Kirby Travers takes a hard stance on Wicomico County's cap on property tax revenue.

"We should be able to adjust things on the expense side" to stay within the cap's revenue-raising limits, Travers said. After all, he added, everyone has to live within their means, "and government shouldn't be any different."

Approved by a voter referendum in 2000, the cap restricts year-over-year tax increases to no more than the rate of inflation or 2 percent, whichever is lower.

Marc Kilmer likes the cap, too. He really does. But it could use some wiggle room in case of "an extraordinary need," "a safety valve" that allows voters "to release the steam sometimes so the whole thing doesn't blow up," he said.

Now for the big reveal: Travers is the Democratic candidate for Wicomico County Council's open District 2 seat; Kilmer, the Republican.

Their specific views on the tax cap matter less — the cap likely isn't going anywhere anytime soon — than what they say about each candidate. And that's this: Political labels matter very little in the battle for Wicomico's westernmost district.

Travers, a 45-year-old state fire marshal, became a Democrat, he said, "because when I was 18 that's what my parents were." He describes himself as fiscally conservative, a follow-the-dollar kind of candidate.

Few would doubt Kilmer's conservative credentials. He is first vice president of the Wicomico County Republican Party and served as a legislative assistant to then-U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho.

Kilmer is a senior fellow with Maryland Public Policy Institute, a free market think tank, and has written public policy papers for several conservative organizations. But for all the red dye in his wool, Kilmer said politics isn't everything.

"For me, the politics isn't personal," he said. "I find disagreement with someone about policy, and that doesn't affect how I feel about the person."

Both think the school board should be elected instead of appointed (though Travers would be OK with a hybrid, with a mix of both). Neither believes that more spending is necessarily the answer to improve students' performance. Neither is a fan of bureaucratic red tape.

Their differences are more subtle.

Aside from the tax cap, they differ on pensions for county employees.

Kilmer prefers a guaranteed contribution, such as a 401(k), as opposed to a guaranteed benefit for new hires. That way, the county's pension system won't be so burdened, and the employees will have the freedom to switch jobs at some point without losing their savings.

A state employee, Travers looks forward to his pension days. It wouldn't be fair to have different employees working under different systems, he said.

"Then you're going to have two, and two should never co-mingle together," Travers said.

And they don't agree on the county's decision to join the Clean Chesapeake Coalition at a cost of $25,000. The group, backed by a Baltimore law firm, is fighting a state-mandated Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan that will cost many local jurisdictions millions of dollars to implement.

"What are really getting?" Travers asked. "You pay money in and hope something happens. That is a mighty expensive ticket for a dinner."

Kilmer said he supports the move because officials in Annapolis are ignoring the Shore's best interests.

jcox6@dmg.gannett.com