A Letter To The Editor: Conway - Anderton debate

Joe,

Today I watched Mayor Carl Anderton thoroughly debunk the myth that Delegate Conway has been a good representative for our area. The differences between the two were stark. Anderton offered details. He gave the audience accurate unemployment numbers for both Wicomico County and the Salisbury area. He gave two different job creation initiatives. He talked about how Conway goes along with budget increases, new taxes, increasing old taxes, the rain tax. I learned that the state has raises $9 billion in new taxes but turned around and spent $10 billion. How in the world do you increase spending by $9 billion and still run a structural deficit? And if Norm is so powerful in Annapolis, why didn't he stop any of this? Where is his power? Sounds like a crock to me.

Back to the debate. Why did Anderton offer two job creation plans?

Because he’s a smart enough leader to know that it doesn’t matter how good the plan is, if the Governor vetoes it. So he had a plan designed for a Hogan administration and a plan designed for a Brown administration. To me, that shows great foresight. Conway had no answer. Why didn't the Daily Times print this?

What did Conway offer?

He read from a prepared statement. Delegate Conway should thank his lucky stars that there was no Q&A portion, because Anderton was obviously knowledgeable and had a grasp of all the issues with data to back it up. However, I did learn that Conway was a lifelong resident of the eastern shore (so is Carl) and that he was friends with many fine people who are no longer in public service. That was about it. Norm’s argument seemed to be that people should vote for him because he’s an incumbent. He offered zero in plans to help create jobs. Zero details on how to curb spending. Zero details on taxes. Zero defense of raising taxes on people during the worst economic environment since the great depression. All he had was stories. I was shocked, disappointed and a bit angry. Who could possibly vote for that his non-platform or his record of tax and fee increases and job killing policies?

What else did Mayor Anderton offer?

His personal cell phone number, while Norm Conway said that email was “the wave of the future” (even Jeremy Cox’s slanted article couldn’t resist mentioning that ridiculous statement). Carl is the rare public servant that puts his personal cell phone number on every piece of literature he hands out. If Conway thinks email is “the wave of the future” I’m not sure he even has a cell phone. Conway also said that he talked to the Montgomery County delegation meeting and said he wanted to the eastern shore to be a part of the "silicone valley of the east".

How do you suppose a delegate who believes that email is "the waive of the future" will bring tech jobs?

In addition, Carl is responsive to the residents of Delmar and if anyone has a problem they can and do call him directly. You don’t have to email a generic email address and get a form letter back from a staffer. You don’t have to call a person in his office and wait for a response. While Jim Perdue recently made news wondering why the poultry industry doesn’t have a “seat at the table” I wonder why Norm Conway has never given the residents of Wicomico County a seat at the table!

This is my takeaway:

Delegate Norm Conway is living in the past, has no plan to create a better future for the eastern shore and could never be counted on to bring tech jobs to the area.

Mayor Anderton is passionate about being our representative, is engaged, engaging, knowledgeable, and has a plan to bring sorely needed jobs to our area.

I’m voting for Mayor Carl Anderton and I hope your readers will as well.