More Commissioner Analysis
I saw three articles today analysing the Cumberland County GOP Commissioners’ race.
The best of the three is by Lowman Henry:
Gerald Morrison, Chairman of the Modern Transit Partnership (and attorney in a firm that could possibly benefit financially should the transit system be built) says the election was not a referendum on the issue. It was. Voters in Cumberland County, as would voters in other mid-state counties if they had the opportunity, voiced their opposition to the plan which would inevitably result in significantly higher county and/or regional taxes to fund if the system were actually built.
Cumberland County GOP Chairman Vic Stabile, whose endorsement of Gunnison blew up in his face, claimed the election was more complex than one issue. That is true, but it doesn’t mean Corridor One was not the main and dominant issue. In fact, the main political issue in the race is the fact the Cumberland County GOP has been taken over by special interests - and suffered a resounding repudiation at the polls on Tuesday as a result.
The Sentinel and the Patriot News each ran articles as well. The Sentinel article is pretty balanced - John Hilton has always done a good job of giving both sides to any debate good coverage.
The Patriot article on the other hand is lopsided. It’s as if they didn’t realize that the election is over. What’s the deal? I actually find the article to be amuzing.
Cumberland County Commissioners Bruce Barclay and Gary Eichelberger won resoundingly in Tuesday’s Republican primary, but does their triumph have a deeper, transit-related meaning?
Probably not, observers said yesterday.
Huh? Gee, I don’t think all observers of the election were asked because other observers would have said the opposite. In fact, as stated above Lowman Henry observed that the Light Rail was the dominant issue. This whole thing with the observers reminds me about articles in which the reporter sites some “expert” in whatever field the issue covers. It always turns out that the “experts” are surprised by something. If they are experts, then why are they so often sited in the paper as being surprised about whatever topic they are supposedly experts about?
May 18th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I like the one comment in the Patriot-News article that says Corridor One was not on the front burner. As a candidate for Carlisle Borough Council going door-to-door since February, I can tell you that at least in Carlisle Corridor One was on many minds. It didn’t matter that I am not a commissioner candidate; people still asked me about it. These pundits and experts need to get back in touch with the reality on the ground and get out of their ivory towers.
Again anecdotally, but there was also a large contingent of people who felt that Gary got a raw deal. The voters put him in office, and then the party elite was essentially smacking them all in their faces, telling them they made a mistake four years ago.
May 20th, 2007 at 12:49 am
From what I hear, there isn’t much of an election down there in Carlisle. It seems like they just cycle through the same folks on borough council, over and over. Doesn’t anyone ever challenge those guys? Or are the challengers just not worth the time?