Can't Buy Me Love (Or Elections)

This Commissioner election has witnessed unprecedented spending by candidate Portia Dunst. So far, there have been three Portia Dunst mailings. Besides the cost of printing, one was a letter at 41 cents postage per voter and the other two postcards at 26 cents per voter postage. With 432 registered voters that comes to $401.76.

Two of the mailings were promoting a campaign rally at the Medifast office in Ridgely. Despite all the expensive publicity, few showed.

Their type of lawn sign/posters are printed on both sides and cost (with their stands) more than $6.00 each. Dunst posters are everywhere in the town's public spaces and a few at homes. And, of course, there is the pick-up truck with the huge and expensive sign trolling about town. Total spending could easily top $1000.00. While this is astronomical for the average Ridgelyite, it's nothing when you have a corporation to lean on as Dunst, a manager of Medifast, does. Most of her signs are at a handful of employee houses and according to my observations, her main and nearly only campaign "volunteer" is an employee of Medifast.

In the past, I know that elections cost very little. Commissioner Gearhart spent about $40.00 for photocopies and signs -- volunteers on the "shoe leather express" did the rest. Today, I know Kathy Smith won't be spending anywhere near the amount of her opponent. She doesn't have a large corporation behind her. She does , however, have concerned Ridgely citizens and her supporters are helping out buying some single sided signs or making and painting larger signs, printing brochures on their PCs and going door to door.

In another unprecedented move, the Dunst campaign has been distributing a Town Manager "press release" that he rushed out Thursday. His statement is a budget proposal which the Commissioners of Ridgely have NEVER SEEN! Our town budget is $162.716.00 off because of money borrowed from the water/sewer fund. I don't think that the money to solve this problem magically showed up in Ridgely. What I do think, is that the Town Manager is playing politics in our Commissioner race, painting a rosy and UNREAL picture of the town's situation. The Town Manager's rush to get the "press release" out, and the Dunst campaign's massive (this was a huge and expensive color print job) use of it, shows that this episode is really about electing a cheerleader for the Town Manager to our Commission.

In terms of campaign spending, our town is witnessing a David and Goliath like struggle for what has been a progressive Commission seat. We the people still have a chance. We are still a small town, and the TRADITIONAL means of getting elected Commissioner will prevail over big money. Kathy Smith is our "David" and she's going to win the campaign battle for Ridgely!