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Volume 110, Issue 143
Party Switch Adds Twist to Speaker Fight
Decker causes Republicans to lose 1-seat edge
By Jennifer Samuels
Assistant State & National Editor
A state representative stunned officials
Friday morning when he switched his party
affiliation from Republican to Democrat -
throwing an already tumultuous race for
N.C. House speaker into further disarray.
Forsyth County Rep. Michael Decker
filed an application to switch his party about
10 a.m. Friday, said Kathie Cooper, director
of the Forsyth County Board of Elections.
Rep.
Michael Decker
said he supports
Democrat Jim Black
for speaker.
County to
Consider
Merging
Schools
By Billy Corriher
Assistant City Editor
Orange County will begin studying
the feasibility of merging the county’s
school system with the better-funded
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
At a planning retreat Saturday,
Orange County Commissioner Moses
Carey suggested that the board -as one
of its goals for the year - merge the two
school systems.
Instead, the commissioners opted to
gather more information on a possible
merger before making a decision.
Carey, whose proposal came as a sur
prise to other commissioners and school
board members,
said the county
must study the
ramifications of a
merger.
“If it would
benefit the chil
dren economical
ly and academi
cally, I would
support a merg
er,” Carey said.
A single
school system
would give stu
dents in Orange
County Schools
access to more
funding.
“If it would
benefit the
children
economically
and
academically,
I would
support a
merger. ”
Moses Carey
County Commissioner
“The reason it was proposed is that
there’s a large funding gap,” Carey said,
adding that many in Orange County
have characterized the funding differ
ence as unfair or even unconstitutional.
“It doesn’t allow for an equal oppor
tunity for county students,” he said.
Residents of Chapel Hill and
Carrboro pay an extra district tax to fund
schools that Orange County residents do
not If the systems merged, the district tax
would be eliminated and the tax burden
spread out evenly across the county.
Carey said this could present prob
lems because of an income gap that exists
between Chapel Hill and Carrboro resi
dents and the rest of Orange County.
“That would be the biggest problem,
because the northern part of Orange
County is much poorer than the south
ern part,” he said.
CHCCS board member Gloria
Faley said although a merger has been
discussed in the past, more emphasis
has been placed on collaboration
between the systems in recent years
rather than on a complete merger.
Faley said past merger studies have
revealed problems with implementation.
“There’s a lot of discussion where we’d
have to look at the past problems and ask,
‘Have these problems gone away?”
Delores Simpson, Orange County
See SCHOOLS, Page 4
■
Men do not repudiate the doctrines to which they have sworn loyalty. They... re-interpret them to fit new needs.
J. William Fulbriaht
Wordsmith
Local author Lee Smith discusses her novel, which
was 35 years in the making, with area fans.
See Page 6
Decker’s switch leaves the House divided
equally between the two parties, erasing a
razor-thin 61-59 majority held by
Republicans after the Nov. 5 elections.
It also highlights the chaotic race for the
House’s top position. Several legislators have
expressed their disapproval of the Republican
caucus’s choice for speaker, House Minority
Leader Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston. House
Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, the
Democratic nominee, also is having difficulty
gaining support from all House Democrats.
' It'S ft- v 'I
DTH/JOANIE TOBIN
Student Body President Jen Daum, who leaves office in April, is using the final
months of her term to try to fulfill promises she made when she took office (below).
DAUM REFOCUSES
FOR FINAL MONTHS
By Shelley Walden
Staff Writer
This time last year, Student
Body President Jen Daum was
publicizing her campaign plat
form.
Now, as new candidates cam
paign for her job, Daum is try
ing to deliver on those promises
made one year ago.
“It’s been a great year so far
- I’m feeling pretty good about
it,” Daum said. “But we still
have a ways to go and a full plate to finish
everything by April.”
To date, Daum has delivered on numerous
campaign promises: She has revived the
Student Advisory Committee to the UNC
Board of Trustees, upgraded security during
exam weeks, supported the creation of a
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer
Center and worked for drop-off child care in the
proposed student services building.
She also has taken steps to improve public ser
vice efforts on campus, most recently through the
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Monday, January 27, 2003
rM\
DTH FILE PHOTO
encouragement of the Service
North Carolina program, a
UNC-system-wide day of service
that will be held April 4.
In addition, Daum has tried to
strengthen the student voice and
interaction with faculty through
student representation on groups
such as the Task Force on Tuition
and the Advisory Committee on
Transportation.
But Daum’s administration still
has a lot it wants to accomplish
before her term ends April 1.
“I think we’ve reached a point where we real
ize there is way too much to do in just three
months,” said Aaron Hiller, student body vice
president.
One of Daum's priorities is to get enrollment
growth into the continuation budget for the N.C.
General Assembly. On Feb. 4, UNC will send a
bus of students, including members of the Daum
administration, to Raleigh to show that students
care about tuition increases and enrollment
See DAUM, Page 4
Career Day
NCSU's Julius Hodge scores
30 points in win over UNC.
