Circumstances have conspired against the voter who wants to make an informed choice for the at-large seat on our City Council.

We are grateful to the four candidates who tossed their toppers into that ring, mostly at the last minute, turning what looked like a scarcity of hopefuls into an abundance. But that abundance forces a primary election.

And while the election is nominally scheduled for Sept. 16, that date is becoming increasingly irrelevant. “Absentee” ballots – now used by almost three-quarters of the voters – go in the mail the last week in August, and many voters turn them around sooner rather than later. This gives the four at-large candidates only three weeks to introduce themselves to an island electorate almost 15,000 strong.

Thus far, all are taking somewhat tentative steps, saying they want to “listen to the voters” instead of proferring an agenda. Though admirable in theory, that approach is a bit frustrating in practice, because it doesn’t give the voter any way to sort through the field. If all four of those gentlemen are going to “study the issues” and sift through feedback from all affected parties, how do we pick one over the other?

Do we choose based on image, gut feel, or how personable the candidate may seem, provided we have any personal interaction at all? Or do we use basically irrelevant criteria like length of time on the island, academic degrees or employment?

The truth is that none of the candidates are “blank slates” or “empty vessels,” neutral parties awaiting instructions from the electorate. Nor should they be. Politics driven by polls rather than principles is a blight on both the nation and the state, producing “feel-good” anomalies like simultaneous tax cuts and spending increases. And these four candidates do have principles that will make a difference – we doubt that environmental activist Arnie Kubiak will see the shoreline question the same way as Nezam Tooloee, whose interest in city government came in reaction to that issue.

Absent specifics from the candidates, all voters have to go on are suppositions and surmises, based on reputation, association and limited observation. But they may be wrong. More to the point, each of us fills in the blanks our own way, taking the candidate out of the equation.

We would ask the candidates to do some of the blank-filling for us in the next couple of weeks. While we can’t expect the candidates to expound on all the issues before the primary, it’s not too much to expect each to grab onto one or two, talk those out with the voters, and formulate some positions. The issue need not be the same one for each candidate, but we would like them to show us how they problem-solve rather than simply tell us they are good at it.

And is it too much to ask that someone organize a

pre-primary candidate forum? We trust not.

We all like to base our decisions on issues, not on personalities, or on the inferences we draw about candidates. We hope the four hopefuls will help us out.

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The four at-large council candidates want to discuss issues with voters. Here’s how to get in touch with them:

Larry Johnson: 842-6556,

larryjohnsoncitycouncil@hotmail.com.

Arnie Kubiak: 842-7230,

arnie-kubiak@hotmail.com.

Christopher ‘Kit’ Spier: 842-6149,

kitspier@hotmail.com

Nezam Tooloee: 755-1825, nezam@tooloee.com, www.tooloee.com.