<div>Voters of Riverdale Park,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best wishes, </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Vern</div>
<div> </div>
<div>---- <br>Vernon Archer, Mayor<br>Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland </div>