Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 4, 2003, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2003 ENDORSEMENT KEY: CAN: Community Action Network PBA: The North Carolina Police Benevolent Association SPCH: Students for a Progressive Chapel Hill Sierra: Sierra Club CNC: Coalition of Neighbors near Campus Indy: Independent Weekly HABC: Hank Anderson Breakfast Club CHN: The Chapel Hill News FAF: Orange County Friends of Affordable Housing DTH: The Daily Tar Heel Hopefuls fill election platter BY EMILY VASQUEZ STAFF WRITER Chapel Hill Town Council and Carrboro Board of Aldermen elec tions are traditionally low-key affairs in Orange County. Still, Chapel Hill’s election stands out this year due to the number of candidates vying for four seats on the Town Council 12 in all. “By historic standards, this is going to be remembered as a remarkably lively, vigorous but also civil campaign,” said incumbent candidate Bill Strom. Despite the spirited debate raised by so many different per spectives, candidates worry that voter participation still might be lacking, especially in a year when Mayor Kevin Foy ran unchallenged until the week before elections. “People are just far more inter ested if the mayor s position is con tested,” said former council mem ber Joe Herzenberg, who served on the council for 12 years. Write-in mayoral candidate Pat Killian declared her ambitions too late to participate in any forums. Candidates also recognize that it has been a challenge for the com munity to become familiar with 12 platforms. In efforts to draw attention to the race and distinguish their plat forms, candidates have participat ed in a series of forums and com pleted numerous questionnaires. But some candidates worry that the forums, many of which were televised but not well attended, did not provide the community with an adequate opportunity to under stand their platforms. “I think the voters would be bet ter served if we could create a forum where there was more opportunity for rebuttal, debate, to make corrections,” said incumbent Candidate forums help form opinions BY CHRIS MCLAUGHLIN STAFF WRITER Local political forums have allowed Chapel Hill Town Council candidates to express policy views and push individual platforms. At the Sierra Club forum, the main topics of discussion were Carolina North, transportation pro posals and the bond referendum. Candidate Rudy Juliano said he favored building a rail line connect ing UNC to Carolina North, and incumbent Bill Stiom pushed for the town to handle the transit needs of the future satellite campus. Regarding the town’s $29.4 mil lion bond package, candidates Doug Schworer and Terri Tyson dis agreed with the majority, saying that the energy bank and open space bonds were fiscally inefficient. An unexpected topic that came up at the Sierra Club forum was the candidates’ stances on the town’s red light cameras. After debating the topic, all candidates except Dianne Bachman and incumbent Jim Ward opposed the program. Traffic issues were key during the Chapel Hill Herald’s forum, during which candidates debated the issue of additional campus parking. Candidate Mike McSwain said UNC’s request for parking was rea sonable, but candidate Cam Hill said the council let the town down by allowing parking lots to be built next to a historic neighborhood. Controversy erupted when the forum’s moderator asked if service to both UNC and the town might be at odds with each other. Hill said those employed at UNC in administration and expansion might have conflicts of interest on zoning issues. Bachman, an architect in the LOCAL ELEC MEET THE C candidate Jim Ward. Candidates stressed that the extra efforts have meant a sizable investment of time and resources over the course of the election. In Carrboro, local elections which involve only four candidates for three seats on the Board of Aldermen have taken a different flavor. The elections have received more attention since write-in may oral candidate Jeff Vanke chal lenged incumbent Mike Nelson, raising significant contention. Vanke heatedly has criticized Carrboro’s five-year plan as well as several other initiatives led by Nelson. In the race for Board of Aldermen, incumbents Joal Broun and Alex Zaffron have been chal lenged by Steve Rose, who claims that the current board has not lis tened adequately to the concerns of the community at large. Meanwhile, Mark Chilton, the sec ond challenger, thinks only slight “tweaking” is necessary in terms of revising the board’s policies. By filling out questionnaires like those in Chapel Hill and attending forums, candidates have presented their views on five-story buildings downtown, economic expansion, development and taxation. Though the four candidates more easily can distinguish their platforms, the demands of the race still have been considerable. “Its been tough. This year there have been many more forums,” Broun said. Media coverage also has increased this year, she said. “Overall, it’s been a pretty con genial race —a good, clean fight,” Chilton said. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. University’s Facilities Planning Department, printed an advertise ment that criticized Hill’s stance and defended her occupation the day after the UNC Student Government forum. The contro versy heated up at the forum when resident Will Raymond accused Bachman of compromising herself after campaign finance reports revealed she had accepted thou sands of dollars from UNC admin istrators and developers with con tractual ties to the University. A large focus of the Community Action Network’s forum was the proposed merger between the county’s two school systems. Candidates were hesitant to dis cuss merger as a council issue since the town lacks authority over the issue, but Tyson and Schworer expressed staunch opposition. At the League of Women Voters forum, candidates debated town intervention in the University’s decision-making process. Schworer said, “We are trying to maintain a world-class university in this town,” in response to Strom’s concern that UNC does not always take town interest into account. Concerns about affordable housing surfaced again at the Friends of Sunrise forum, during which the main issue was a pro posed Habitat for Humanity devel opment near the Sunrise area, Tyson argued for infill construc tion within developed areas rather than in open areas, where the Habitat homes might be built. Candidates seemed weary by the forum’s conclusion but said the debates helped educate local voters. