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Tuesday, October 3,1995
ELEiK ! Mayoral Candidate Profiles®!®®®
Carrboro will elect anew mayor Nov. 7. Today, The Daily Tar Heel profiles the three candidates seeking
to lead Carrboro as the town copes with new growth and sets priorities for the coming years.
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W ■
■ Development Process
Needs To Be Improved
After nine-and-a-half years as a mem
ber of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, 18
years in the community, and several years
of experience on the Orange County Visi
tors Bureau and various other committees,
Randy Marshall feels his experience and
leadership make him a perfect candidate
for the position of Carrboro mayor.
“I have the experience and die leader
ship the community needs,” Marshall said.
“Like the new chancellor at the Univer
sity, Carrboro will have anew mayor. I feel
like I have the support of the board, and I
think that’s important.”
Marshall said he felt he could act as a
unifying leader of the board if elected
mayor. “I’m a moderate on the board,” he
said. “I think I could be a unifying director
of the board. I am uniquely qualified to
provide leadership to the board on the
whole.”
One of the motivating forces behind
Marshall’s campaign is improving devel
opment transactions. “I think we need to
look very carefully at every development
that comes before the board,” he said.
The board sets up regulations with which
developers must comply, Marshall said.
Most of the developers do comply with
these regulations, but theboard turns down
or delays the projects anyway. The board
needs to work out a better way of inform
ing developers of what is expected of them
before they bring their ideas to the board.
“I think we should play fair,” Marshall
said. “We need to look at our zoning and
our permits before the developers spend a
lot of time and money on their plans. It’s
terribly awkward to have them do exactly
what our ordinances say and then tell them
no.”
Bringing in business to the community
is also an issue of concern with Marshall.
“We’ve got a lot of vacant space,” he said.
“That is a loss of money. We want to fill
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Randy Marshall
Ag:sl
Address; 1101 Hillsborough Rd.
Position Seeking: Carrboro
mayor
Previous Experience: Carrboro
Alderman, nine years; Orange
County Visitors Bureau, chair
Occupation: Principal of
Carrboro Elementary School
Children: Two
Length of Time in
Community: 18 years
Colleges Attended: Eton and
UNC
vacancies.”
One such vacancy is the spot left by
Roses when it moved out of Carrboro
Plaza, Marshall said. Roses brought in tax
revenue to the community, and the town
now needs to replace it, he said. “It was a
real blow to the economy.”
As for development, Marshall said he
was concerned about carefully mixing resi
dential and commercial areas. “I think
development is one of the greatest sources
of interest in the community,” he said.
“People move here wanting that small
town charm. Some are concerned (about
losingthe small-town charm), especiallyin
the Northern area.”
Marshall said he supported the Small
Area Plan for Carrboro’s Northern Transi
tion Area. “We want to prevent people to
drive long distances to get to places like
Harris Teeter,” he said. “It’s a good mixed
use development. It’s a positive concept,
and I support it.”
The services offered by the town are
beneficial to the community and must be
protected, Marshall said. “We’re offering
excellent services to Carrboro,” he said.
“Despite our high tax rate, we’re doing it
economically. We balance our budget and
have one of the best credit ratings for a
town our size.”
The Visitors Bureau, of which Marshall
is the chairman, is a success story for the
town, he said. “The Orange County Board
of Visitors has gone from almost nothing
two years ago to something fantastic,” he
said. “The whole idea (of the bureau) is to
let people with contact with visitors know
of ways to keep people here.”
Visitors and the revenue they bring in
are valuable resources for the town,
Marshall said. “It saves Carrboro money
because taxes are not raised; the visitors
contribute.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY SUZANNE WOOD
■MBm. 8 I
.mi , i
■ Town Should Protect
Environmental Concerns
For second-year Carrboro Alderman
Mike Nelson, focusing on fighting bad
development projects and protecting the
environment are die two issues motivating
his campaign for Carrboro mayor this fall.
“My No. 1 reason for running is for
controlling growth,” he said. “I have a
record on the board for standing up and
fighting development that I don’t agree
with. I think it is important for a mayor to
stand up and say no to developers when the
developer’s plans are bad for the commu
nity.”
Nelson cited the Hogan Farm develop
ment of last year as an example of how he
has stood up to faulty development plans
in the past.
“We turned down the development in a
4-3 vote,” he said. “But, we worked with
the developer to remap the plan. The prod
uct we came up with was much better than
the original plan.
“We didn’t just say no,” Nelson said.
“We sat down and worked it out. That says
something forthe community—that we’re
willing to sit down and talk.”
Nelson also wants to play an active role
in determining how the Canhoro commu
nity grow?. “Carrboro is on the verge of
experiencing an explosion of growth,” he
said. “Our population will almost double
in the next 15 years. We can either grow in
a smart way by protecting the environment
or in a dumb way.
“Some people have come into Carrboro
and have done some creative things (in
developing),” Nelson said. “I would be
interested in working with developers who
focus on the environment.”
Nelson said the Revolving Loan Fund,
which is primarily for small businesses
ownedby women and minorities, hadbeen
very effective in developing the commer
cial aspect of the town.
