Politics & Government
Voters Speak
What matters most on Election Day? Not the candidates. It's you, the voter.
Name: Keri Frisch.
Age: 38.
Town: Towson.
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom.
Voted for: Kevin Kamenetz for county executive; Mike Ertel for District 5 County Council seat.
"I voted for Kevin Kamenetz because he seemed to have the most environmentally friendly record," Frisch said outside of her polling location at Stoneleigh Elementary School. She added that Kamenetz's endorsement by the county teachers was also crucial to her decision. "My mother's an educator so that was very important to me."
She voted for Ertel because she believes he "is going to be the most active based on his involvement in Towson Families United," an organization that prodded county officials to move faster on school overcrowding.
Name: Juliet Fisher
Age: 35
Town: Towson
Occupation: Attorney
Voted for: Kevin Kamenetz for county executive; Mike Ertel for County Council District 5 seat; Lori Albin, Oz Bengur, and Stephen W. Lafferty for House of Delegates, District 42
"I voted for Kevin Kamenetz because I think he has a stronger record on education and environmental issues," Fisher said. She cast a ballot for Ertel because he's a "nice Towson resident who cares about our schools and our neighborhoods. And my daughter Miranda really liked him when she met him." After speaking with all of the delegate candidates in District 42, Fisher decided that Albin, Bengur and Lafferty were "the most responsive to my concerns."
Name: Kristen Vanneman
Age: 35
Town: Anneslie
Occupation: works part-time in the insurance industry
Voted for: Ertel for County Council, Bartenfelder for county executive
For Vanneman, Ertel's and Bartenfelder's environmental records pushed her over the edge. "Everybody was sort of aligned on the issues for the most part, but I think the environment is my biggest concern right now," she said.
Name: John and Joanne Sharp
Age: John is 71, Joanne is 68
Town: Idlewylde
Occupation: Retired
Voted for: Martin O'Malley for governor, Barbara Mikulski for U.S. Senator, James Brochin for State Senate, Stephen W. Lafferty for House of Delegates, Kevin Kamenetz for county executive, Gordon Harden for County Council
The Sharps voted mostly for incumbents or candidates endorsed by incumbents where available because, as John put it, "I think they need more time to get us out of this recession." He chose Kamenetz because of his "policy wonk" reputation and experience. Endorsements played a role in their choice of Gordon Harden for County Council, but John said he and his wife also took a look at Harden's literature and said, "We liked his positions."
Name: Lucy Samorodin
Age: Declined to provide
Town: Ruxton
Occupation: Retired
Voted for: Tony Fusco for Orphans Court, Timmy Ruppersberger for County Council, Kamenetz
Samorodin described herself as very anti-incumbent, across the board. She was impressed with Ruppersberger when she met the 2nd district County Council candidate. "Her qualifications seemed very far and above anyone else she was running against," she said.
She voted for Kamenetz "only because I think his qualifications are much better but not because I think he's going to make a better county exec."
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