PAGE 3
POLITICS
Area Blacks file for various candidacies
J
Bob Drakeford
Reginald Smitli
Harold F»»Hter
Kdith Klliotl
Runs for
re-election
JAMES ALEXANDER JR.
Co-Editor
Incumbent Carrboro Mayor W
I Robert “Bob” Drakeford has announc
ed his candidacy for re-election as thp
mayor of the small predominantly-
I Black town adjacent to Chapel Hill.
A former UNC graduate student,
Drakeford says he wants to retain his
1 mayoral seat to continue the projects
I he has started.
I’ve got some project that I’ve started
that I want to see completed,” said|
Drakeford. “I don’t want to change
1 horses in the middle of a stream.”
Citing a need for increased communi-
-velopment, Drakeford says he also
I w ..s to bring federal funds into the
town along with industrial development
I and more jobs.
“The folks with lower-wage jobs will
have a chance to get better jobs.”
Drakeford added that any potential
industry coming into this area will have
to be dry and environmentally safe
1 since there is no water system in Carr
boro.
A mayor’s task force to deal with the
I area’s economic development concern
ing downtown revitalization and in
dustrial outreach has been formed,
says Drakeford.
Drakeford says a major problem in
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area is
apathy.
“Everybody likes to criticize but
nobody likes to do some work.”
In addition, Drakeford says the UNC
Black Student Movement could be a
real factor to be reckoned with in the
local Black community.
“It (BSM) overlooks city politics
although you’re paying city taxes.”
1 A city planner and regional analyst
[for the Department of Human
[Resources, Drakeford is a native of
I Scotland County and has been here in
I the Carrboro community since 1972.
I He is a graduate of Quinnipiac Col-
llege (in New England) and received his
ImSPH and Master’s of City Planning
I degree from UNC-CH in 1977.
(Contiinied on page 7)
Incumbent Smith and Foster hid for council^ mayor
BEVERLY SHEPARD
Special Projects Editor
“Learn to listen — make each day a
perfect one” is clearly displayed in the of
fice of Chapel Hill Senior High School’s
assistant principal, Reginald D. Smith.
Smith, a 61-year-old incumbent to the
town council (formerly called the Board of
Aldermen) in annoucing his intention to
run for re-election, seeks to succeed his 14-
year membership with yet another two-
year term.
Smith attended Hampton Institute in
Virginia, receiving a degree in Vocational
Agriculture. He served during World War
II in the southeast Pacific as a battalion
master gunner. From 1944-46, his graduate
studies at N.C. A&T, N.C. Central Univer
sity and N.C State University prepared
him for versatility in teaching at Chapel
Hill High School in subjects like
agriculture, industrial arts and auto
mechanics. In 1970 he was appointed assis
tant principal with the attitude that the
door to his office would never be closed.”
The town council is composed of eight
members and the mayor. Smith and Bill
Thorpe are the only two Black members.
Because of his years of service, Smith has
experienced some changes with the town
of Chapel Hill.
During Howard Lee’s term as mayor.
Smith remembers the many late-night
hours they spend contemplating integra
tion problems.
Says Smith, “I’ve seen that board go
from one for Chapel Hill to one that is
divided for (Dhapel Hill.”
When asked if those changes have caus
ed him to become discouraged. Smith
replied by saying “If you are interested in
a town you will live up to your convic
tions.”
Some of Smith’s goals on the council this
term are working to develop a highway im
provement plan, improving the effects of
tax-paying on the townspeople and enlarg
ing the bus system.
Recognizing a need to bridge the gap
between the town’s responsibilities and
University needs. Smith is concerned with
providing housing and reasonable apart
ment rents for off-campus students.
The father of four children. Smith and
his wife live in the Northside district.
However, Smith hopes that he appeals to
all sectors of the population.
Smith urges all university students to
vote because their vote “has meaning.”
He places a great deal of belief in young
people.
Hafold Foster, 37, former leader of the
Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill has
announced his bid to run for the town s
mayoral seat. In response to his being
associated with the involvement in the
movement from 1960-63, Foster says “I’m
very pleased that people have seen my
campaign as an extension of civil rights.”
Foster, a native of Chapel Hill, is a
graduate of Lincoln High and studied
Public Administration at Rudkins Univer
sity.
Upon leaving Chapel Hill in 1964, Foster
moved to the New York-New Jersey area.
Due to his mother’s sickness he returned
here in 1978 and maintained what he terms
as a “low profile.”
Since then, he has worked as fiscal assis
tant for the joint Orange-Chatham Com
munity Action Committee. I>ast March he
was elected secretary-treasurer of the
predominantly-Black Northside
Democratic Precinct.
Though presently unemployed, Foster
says “My full-time occupation is running
this campaign.”
As a part-time Spanish student at UNC
night classes, Foster feels he has a lot in
common with University students. He
feels that up to this time young people had
no political candidate with whom they
could identify. Most students are not
aware that legal age and a 30-day residen
cy here makes them eligible to register to
vote. He feels that because education is so
expensive, city officials should
acknowledge a certain responsibility to the
students.
With this responsibility in mind, Foster
advocates special student rates for the bus
system and is concerned with what hap
pens to low-income students seeking hous
ing and transportation outside the boun
daries of the campus itself.
Thus with a pledge to represent the poor
and under-privileged minorities and
students, Foster embarks on an almost
penniless campaign. He .says that “This
segment of Chapel Hill’s population is not
represented in City Hall. . . well-to-do per
sons are attracted to Chapel Hill and that
doesn’t make for a healthy balance.”
Statements like these make Foster skep
tical about the support he will receive
from the white middle class since he
doesn't represent this sector’s interests.
However, he is committed to his plan and
comments “Poor people feel isolated and I
feel that I can bridge that gap.”
Foster’s political involvement, having
allowed him to formulate opinions about
civil rights, has acknowledged regression
in some areas concerning these rights in
Chapel Hill. He goes on to say “I’m une
quivocally for equal opportunity and af
firmative action ... I don’t buy the argu
ment for reversed discrimination either.”
He added “Show me someone who is not
interested in civil rights and I’ll show you
someone who doesn’t mind being a slave.”
Foster anticipates the Nov. 6 political
bout with optimism, saying “If I don’t win
I hope to have a respectable showing.”
Elliott seeks school board seat
(Continued from page 1)
other university boards and committees.
A graduate of the UNC School of Social
Work in 1964, Elliott has held professional
positions in the past as a guidance
counselor in a middle school, a pediatric
social worker at North Carolina Memorial
Hospital and the coordinator for services
to individuals at the Inter-Faith Council.
She joined the staff of the Campus Y in
1972 and became director in 1976, after ser
ving one year as acting director.
For several years, Elliott has been ac
tive in local politics and is currently on the
Colonial Heights Precinct Committee. She
and her two sons, Balaam, 14 and David,
11, are members of Binkley Memorial
Baptist Church.