While the overwhelming margins of victory won by both Salisbury Mayor-elect Jim Ireton and Councilwoman Debbie Campbell sound the death knell of the Barrie Comegys party, hope remains in District 1. There, incumbent Shanie Shields is tied with Cynthia Polk after last Tuesday's election, the Absentee I canvas and the Provisional canvas. Friday's Absentee II canvas, with five (5) District 1 ballots will prove to be the rubber match.
Voters throughout the city are asking, "How can this election possibly be so close?" Scandalously low turnout is one obvious answer. However, it is our opinion that turnout is only part of the answer.
While no charges of electoral impropriety have been leveled by the Polk camp - yet - there is certainly the appearance of impropriety on several fronts. A family member of Shields served as an election judge - at the sole District 1 polling place. Voters from the east side of District 1 were deliberately disenfranchised when the Tilghman administration and its rubber stamp council refused to allow those residents the opportunity to vote at Harvest Baptist Church - literally blocks from a very large block of District 1 voters. The city electoral board, Barrie Tilghman appointees all, refused to segregate challenged absentee ballots. Not leaving SAPOA out of the mix, one witness has come forward claiming that they were paid to vote and hauled to St. James AME Zion Church (the District 1 polling place) by their landlord. This is in additon to the persistent rumors of such behavior by Salisbury's leading slumlords.
Even if Shields manages to scratch out a 1 vote win, what little credibility she had maintained is effectively gone. If the Barrie Comegys council bloc of Louise Smith and Gary Comegys acts to stop the change voters clearly want it will take little more than a warm body to defeat either in 2011.
Hold tight Salisbury. Friday should be interesting. While Polk could challenge a defeat on multiple fronts, Shields cannot challenge. To date, Shields has failed to send a single representative to the Electoral Board canvasses. Perhaps she assumed that City Attorney Paul Wilber and the Tilghman appointed electoral board would serve as her proxies. Perhaps they did. Unfortunately for Shields, I doubt any would publicly admit to error or wrongdoing to help her out.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
G. A. Harrison publishes Delmarva Dealings and the Campaign Edge. In addition, he is a regular contributor to Salisbury News and Red Maryland.
Voters throughout the city are asking, "How can this election possibly be so close?" Scandalously low turnout is one obvious answer. However, it is our opinion that turnout is only part of the answer.
While no charges of electoral impropriety have been leveled by the Polk camp - yet - there is certainly the appearance of impropriety on several fronts. A family member of Shields served as an election judge - at the sole District 1 polling place. Voters from the east side of District 1 were deliberately disenfranchised when the Tilghman administration and its rubber stamp council refused to allow those residents the opportunity to vote at Harvest Baptist Church - literally blocks from a very large block of District 1 voters. The city electoral board, Barrie Tilghman appointees all, refused to segregate challenged absentee ballots. Not leaving SAPOA out of the mix, one witness has come forward claiming that they were paid to vote and hauled to St. James AME Zion Church (the District 1 polling place) by their landlord. This is in additon to the persistent rumors of such behavior by Salisbury's leading slumlords.
Even if Shields manages to scratch out a 1 vote win, what little credibility she had maintained is effectively gone. If the Barrie Comegys council bloc of Louise Smith and Gary Comegys acts to stop the change voters clearly want it will take little more than a warm body to defeat either in 2011.
Hold tight Salisbury. Friday should be interesting. While Polk could challenge a defeat on multiple fronts, Shields cannot challenge. To date, Shields has failed to send a single representative to the Electoral Board canvasses. Perhaps she assumed that City Attorney Paul Wilber and the Tilghman appointed electoral board would serve as her proxies. Perhaps they did. Unfortunately for Shields, I doubt any would publicly admit to error or wrongdoing to help her out.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
G. A. Harrison publishes Delmarva Dealings and the Campaign Edge. In addition, he is a regular contributor to Salisbury News and Red Maryland.
19 comments:
As always, thank you GA!
Is the voter who was paid to vote being investigated?
did anyone happen to catch Shields' response to Campbell's request to delay the PAC 14 nominations last night at the council meeting? what a joke. doesn't say much for the opinions of the folks who voted for her again. hard to believe anyone would want her to serve any longer. most of her votes are probably from people who have never even witnessed her incompetence at a council meeting.
Anon 10:36 - Nobody is investigating anything. It doesn't matter how much proof of voter fraud you have, apparently those behind it have friends in high places.
This whole thing smells like the odor from the WWTP.
Barrie was also observed hauling persons into the District 1 polling place last week. By midday last Tuesday the Barrie-Gary gang realized that they were not going to turn the tide in the mayor's or District 2 races and concentrated on trying to salvage Shanie's seat.
I saw SAPOA members driving people to the polls. That doesn't necessarily mean fraud, but it ain't good.
Stewart Leer hauled his tenants in to District 1 polls as well.
Mr Leer, the guy who was quoted in the Daily Times railing against Jim that there was no conspiracy of SAPOA members to influence the election? Nah, it couldn't have been him or that would be hypocritical!
I was told shanie lives in Princess Anne so what is she doing on Salisbury City Council anyhow? This really needs to be looked into!
4:03
No, Shanie lives in Salisbury in a house supplied by a SAPOA member. Remember who she lost hers to bankruptcy when her husband died, as she claimed in the Daily Times? Yeah, the Barrie-Gary machine took care of her, alright.
This is a big mess! Shanie was observed stuffing mounds of envelopes in the VFW the week before the election. I wonder how much she was paid to malign Jim Ireton. Word on the street is that the sole election judge at District 1's polling place at St. James Church is a family member of Shanie's. Does she have special considerations?
I really don't know why Shanie Shields lied about her education as noted in the Daily Times of Sunday April 5,2009. Shanie did NOT graduate high school, did NOT attend Salisbury University for two years,1976-1978, nor did she graduate Wor-Wic Community College with an Associate Degree in "Office Technology". The old heads know her history. ALL OF IT!
Not Shanie hanging out at VFW #10159 playing the slot machines and drinking imported beer? That's her birds nest allright. Where does she get the money to live so high on the hog? Shanie may even be the easiest to get recalled, if we can get a lot more recall signatures than she got votes it will also indicate some funny business. One of the three puppet people have to go and I think she will be a cinch to recall, let's get something organized post haste. If everyone that helped in the election process gets involved this won't take long at all.
Tell us more about the envelopes at the VFW. What was in them?
The envelopes were being stuffed with those malicious letters to defame Jim Ireton and Debbie Campbell. They were mailed all over creation. A friend of mine e-mailed it to me from D.c.
We're not fans of Shanie, but you don't know what was written on whatever she was stuffing in envelopes.
I saw the return address labels which clearly stated Citizens Who Care'.
Anon 6:48, I can read and English is my mother tongue.
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