By William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 29, 2006
With Election Day nearing, Calvert County voters, candidates and their supporters packed the Huntingtown High School auditorium Thursday night for what was billed as the county's last and biggest candidate forum.
More than 40 candidates, vying for an array of state and county offices, waited patiently as the moderator called them to the stage in groups and then grilled them on local issues.
The League of Women Voters of Calvert County, which organized the event, strictly enforced a one-minute limit on all answers and introductions. But with so many candidates -- all looking to score rhetorical points with potential voters -- the event lasted almost four hours.
"It's an important service for the community," said Robert Kelly, a Huntingtown voter and assistant Boy Scout master who had boys from Troop 903 help out at the forum. "The only way to understand and really know the candidates is to see them in person -- how they act, how they talk, how confident they are. Otherwise they're just another name in the paper."
In some races, the questions submitted by audience members on cards given to the moderator illuminated clear differences between candidates. In the competition for the northern Calvert state delegate seat, for example, the styles of Republican David F. Hale and Democrat Sue Kullen contrasted sharply.
Kullen, who was appointed to the seat two years ago, often answered questions with explanations of her approaches to legislation.
When asked about whether retirees should be exempted from certain taxes, Kullen talked about the need to balance the state budget and to weigh the needs of various constituents such as military families, teachers and retirees. By comparison, Hale responded, "No caveats, no qualifications. Yes, I would support that."
"I think sometimes candidates hide behind the complexity of issues," Hale said after the forum. "I'm not saying that's what Sue was doing, but the short answer is my style. There's a way even when the issue is complex to give clean, clear answers."
Kullen described her approach as collaborative. "I don't pretend I have all the answers," she said. "I want to work with communities to work toward an answer and seek input."
Although both have been campaigning for months, the forum last week was their first and perhaps only encounter in public. Both described their contest as generally cordial.
"We say hi every time we see each other," Hale said. "I can't speak for the state committees, but we haven't gone negative."
Kullen, however, noted a direct mailing sent by the Republican House Slate Committee displaying pictures of children and claiming that Kullen "failed our children" and "voted to hurt these kids."
The most dramatic exchanges of the evening came during introductions for the state's attorney candidates.
In his opening statement, incumbent E. Gregory Wells (D) blasted challenger Laura L. Martin (R), saying she ran a "campaign of misinformation" and alluding to court cases in which, he claimed, she was soft on sexual assault predators, an issue she has campaigned on aggressively.
Martin responded by criticizing Wells as an ineffective leader and poor mentor and for creating an ineffective system for domestic violence cases.
That sort of combativeness is to be expected in a race pitting one prosecutor against another, Martin said. Her only complaints were the one-minute time constraint and the question-and-answer format that limited responses. "It would have been nice if we were able to rebut things," she said.
Assertiveness was not confined to the lawyers, showing up in some down-ballot pairings, such as the county treasurer race.
Democratic challenger Grace Mary Brady charged that Republican incumbent Nova Tracy-Soper perpetually relegates residents who call the treasurer's office to an answering machine and allows checks to languish for weeks before being deposited, which Brady said costs the county interest income.
Tracy-Soper defended her office's operations, saying that an overwhelming volume of checks arrive in September when county property taxes are due. She said the answering machine is used only to give residents basic tax information.
"People shouldn't be saying, 'It's only a treasurer or register of wills position,' " Brady said after the debate. "If the taxpayers are paying that salary, then it's important they choose the best person for the job."
The longest and most complicated portion of the forum came at the end, when the 11 candidates for the five county commissioner seats took the stage. The questions asked by moderator Patrick J. Griffin, a public affairs professor at American University, focused on issues that the candidates have been stressing for months: growth, property taxes and affordable housing.
Particularly on the issue of reducing property taxes, the candidates were divided, with incumbents largely on one side and challengers on the other.
"Tonight, you're going to hear a lot about what can't be done," said Republican challenger Cal Steuart, who has claimed on ubiquitous posters that he would cut taxes. "But I say it can be done."
"People keep talking about cutting taxes, but what are they going to cut to make that happen?" said Republican incumbent Gerald W. Clark (Lusby), who pointed out that board members had been fiscally conservative, balancing a budget that had repeatedly dipped into county reserves in past years.
The board has cut as much as it can without undermining services, said incumbent Wilson H. Parran (D-At Large). "We have great roads. We have great schools," he said. "You cannot cut yourself to greatness."
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