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County Commissioner

Two seats are open on the Cumberland County Commissioners Board. The two republican incumbents, Commissioner Albrecht and Commissioner Lods, are running unopposed in the republican primary. While there is general campaign information on the Cumberland County Regular Republican site and some specifics come up from time to time at the bi-weekly republican breakfasts, there are a lot more specifics regarding known issues in the county that ought to be talked about directly. We have reached out to both candidates and Albrecht plans on corresponding, yet we have not received anything after months of waiting.

On the democrat side, three candidates are competing for two seats. John Capizola is a former commissioner who was appointed to his seat mid-term. Yolanda Balicki is a thoroughly credentialed immigration lawyer. Larae Smith is a known political figure in the community who has run for office multiple times in recent years. One would think they would have a vested interest in making their cases clear to the public, yet we have received no response from our efforts to make contact.

As the Democrat primary approaches, time is quickly slipping away for candidates to make their case to the public. Meanwhile, Republican candidates still have ample time before the general election to engage with voters. But regardless of the timeline, the kind of basic information we’ve been seeking—positions on issues, general agendas, and comparisons to their well known opponents—should already be available. After two years of repeated attempts to gather this information and foster cooperation, we’ve learned not to expect a lot. Simply put: we’re not holding our breath for a sudden outbreak of transparency.

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