. Although he has been very responsive and communicative with me, perhaps if he focused on signs, a hand-bill and door-knocking he would have been connecting better with voters but I get the impression that he does not want to do a lot of the necessary door-knocking.  Curiously, he does not seem to be reminding voters that he came within striking distance of the current mayor in the last election. He has gotten better at speaking in public, though at one debate, lost track of what he was saying and offered a silent blank stare for a few seconds--twice. He comes across as bright, sincere, willing to listen to, understand and represent citizens. He has lagged in fund-raising, and seems uncomfortable asking for money as he is asking for our vote in his ill-conceived and probably expensive videotape. Maintained at C.

 
Laurie Sears Deppa...Our newest candidate, recently switched from Republican to Democrat, enters a crowded field at the eleventh hour with virtually no name recognition. This would suggest either a very powerful if not brazen "devil may care" attitude at best...or at worst, something else entirely. She does have a web-site up but may have gotten more publicity through her appearance on a video doing a dance. She announced on a Tuesday afternoon at a downtown restaurant and she appeared articulate at the HACA forum but said she did not know about it until two hours before (??). She did not attend CP''s recent debate because she had to attend to family matters. At first I thought it would not be fair to grade this, as we did not have much to go on or a track record to review, but realized that's not anyone's fault but her own, so I'll give her a C because at least she made a web-site and appeared in public and of course, she has filed.
Sept 10 Interestingly, her initials are LSD and with her energy and more energy and flowery demeanor, she is her own best cheerleader. She has probably stood at more street corners waving a sign more than has any other candidate. She puts on events and shows up at other events with a very busy, high enthusiasm schedule urging supporters to wear t-shirts showing their support. She often moves around on bicycle for which I salute her. Has not raised much money but has put a few signs up. Has appeared at debates and exhibits good speaking skills but not always up on or clear about the issues. I'm tired of hearing the same story about how she ran the sister cities program, donated a kidney and helped "a poor, young black girl in court."  It is clear that she is enthusiastic, hardworking and compassionate. I am not sure if her goal is to be mayor or to simply use this campaign as a stepping stone to run for delegate. This would have been the perfect opportunity for her to either run as a Republican (she was a convention delegate in 2004!) or to run for Alderman in Ward Two, where the incumbent is unopposed. Her commitment and vitality make for a winning combination--though I must say, and perhaps I am overstepping here,  I am not sure if it's a combination suited for the political arena but I give her a B because she is so hardworking and energetic.