“Ithasbeen very effective,”he said. “In
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CITY
Mike Nelson
Age: 31
Adibess: 105 Fidelity St, Apt
A #22
Position Seeking: Carrboro
mayor
Previous Experience: Board
of Aldermen, two years of first
term; Landfill Owners Group
Occupation: Travel agent at
Main Street Travel
Children: None
Length of Tune in
Community: Eight years
College Attended: UNC
order to be a well-rounded community, we
have to work very hard to have a well
rounded and healthy business community. ”
Another concern for Nelson is how
Carrboro will deal with its solid waste.
“I’ve been active in increasing our recy
cling project,” he said. “Right now, we
have a study being done on how to deal
with solid waste. I want to focus on that.
Orange County thinks of itself as progres
sive, but it’s not in the issue of solid waste.”
The fact that the future landfill will be
placed in a moderate-income black neigh
borhood raises questions with Nelson.
“Is that fair?, ” Nelson asked. “Is part of
it just convenience because they’re less
likely to fight it?”
Nelson said his previous experience on
the board would help him work efficiently
as mayor on such issues as development,
the environment and social issues.
“I’ve learned the board’s dynamics,” he
said. “I’ve been involved in getting some
things passed and can set goals and know
how to meet those goals.”
In the past, Nelson has helped in setting
up the Environment Advisory Board and
the Domestic Partners program.
Besides having experience working with
the board, Nelson feels he would bring a
unique perspective to the mayor’s posi
tion. “Being a renter in the community
gives me a different perspective than a
homeowner,” he said. “Being gay and
young also gives me a different perspec
tive.”
Nelsonsaidhethoughtthecurrentboard
had dealt well with the issues brought be
fore it and that the board was pleased with
the handling of the budget. “I am very
proud of how we run our town govern
ment, ” he said. “The more I learn about it,
the more I see how we run efficiently on so
little.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY SUZANNE WOOD
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■ Board Should Be More
Responsive to Public
Charles Riggsbee, a long-time resident
and candidate for Carrboro mayor, sees
the need for a more representative govern
ment and for more public referendums on
issues.
Riggsbee, who was bom and raised in
Carrboro, feels he knows what the town
needs in government and how to go about
meeting those needs.
“I’m a life-long resident of Carrboro,”
he said. “I probably know the area better
than the other candidates. From that re
spect, I think I would be able to get along
better with the older Canboro residents. In
general, I think that is a plus for the mayor. ”
Asa former member of the Carrboro
Planning Committee, Riggsbee said he saw
several things he would like to change
about the town government if elected to
the mayor’s office.
“I would like to see a more representa
tive government,” Riggsbee said. “We
should put bigger, more expensive things
on the agenda and let the public make
comments.”
Bigger issues should be put to referen
dums so that people can vote on them,
Riggsbee said. People are more likely to
vote on an issue than come to a public
hearing and speak out against it, he said.
One issue Riggsbee said he wished the
board had put on a referendum was the
domestic partners issue. “I’m the only can
didate who came out against it,” he said. “I
think this should have been put on a refer
endum. There was a public hearing, but I
think most people would not have stood up
and talked about it.”
Riggsbee said he was concerned about
the way the domestic partners issue was
handled. “I am against the issue, not be
cause I’m against homosexuals and gays,
but because it’s a divisive issue,” he said.
The domestic partners law was approved
because board members, not the public,
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Charles Riggsbee
Age 50
Address: 103 Quail Boost Dr.
Position Seeking: Carrboro
mayor
Previous Experience: Carrboro
Planning Board
Occupation: Insurance salesman
Children: Two
Length of Time in
Community: 50 years
College Attended: UNC
wanted it, Riggsbee said. “I think we have
it now not because we had a groundswell
of people who wanted it, but because we
had one elected official who wanted it.”
Riggsbee said he was concerned about
the private agendas of the board members.
“I think with the current board, a con
sensus is more important than personal
opinions, ” Riggsbee said. “They voice con
cern, but everybody seems to go along with
everybody in the end. The people aren’t
being served in this process.”
Riggsbee said there is a need to look at
the way the town makes out its budget.
“Taxes in Carrboro are higher than sur
rounding municipalities,” he said. “We
need to take a serious look at them. A lot of
people have already left town because of
the high cost of living here.”
Development is also an issue of concern
for Riggsbee. He said forcing developers to
delay their projects at the board’s request
cost the community money in the long run.
“The delays cost money to the developer,
and it usually hurts the renters by raising
their rent,” he said.
The cost of living in Carrboro is also a
concern for Riggsbee. “I am running be
cause I am dissatisfied with the way the
present board is moving,” he said. “On
every new development that comes before
the board, the developer must leave at least
40 percent (of the land) open (without
development). I am against this.”
Riggsbee also said he was interested in
implementing the Small Area Plan for
Carrboro’s Northern Transition Area.
“Mainly, Carrboro is a residential area,”
he said. “Small businesses are important,
especially away from the central business
area (of Canboro). I think we need a better
mix of business and residential areas.”
“I think a lot of government is about
using common sense.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY SUZANNE WOOD