(This blog post has been updated since the original publishing - see details below.)
This coming Wednesday at the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce candidate debates I'll be participating in some post-debate analysis with my colleagues on the Palladium-Item Editorial Board.
As a part of researching for that and for my own voting, I went in search of information that state and county candidates have made available online about themselves and their views, especially in contested races.
What I found was disappointing: state and local candidates are barely making any information at all about themselves and their views, plans and credentials available to voters.
Of the 14 candidates for the various offices below, only one candidate had a campaign website (hats off to Jeremiah Morrell for his stand-out use of the web and social media in his campaign). Most candidates have chosen not to answer the various issue surveys sent out to them by non-partisan voter education efforts like Project Vote Smart. Any substance at all is mostly only found through articles and bios published by the Palladium-Item.
The end result is that voters wanting to do some online research to educate themselves about their options in the upcoming election will be largely unsatisfied. This doesn't bode well for future government transparency or for the use of digital tools to improve the quality of our democracy, at least in this neck of the woods.
Here's the limited information I was able to find; I didn't include the gubernatorial or education-related candidates yet, but wil try to add those soon:
State Representative - District 56
- Mark Brim
- Dick Hamm
- Phil Phlum
- Project Vote Smart Record (including voting records and campaign finance reports)
- Ballotpedia Record
- Indiana House Democratic Caucus Page
- Several different Facebook pages here, here and here
State Representative - District 54
- Jeremiah Morrell
- Official website: http://www.jeremiahmorrell.com/ (including an issues page)
- Facebook page
- Twitter account
- Project Vote Smart Record (including issue positions and campaign finance reports)
- Ballotpedia Record
- Tom Saunders
Wayne County Council
- District 2
- David L. Brock - no information found
- Mary Anne Butters
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryanne.butters (Mary Anne indicated to me that she would accept friend requests from anyone who submits them; I've removed the link to her inactive Twitter account that was here previously.)
- At-Large
- Chris Beeson - no information found
- Monica Burns - no information found
- Mark Hoelscher
- Campaign Website: http://hoelscher.lpin.org/
- Gary Saunders - no information found
- Rodger Smith - no information found
Wayne County Coroner
- Tracy Lewis - no information found
- Ron Stevens - no information found
General Information
- List of all candidates on the 2012 General Election Ballot (via Wayne County government)
- Pal-Item article, "Election Enthusiasm" (see list of related stories for lots of different election coverage)
- Palladium-Item Voter Guide (with candidate bios and interviews)
Update on Wednesday October 17th: I've gotten some feedback about this post that indicates some have interpreted my statements above as implying that candidates aren't making themselves available to voters in the course of their campaigns. I want to clarify that by no means am I suggesting candidates aren't making themselves available, or that they're otherwise not working really hard to connect with voters. The purpose of this post was to put myself in the position of the average voter who may not have attended any debates, speaking events or fairs/festivals, and who is sitting down at their computer to research the candidates they're being asked to vote for. As I've written in the past, there's a difference between the candidates being responsive and accessible, and being proactively transparent about their views and approach to governance.
As someone who does website development professionally, I guess I have a bias toward the use of the Internet for that proactive transparency and information-sharing. I understand not every candidate is going to see the creation of a campaign website as a good investment of their limited time or campaign dollars. But given that you can use these online tools to make your case for election to any given voter 24/7, I'm not sure there are many investments that are more important or responsible, even in very local elections. Putting up even just a single page somewhere that lists out your views on issues related to the office you're running for can cost $0 and, if you've already developed your campaign platform, just a few minutes. I think the modern voter deserves that level of effort from any candidate who could have a significant impact on the expenditure of their tax dollars or the education of their children.
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Thanks for noticing Jeremiah Morrell. He is a great Libertarian and an excellent candidate. I think the redistricting will serve him well this election, especially if enough Democrats are willing to split their ticket.
Thank you! I have posted this particular blog in several places and asking Misty Hollis to comment! Thank you again...being informed takes so much work many are not able or willing to do and you are doing it! Lynn Loring
I was disappointed the Chamber of Commerce didn't include District 54 in the debates, since it includes part of Wayne County.
As a countywide candidate for Wayne County Commissioner, I have responded to absolutely EVERY request. Project Vote Smart has never contacted me, unless it was via Twitter, of all places, that was corrupted and I abandoned. I have reached out to thousands in person and I am on Facebook. My email and phone numbers have been published widely. My name and phone number is actually listed in the phone book. Google me and receive dozens of hits that summarize my positions on many issues. I have attended more than 50 meetings throughout the county, have spoken numerous times at public meetings throughout the county. And, I have walked door-to-door. I requested a meeting with the Pal-Item Editorial Board and was allowed to "pop in" for a few minutes, though I had hoped for much more. Sorry, I don't have a website. But, I have worked very hard to reach you and every resident of Wayne County. Twitter does not allow enough characters to explain my plans to: Grow jobs, increase Assessed Valuation, establish a Task Force on Jobs, hold Job Fairs and Scholarship Fairs for adults, bring about strict enforcement of Open Door Laws and stop the unnecessary killing of healthy animals at taxpayers expense. As a member of the Editorial Board, would you please try to convince the newspaper's management to actually publish the Voter Guide on newsprint? My phone number is: 886-5098 Cell: 238-3059.
Say one thing Richmond is dying town and in my opinion sad what happening top Richmond and how poor it is and the poverty here and all the drugs and robberies, slumlords and blight and abandon buildings and temps taking all the jobs in Wayne County
also hardly any tax base for Wayne county either and a town not growing either
O well
my rant for the day
East sider
Michael Ladd