In District 2 – Campbell Deserves Another Term

In Salisbury’s District 2, Salisbury voters face another clear choice.  The issues, and approaches, are akin to night and day (forgive the pun).
For eight years Campbell has worked diligently to give citizens a prudent, fiscally conservative voice on city council.  She can claim credit for stopping two tax hikes proposed by incumbent mayor Jim Ireton.  The recent pay increase for city police officers – something promised for years – finally became a reality thanks to Campbell’s leadership.  Mundane actions, such as putting the city’s insurance out to bid, and sundry cost savings in other areas have saved taxpayer dollars and will continue to pay dividends into the future.  Debbie Campbell can be compared to a work horse.  She may not be flashy, but she gets things done.
Campbell’s opponent, Jake Day, is the mirror opposite.  Day’s campaign has been flashy.  Day has proposed grandiose schemes – some with merit, others not.  An informed voter can quickly sweep away the chaff and find an overriding theme: Day wants to return to the era of the “Dream Team”.  Day’s proposals harken back to the era of handing out millions in taxpayer subsidies to residential developers while the city moved to the brink of fiscal ruin.  It should not be a surprise that the same people who handed Salisbury over to a select few, and wasted tens of millions of dollars, are some of Day’s most ardent supporters and campaign contributors.
By giving lip service to consensus and civility, Day hopes that voters will buy into the meme that Campbell, et al, are the cause of the city’s woes.  However, if one attends council meetings and work sessions – something Day has rarely done – the objective observer knows that it is Day allies Jim Ireton, Laura Mitchell, and Shanie Shields who are the primary cause of discord and uncivil behavior.

Voters should be reminded that it was Ireton and Shields who literally stood on a soapbox and implied that the council majority were racists – while Mitchell stood nearby and clapped.

What concerns us most about Day’s campaign – and what will probably take him to victory tomorrow – is the fact that national special interests are pouring tens of thousands of dollars into promoting Day’s candidacy.  Equally as disturbing is Day’s denial that this has even occurred.  Voters should not trust a candidate who doesn’t hesitate to deny such an easily provable fact.
The choice in District 2 is as simple as it is clear: Does Salisbury deserve a council member who will work (albeit ploddingly) in their best interests, or does Salisbury want a slick, flashy candidate that will take it back to the brink of bankruptcy?  We hope that Salisbury chooses the former – Debbie Campbell.