See Page 12
Decker said his decision to change parties
was fueled by a desire to see Black win re
election. He said that while there are many
things in both parties that he does not agree
with, his actions were the best way to ensure
Black’s victory. “I support Speaker Black for
speaker, and I felt the best way to achieve that
goal was to switch to the Democratic Party.”
But Decker’s 18-year staunch Republican
record has many legislators and party offi
cials speculating that he was offered a lead
ership position in exchange for his switch.
“Given Mike Decker’s conservative voting
record in the General Assembly, I find this to
be irrational and bizarre behavior,” said Bill
It
Cobey, chairman of the N.C. Republican
Party, in a statement released Friday.
“Does all of this mean that Jim Black or
(Gov.) Mike Easley have made some type of
promise to Decker? Could that promise
involve the speaker pro tern position ... or
some promise of a job in the Easley admin
istration?”
Decker refused to comment on allega
tions that he was offered a top leadership
position in exchange for his switch.
Black issued a statement Friday welcom
ing Decker to the Democratic Party and
praised his integrity and courage for putting
his values above partisan politics.
Vote Could Reshape
Town Development
By Billy Corriher
Assistant City Editor
After two years of public input,
several revisions and five different
drafts, the Chapel Hill Town Council
expects to finally pass its Land-Use
Management Ordinance tonight.
Council members said reworking
the ordinance, which will regulate all
development in town in a way that
preserves its pedestrian-oriented, vil
lage atmosphere, took so long because
of the enormous size of the project.
Drafting a set of regulations that will
govern all development required a lot
of the council’s time and resources,
ANALYSIS
Ordinance Gets Interest
Of Businesses, Chamber
By Sun Kim
Staff Writer
Today’s Chapel Hill Town Council
vote on the farthest-reaching devel
opment ordinance in town history
carries greater weight for the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro Chamber of
Commerce than any other group.
The chamber has been the most
vocal group in the process of drafting
the Land-Use Management
Ordinance because businesses will be
impacted heavily if the more restric
tive ordinance is passed.
Appearing in large numbers at all
of public hearings and workshops,
chamber officials said they have been
“pretty effective” in influencing the
ATTENTION WAL-MART SHOPPERS
DTH 'MEREDITH Hill.
Jaime Ostendorf (right), marketing chairwoman of Dance Marathon, and volunteer
Stephanie Taylor raise money outside Wal-Mart on Sunday for the Dance Marathon.
Weather
Today: Sunny; H 31, L 13
Tuesday: Cloudy; H 43, L 28
Wednesday: Cloudy; H 52, L 27
www.dailytarheel.com
House Speaker Pro Tern Joe Hackney, D-
Orange, said that he is pleased with Decker’s
decision and that it was wise under the cir
cumstances. “(Decker) was not getting along
all that well with the leaders of his own party.
He can find a home with the Democrats.”
But the decision by Decker to switch par
ties demonstrates the need for a bipartisan
coalition that can elect a consensus speaker,
said Rep. Richard Morgan, R-Moore, a vocal
Daughtry critic who has also considered run
ning for the speaker position. He said legisla
tors must figure out how to prevent internal
See DECKER, Page 4
council member Dorothy Verkerk said.
“It’s going to determine what
Chapel Hill will look like for at least
the next 20 years,” she said.
Some of the ordinance’s most con
troversial stipulations have been the
restrictions on building height and
expanding the Resource Conservation
Districts to prohibit development on
land within 150 feet ofa stream or river.
Verkerk said that because the coun
cil sought so much input in the revi
sion process, it was difficult to decide
what provisions to include in the ordi
nance. “Nobody in Chapel Hill could
See ORDINANCE, Page 4
final draft of the ordinance.
“We’ve been effective in demon
strating our concern,” said Virginia
Knapp, who is the chamber’s expert on
the ordinance. “(Our effectiveness) is
50-50 - depends on who you talk to.”
“There have been disagreements,
but we’ve been receptive to their
ideas and they realize that we need
some of our provisions to stay in
there,” said council member Dorothy
Verkerk. “I’m surprised everything's
been this cordial.”
Council member Jim Ward said
the chamber was effective in getting
its ideas across. “Their suggestions
have been welcome and, I think, have
See BUSINESS, Page 4
Development
Ordinance
Timeline
•May 2000
The Town Counal
approves the
Comprehensive Plan
with a provision
that calls for
revising the town's
Development
Ordinance.
•January 2001
The council begins
work on revising
the Development
Ordinance, later
renamed the
Land-Use
Management
Ordinance.
•March 2001
The town staff
releases the first
draft of the new
ordinance and
schedules a series
of public hearings.
•October 2002
The council, in
response to
neighborhood
complaints, bans
duplex construction
until the issue is
addressed by the
new ordinance.
•January 2003
The council expects to
pass the fifth and
final ckaft of the
Land-Use
Management
Ordinance