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. News CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL DIANNE BACHMAN Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 3/12/1947 Years lived in Triangle: 15 Job: Project architect/manager, UNC Dept, of Facilities Planning Other offices held include Chapel Hill Community Design Commission Endorsements: PBA, CAN www.bachmanforcouncil.com RUDY JULIANO Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 7/18/1941 Years lived in Triangle: 17 Job: Professor of pharmacology, UNC School of Medicine Other offices held include President of the Coker Hills Neighborhood Association Endorsements: DTH www.rudyjuliano.com . ' if JHa. 11" ll BILL STROM Incumbent Date of Birth: 5/26/1956 Years lived in Triangle: 18 Job: retired; Town Council member Other offices held include Orange Water and Sewer Authority Endorsements: Sierra, Indy, CHN, HABC, FAF, CHN, PBA, SPCH, DTH www.stromforcouncil.com Major library bond a BY SHANNAN BOWEN STAFF WRITER Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents will have the opportunity today to vote on general obligation bonds, used to finance public town projects in future years. Chapel Hill’s proposed $29.4 million bond package the largest in town his tory would be used to finance long term projects such as parks and libraries. Carrboro’s proposal includes one bond of $4.6 million for sidewalk and greenway construction in the town. Because bonds are paid for by town residents, they require approval through an Election Day referendum. m - * •- THATCHER FREUND Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 9/13/1955 Years lived in Triangle: 10 Job: Author Other offices held include Chapel Hill Town Planning Board, Chapel Hill Community Design Commission Endorsements: PBA, HABC www.thatcherfreund.com MIKE MCSWAIN Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 4/20/1982 Years lived in Triangle: 3 Job: UNC senior; Starbucks barista Other offices held include Student Liason to the Town Council Endorsements: none www.mikemcswain.net TERRI TYSON Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 1/31/1956 Years lived in Triangle: 14 Job: community volunteer Other offices held include Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission Endorsements: CAN www.tysonforcouncil.com The Chapel Hill bond ballot asks vot ers if they support the following bonds: sidewalks, open space, greenways, libraries and the “energy bank.” The bond items would help finance major capital projects, including the approved Town Operations Center, green infrastructure and expansion of the Chapel Hill Public Library. The Carrboro bond resolution plans to use a portion of the funds to create a greenway along a portion of Bolin Creek in the Horace Williams tract. Dorothy Verkerk, a Chapel Hill Town Council member and chairwoman of the “Invest in Chapel Hill” bond campaign, SALLY GREENE Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 10/19/1955 Years lived in Triangle: 16 Job: Consultant lawyer Other offices held include Chapel Hill Town Planning Board Endorsements: Sierra, PBA, SPCH, CNC, Indy, CHN, HABC, FAF, DTH www.sallygreene.org ,:A "W- ANDREA ROHRBACHER Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 12/20/1952 Years lived in Triangle: 23 Job: Information scientist for GlaxoSmithKline Other offices held include Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission Endorsements: Indy, Sierra, CAN www.andrea2oo3.org ■ ;|M 1 a||9P JIM WARD Incumbent Date of Birth: 3/28/1949 Years lived in Triangle: 28 Job: N.C. Botanical Garden Curator; Town Council member Other offices held include Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission Endorsements: CAN, DTH, CHN, HABC, FAF www.jim-ward.org emphasized that the projects will be voted on as a single package. The $2 million open-space bond would enable the town to acquire tracts of land for recreation purposes. The sidewalk bond, totaling $5.6 mil lion, would be used to construct curbs, crosswalk signals, traffic controls and lighting needed for pedestrian pathways. The $16.26 million library bond would expand the building from 27,300 to 75,000 square feet by 2025. More books, computers and seating would be added. Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said the library needs additional funds to serve the growing town appropriately. GJljp laxly (Ear Mppl CAM HILL Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 2/25/1953 Years lived in Triangle: 50 Job: Builder and home inspector Other offices held include UNC's Carolina North Committee, Horace Williams Advisory Committee Endorsements: CHN, Indy, Sierra, CNC www.Cam4Council.org t r~ ■w*llWp , ‘ lll '^'v^i DOUG SCHWORER Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 2/5/1954 Years lived in Triangle: 10 Job: President of WEB Telecommunications Other offices held include Chandler's Green Homeowners Association Endorsements: none www.votedoug2oo3.com WOODROW BARFIELD (Not pictured) Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 11/29/1950 *Woodrow Barfield declined to respond to the request for profile information “We have the arguably the bestlil said. “But the facilil A greenways b would fund walking Morgan Creek. A $500,000 bo “energy bank” to fin energy improvemer The town now is ing debt from past Director James Ba new bonds will repl Phasing the proj would reduce the fii additional debt s
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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