Some people have criticized me for telling voters that mayoral candidate Cecil Yates is a Republican and Ginny Dickey a Democrat. They erroneously claim that doing so makes the non-partisan town election a partisan one, but that is not true.

Voter knowledge of the party affiliation of candidates does not place the party name after the candidate’s name on the ballot. In fact, it is because party affiliation does not appear on the ballot that it is important to provide voters with that relevant information.

The party that a candidate voluntarily affiliates with is one of many important factors that voters should consider. Party affiliation tells something about the candidate’s philosophy of governance and we are electing a mayor to govern and most people prefer that those who govern them hold similar political views. After all, the mayor will vote on some liberal-conservative issues such as taxes, spending, borrowing and business regulation.

Not informing voters that Ginny Dickey is a Democrat and Cecil Yates is a Republican will not make either of them independents or nonpartisans, it will just make the voters less informed and that is never a good thing.