Wednesday, November 9, 2011
This year, 18 percent of registered Takoma Park voters came out to participate in the election.
After the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, it soon became clear that this was a banner year for local voter turnout, comparatively speaking. This year, 1,813 people voted in the Takoma Park City election, according to Election Judge Anne Sergeant. That’s 18 percent of the registered 10,326 Takoma Park voters. In 2007, 10 percent of the then-9,821 voters came out, and in 2009, 16 percent did. The steadily rising voter participation may be due to more contested races in recent years, Sergeant said. This year there were three contested races among the mayoral and six council seats, one of which — Ward 3 — had three candidates. In 2009, there were two contested races. In 2007, there was only one. “There’s nothing to get people to vote like a …
The votes will be made official at tonight's Takoma Park City Council meeting.
Update 7:30 p.m.: After a day of waiting for provisional ballots, the results did not change from the unofficial count Tuesday night. There were two races close enough to go either way after provisionals were counted Tim Male won the Ward 2 fight with 351 votes. Lorig Charkoudian got 334 votes in Ward 2. In the close race for Ward 6, Incumbent Fred Schultz kept his seat with 134 votes to Barrie Howard's 111. Kay Daniels-Cohen won soundly against Mike Graul and Jeffrey Noel-Nosbaum. Bruce Williams kept his seat as Mayor. Seth Grimes won his uncontested race for Ward 1. Incumbent Terry Seamens won unconstested in Ward 4. Incumbent Reuben Snipper also won in an uncontested race for Ward 5. Original Story: The results are in for the contested …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The numbers are unofficial and provisional ballots could change the outcome of one ward.
With three contested races out of seven, Takoma Park saw its highest voter turnout in three city elections and one race is still too close to call. Though the numbers are in, they are unofficial. The Takoma Park City Council will certify the votes in a short meeting Wednesday night. “There are enough provisional ballots in one ward to change the results,” Election Judge Anne Sergeant said. Sergeant would not disclose which race is still dependent on those provisional ballots. One race is held by 21 votes and those provisional ballots could change that outcome. In Ward 2, in a closely contested race between Tim Male and Lorig Charkoudian, Male is on top with 344 votes. In Ward 3, Kay Daniels-Cohen is beating Jeffrey Noel-Nosbaum and Mike …
This year's election brought out more voters than both the 2007 and 2009 elections.
Update 8:00 p.m.: As of 8 p.m., the close of the polls at the Takoma Park Community Center, 1,813 people had voted in the election. Though the line was out the door at 6:30 p.m., by 7:30 p.m. the crowd was dwindling. Only scattered voters showed in the last few minutes. This final tally of voters is more than those for both the 2007 and 2009 elections. In 2007, 1,010 residents cast a vote; in 2009, 1,733 did. “It’s part of the culture here to go out and participate,” said Rob Carter, a resident of Ward 3, the only ward with a three-way race. This year, 18 percent of registered voters cast votes. According to Election Judge Anne Sergeant, there were no troubles with the voting equipment. “It was good,” a noticeably busy Sargeant said as the…
Monday, November 7, 2011
Here's everything you need to know about voting tomorrow.
Tomorrow is election day in Takoma Park and if you're planning on voting there are some things you need to know. Where can I vote? There is only one place to vote in the city: The Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Ave. When can I vote? Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Who can I vote for? All residents from all six wards can vote in the Mayoral election. Residents from each ward can only vote for their ward representative. Can I write in a candidate? Yes. According to the city website, "A voter may write-in the name of any person for the office of Mayor or Councilmember in the method provided by the City Clerk on election day." Who is running? Check out our story from the nominating caucus to see what the process was to …
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Check out what the candidates have to say.
Throughout this week we'll be running Q&A's with candidates in the Takoma Park City Council election. Any of the candidates that responded to our questions will be posted. Ward 2 candidate Tim Male sat down with Patch to answer questions before the Nov. 8 election. 1. Where would you cut the budget? Can the city progress with programs or does it need to simply maintain its current services because of budget issues? I don’t believe we will need to cut the budget in FY2013. Rather the question may be whether we will choose to invest in improving services and/or to cut the local property tax rate. I support rebuilding of our reserve funds that allow us to pay for police vehicle and other equipment upkeep and replacement. Beyond a few …
Check out what the candidates have to say.
Throughout this week we'll be running Q&A's with candidates in the Takoma Park City Council election. Any of the candidates that responded to our questions will be posted. Ward 2 candidate Lorig Charkoudian sat down with Patch to answer questions before the Nov. 8 election. 1. Where would you cut the budget? Can the city progress with programs or does it need to simply maintain it's current services because of budget issues? We need to begin by changing the budget process to look for new revenues (including federal or private grants), find efficiencies, eliminate duplication, coordinate the efforts of the departments, find roles for volunteers, and emphasize long-range planning. Long-range planning is crucial for many environmental …
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Check out what the candidates have to say.
Throughout this week we'll be running Q&A's with candidates in the Takoma Park City Council election. Any of the candidates that responded to our questions will be posted. Ward 6 candidate Fred Schultz sat down with Patch to answer questions before the Nov. 8 election. 1. Where would you cut the budget? Can the city progress with programs or does it need to simply maintain it's current services because of budget issues? The budget for FY12 has already been adopted. It is not possible at this time to judge whether we need to cut the budget for FY13 until next spring. It is impossible to make this judgment until the County Executive and the Maryland Comptroller offer their first round of estimates of actual FY12 revenues sometime around the …
Check out what the candidates have to say.
Throughout this week we'll be running Q&A's with candidates in the Takoma Park City Council election. Any of the candidates that responded to our questions will be posted. Ward 6 candidate Barrie Howard sat down with Patch to answer questions before the Nov. 8 election. 1. Where would you cut the budget? Can the city progress with programs or does it need to simply maintain it's current services because of budget issues? I wouldn't. Significant cuts were made in FY2011, and this year's budget actually remained in the black through the good stewardship and lobbying efforts of our City staff. Next year we'll see an increase in the speed camera fund and considerable savings from paying down debt in FY2012. We can progress programs, where …
Monday, October 31, 2011
Check out what the candidates have to say.
Throughout this week we'll be running Q&A's with candidates in the Takoma Park City Council election. Any of the candidates that responded to our questions will be posted. Ward 3 candidate Jeffrey Noel-Nosbaum sat down with Patch to answer questions before the Nov. 8 election. 1. Where would you cut the budget? Can the city progress with programs or does it need to simply maintain it's current services because of budget issues? I do not believe the budget needs serious cutting. There is always the need for evaluation to make sure that the City Government is running efficiently and effectively. Right now the Takoma Park is actually fairing better budget-wise than Maryland and Montgomery County. For now the economy will prevent program …
Steve Davies
10:48 am on Friday, November 11, 2011
A couple more interesting figures, which show that the turnout in Ward 2 was well ahead of the other two contested wards. In Ward 6, only 17.5 pct of registered voters turned out (again, based on '09 registration figures; the city will release its final election tally w/ updated #s soon, I hope), In Ward 3, the turnout was only 18.6 pct -- about the average citywide. In that ward, 450 of approx. … more ›