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I am a fiscal and social conservative, so my recommendations are mostly (but not entirely) Republicans. Polls are open 6:30am to 7:30pm at the regular precinct locations. Any questions? Call me (Dave) at 919-244-3316 (my cell phone), or at 919-481-0098 (my home). These are my recommendations: Wake Board of Education District 3 Alfreda Wilson Wake Board of Education District 6 Sean O'Brien Wake Board of Education District 8 Ron Margiotta (uncontested) City of Raleigh District A Tommy Craven City of Raleigh District B Angel Menendez City of Raleigh District D Philip Isley City of Raleigh At-Large David Williams (vote for one) Town of Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister Town of Cary At-Large Tommy Byrd Town of Cary District B Don Frantz Town of Cary District D John Rigsbee NOTE: Cary is using "Instant Runoff Voting" for the first time in this election. For more information on Instant Runoff Voting, see: http://msweb03.co.wake.nc.us/bordelec/downloads/instantrunfactsheet.doc With "instant runoff voting" you have the opportunity to designate a "second choice" for races which have more than two candidates. Your designation of a second choice will have NO EFFECT on the chances of your first choice candidate, so there is no reason not to designate a second choice, unless you truly have no preference among the remaining candidates. I have no recommendation for "second choice" for the Town of Cary races, but District B is interesting. In that race, neither Nels Roseland nor Vickie Maxwell is a conservative. But, surprisingly, Nels Roseland (a Democrat) is more fiscally conservative than Vickie Maxwell (a Republican). However, I don't know which of them is more socially conservative. Voters are also being asked to vote on three Wake County Bond proposals: $50 million in borrowing for "open spaces" improvements, $92 million in borrowing for community college improvements, and $45 million in borrowing for library improvements. When deciding how to vote on the bond questions, it might be helpful to know the amount of borrowing which each of them represents, per person, or per family of four. Since Wake County has a population of 820,000 people, this is easy to calculate: Open Spaces Bonds: $50,000,000 = $60.97/person = $243.90/family of 4 Community College Bonds: $92,000,000 = $112.20/person = $448.78/family of 4 Library Facilities Bonds: $45,000,000 = $54.88/person = $219.51/family of 4 Total, all bonds: $187,000,000 = $228.05/person = $912.20/family of 4 For a complete sample ballot, visit the Wake County Board of Elections site at: http://msweb03.co.wake.nc.us/bordelec/downloads/Oct07_Composite_Ballot.doc To learn what precinct you are in, search for yourself at: http://msweb03.co.wake.nc.us/bordelec/Waves/WavesSearch.asp This will tell you your precinct number and districts. For a complete list of precinct voting locations see: http://msweb03.co.wake.nc.us/bordelec/downloads/PollingPlaceDetails_Web.htm Acknowledgements: I am grateful to: Katy Benningfield, Zan Bunn, Judy Keener, and Michael Joyce for helping to educate me about these races. Sources for Additional Information: Judy Keener's Picks: http://www.burtonsys.com/2007_judys_picks.html Wake Co. Board of Elections: http://www.wakegov.com/elections/default.htm Wake Co. Republican Party: http://www.wakegop.org/ Wake Co. Democrat Party: http://www.wakedems.org/ Katy's Conservative Corner: http://www.katysconservativecorner.typepad.com/ Called2Action: http://www.called2action.org/ Wake County Taxpayers' Association: http://www.wcta.org/ Dave Burton Cary, NC H: 919-481-0098 W: 919-481-2183 M: 919-244-3316 10/9/2007