The three Republicans running for District 5 delegate seats want to reduce taxes, impose tougher punishment on criminals and improve the state's business climate.
They are toeing the party line and following gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey's lead. Their differences lie in their backgrounds and approach to the details.
Nancy R. Stocksdale of Westminster, the top vote-getter by a wide margin in the Sept. 13 primary, and W. David Blair, who lives north of Melrose, have been campaigning together.
They are conservative Christians who want to be part of what could be a surge of Republican power in Annapolis. They have been waving to commuters during rush hour, talking to voters door to door and posting signs across Carroll County.
The third candidate, Joseph M. Getty of Manchester, also believes in Mrs. Sauerbrey's mission, but he is running a somewhat quieter campaign. Many residents know him as the longtime executive director of the Historical Society of Carroll County.
The Republicans are competing with three Democrats for three District 5 delegate seats. The race attracted a large field of candidates because redistricting added a third delegate seat to the district and because 27-year incumbent Republican Richard C. Matthews announced his retirement during the summer.
District 5 includes all of Carroll County but the western edge, and it no longer includes part of Baltimore County. Democrat Richard N. Dixon is the only incumbent in the race.
Mrs. Stocksdale, 59, a retired teacher, has been active in local GOP politics for about a decade. She is a former member of the Carroll County Republic Central Committee and is president of the Carroll County Republican Women's Club.
In the primary, she won every election district and received 6,212 votes -- 2,353 more than Mr. Blair, who finished second with 3,859 votes. Mr. Getty received 3,566 votes.
Mr. Blair, 45, is an electrical engineer at Bell Atlantic Network Services in Silver Spring and a major in the Maryland Army National Guard. He won a seat on the county central committee in the primary and is past president of the Carroll County Republican Club.
Mr. Getty, 42, is a part-time student at the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore and a law clerk at the Westminster firm of Stoner Preston and Boswell. He is a former central committee member.
NANCY R. STOCKSDALE
Mrs. Stocksdale is on leave from her job as an aide to U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, who represents Maryland's 6th District. She would have to give up the job if elected.
Last year, she retired after 34 years as a Baltimore County home economics teacher.
Her brother-in-law, Jim, owns two automobile-related businesses in Westminster. Her son, Chip, works at Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. Customers at a Westminster pizza restaurant where her daughter, Tami, works have said they will vote for Mrs. Stocksdale.
"And, I'm almost scared to say this, but the church" to which she belongs has helped her gain name recognition, she said. She has attended the Church of the Open Door on Route 140 in Westminster for 10 years and teaches Sunday school there.
Asked how the church, which has 3,000 members, has helped her campaign, Mrs. Stocksdale said the Rev. Shelton L. Smith introduces candidates who attend Sunday services. "They don't tell people who to vote for. They just introduce you."
Mrs. Stocksdale said she decided to run for a delegate seat in part because of the concerns she heard from residents while working for Mr. Bartlett.
"They'd say 'Somebody's got to do something.' I felt their frustration, and I was frustrated," she said.
She said she would take her knowledge of the public school system to Annapolis and she would work to reduce the number of students in each class. She also would like to start more programs to help keep "disruptive youth." Troubled students have talents, and guidance counselors need to discover them as early as elementary school, she said.
Mrs. Stocksdale said she also has experience in business
because she used to own a jewelry store on the Ocean City boardwalk and was a partner in a Westminster snowball stand.
She advocates lessening the amount of paperwork required of small businesses by the state and reducing unemployment taxes paid by employers.
On crime issues, Mrs. Stocksdale said, she would push to eliminate parole for violent and repeat offenders and would support legislation to require that a community be notified if a sex offender moves in after being released from prison.
W. DAVID BLAIR
Mr. Blair became the first challenger to enter the race when he announced his candidacy in September 1993. He calls himself "a common-sense conservative."
"Some conservatives want to go back to the good old days. I don't want to go back," he said.
He said he wants to reduce government spending. "There is a lot of waste. I don't think it is intentional fraud. It's basically inefficiency."
Government should provide only those services that residents cannot provide for themselves, such as public safety and emergency services, education and roads, Mr. Blair said. Some social service programs, such as family counseling, could be provided by nonprofit groups, he said.
He said he would introduce a bill to require prisoners to repay the state for the classes they took to obtain a high school or college diploma.
He would support a tax break for volunteer firefighters as an incentive to enlist more volunteers and a reduction in settlement costs on real estate sales. He also said he would investigate changing how the state assesses property so that residents' rates do not skyrocket after their properties are assessed.
To help attract business to Maryland, Mr. Blair said, the state should follow federal guidelines without adding to them.
He would introduce a bill to require the state to review every law and regulation for its fiscal impact on business.
Mr. Blair said violent criminals should not be eligible for parole and the state should impose the death penalty as a deterrent to others.
JOSEPH M. GETTY
Mr. Getty set out to run a quiet, low-budget campaign when he joined the race after Mr. Matthews announced his retirement in July.
"I wanted to apply the same philosophy in campaigning as I would as a delegate -- as a penny-pincher," he said. "I've always been interested in local politics, but I've never wanted to be a politician, which is a contradiction."
"I'm not doctrinaire in a philosophy. I approach politics as a problem-solver. I can work well with all parties," Mr. Getty said.
Mr. Getty has been involved in local campaigns about 10 years. He was a member of the Republican Central Committee from 1985 to 1992.
He said he would work to streamline government. "Carroll countians have wanted greater fiscal responsibility out of state government for a long time," Mr. Getty said.
Mr. Getty would like to introduce a bill that would require the state to analyze the impact of legislation on small business.
He said he would like to eliminate the snack tax, a 5 percent sales tax charged since June 1992 on snacks and prepared foods. The tax places a burden on nonprofit organizations, such as volunteer fire departments, because of the added paperwork, he said.
Because many crime problems can be traced to drugs, Mr. Getty said, the state should spend more money to enforce drug laws.
Carroll County has gained a reputation as being tough on crime because "we prosecute and sentence in cases that would be considered small potatoes."
Mr. Getty also said legislators should serve no more than two terms.