Elections

Today I got a robocall from Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, urging me to vote for him and the other 4 incumbents for Chapel Hill Town Council! Is this a first in Orange County municipal races?

Does anyone think this has a positive influence on voters? It's hard to imagine that the informative nature outweighs the don't-call-me-at-home aspect. Then again, it's always good to have a reminder to get out the vote.

In national politics, we often criticize the mainstream media for covering the "horse race" between candidates instead of the issues. Do voters really need to know how much money someone has or do they need to know which candidate's health plan with help their family the most? In reflecting on OP's discussion of this year's election, I find it a little more horse-race oriented than I would like, although there is also a great deal of substantive and useful commentary.

So I spent this evening reading campaign expense reports. I don't usually do this, preferring to rely on the talents of those who are better with numbers. However, Will has his own finances to worry about this year, so I am having a go. ;-)

Here (and below) is a spreadsheet where we are compiling candidate information including finances and endorsements. What other information should it have?

Campaign finance data is from http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/campfin.asp

A few of these reports didn't look right to me (Kevin Wolff spent $1,182.93 and has $1,182.93 cash on hand? Bill Strom's IndyWeek.com ad only cost $100!) but I did the best I could. Corrections are extremely welcome!