[RP TownTalk] TownTalk Digest, Vol 9, Issue 21

Wed Apr 18 16:07:47 UTC 2007

Adrianne,

You can get the results of all votes from town staff. Send email requests to
riverdaleparkmd at comcast.net

Best wishes,

Vernon

On 4/17/07, euniverz at aol.com <euniverz at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  If free press means hand bills and lawn signs, one wastes trees and the
> other amounts to eye litter (don't get me wrong, I'm all for free press!).
> I believe they are both useful vehicles for information but they are
> certainly not enough.  I say, more electrons, less trees!
>
> I work late, am not home weekends, and have a loud dog (as David can
> attest).  While I appreciate the time it takes to canvass neighborhoods, my
> schedule makes it an impractical way for me to learn about candidates.  I am
> sure there are others like me who have similar constraints.
>
> Also, there is often a question of not knowing enough of what is going on
> to even know to ask about it.  That's why I consider the idea of an
> organized candidates forum, even in tiny Riverdale Park, to be a valid one.
> I'm sure there is a way to make it effective for candidates to use TownTalk
> without becoming unbearable.  I'm not sure I understand how we as a
> community can afford to be distant from town politics!  It almost sounded
> like the town legislators, perhaps unintentionally, threw up some barriers
> to discourse thinking there was a lack of interest on our parts.
>
> Since we're going to have to find out the information ourselves, I would
> like to know how the individual councilmembers voted on this issue.  Do I
> contact Town Hall for that information, or can that information be
> disseminated here?
>
> Adrianne Lefkowitz
> Madison Street
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:56:11 -0400
> From: "Vernon Archer" <varcher at gmail.com>
> Subject: [RP TownTalk] Forum--in person debate and via Town Talk
> To: TownTalk <TownTalk at riverdale-park.org>
> Message-ID:
>     <f86ada2a0704160356x25eb7983s1c3f0e1cb158121c at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Voters of Riverdale Park,
>
> There has been a variety of comment over the last several weeks about
> using
> the Town Crier, and Town Talk for publishing statements from candidates
> for
> office, and also about having a separate "forum" of candidates.  I would
> like to express some thought on these matters and clarify some of the
> official actions taken by the town.
>
> First, regarding the idea of a Town Crier "forum."  The Charter of our
> town
> forbids using any town resources for "electioneering" without the express
> permission of the Town Council.  This is in keeping with both the
> tradition
> of Federal and Maryland Election Law.  We have a free press, and the
> freedom
> of speech to allow us to get out our message.  I recommended to the
> Council
> as they debated the issue of allowing electioneering via the Crier and
> Town
> Talk, to only allow this if there is no reasonable way for candidates to
> get
> their message out to voters via the private press, or individual action.
>
> The council decided that publishing the names of candidates, with their
> email addresses, and any web or blog site was adequate to provide
> potential
> voters with information about candidate positions.  In a town as small as
> ours we do not get much press coverage, however it is easy to get in touch
> with individual candidates/office holders via phone, email, or personal
> contact.  We also have a strong tradition of candidates going door to door
>
> to meet with constituents face to face.
>
> My read on the Council position is this: if you want to know a particular
> candidates position on a particular issue, you can get it with very little
> effort. If you find a candidate difficult to get a response from, that
> probably tells you something right there ;-} Therefore, the Council
> decided
> not to break with the clear intent of the Town Charter, Maryland and
> Federal
> Election Law.
>
> Town staff should have the list of candidates, with contact information
> posted today.  I would also like to point out this is earlier and more
> widespread than has ever been the case in previous elections.
>
> Before leaving this topic, I want to say when I created Town Talk by
> executive order, I intended it as a means of residents sharing information
>
> about topics of common interest that would be as distanced from electoral
> politics as possible. The fact that residents are clearly interested in
> politics makes it a very hard line to draw, and I thank the council for
> taking up the responsibility of making policy for Town Talk.
>
> Regarding a live candidates forum, the issues are similar.  In elections
> recently past, there have been only candidate forums under the auspices of
>
> private organizations or persons.   The town only allowed the use of town
> hall space after council action and under the control of a non-government
> organization/private citizens.  Under such circumstances, a forum would
> clearly be a positive and welcome idea.
>
> The Council could act on a motion to provide a space for a forum on our
> April 30 meeting, but in order to make that happen, private organizers
> would
> have to get everything lined up very soon.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Vern
>
> ----
> Vernon Archer, Mayor
> Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
>
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-- 
Vernon Archer, Mayor
Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
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