Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 4, 2003, edition 1 / Page 7
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oailif liar Uppl JTIONS 2003 ANDIDATES MAYOR CHAPEL HILL r P|f ! 7 fSSf^ I ' /* -*< ■**•’ .J§ 'rrr'rr ’ V KEVIN C. FOY Incumbent Date of Birth: 1/28/1956 Years lived in Triangle: 14 Job: Chapel Hill Mayor; attorney and visiting professor at N.C. Central University School of Law Other offices held include Chapel Hill Town Council Endorsements: PBA, CAN, Sierra, HABC No Web site ,r lt's not just a matter of getting re-elected. It's about interacting with voters and receiving a vote of confidence." CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN JOAL BROUN Incumbent Date of Birth: 2/20/1961 Years lived in Triangle: 11 Job: Assistant general counsel for the Commercial Loan Team for Self Help; Carrboro alderman Other offices held include Orange Water and Sewer Authority Endorsements: CAN, HABC, CHN, Indy, Sierra, PBA No Web site ''Part of the culture of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is consensus, learning with each other and talking about things, and it must be done very early." mong those on ballot finance the projects, Baker said. At a public forum on the bonds, Shirley Marshall, chairwoman of the Carrboro Sidewalks and Greenways Bond Education Committee, said the bonds would be implemented in phases as well. Even if they were issued at once, the tax rate only would increase by 5.4 cents. Kleinschmidt says the bond’s costs would have positive long-term effects. “The rewards are investment,” he said. “The students of today should want to make sure the future is going to be good." Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. ■ most active and ibrary in the state,” he itv is inadequate.” bond of $5 million ig and biking paths on and would create an ind the installation of :nts in town buildings, s. paying off outstand t bonds, but Finance aker said the tax on rlace past debt, rjects into the budget inanoial impact of the service required to PAT KILLIAN Write-in candidate Date of Birth: 12/21/1947 Year lived in the Triangle: 30 Job: Social studies teacher at Saint Thomas Moore Catholic School Other offices held include worked with Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce Endorsements: none No Web site "I've worked in environments where others were struggling to make ends meet. A lot of people don't think those types of people exist in Chapel Hill." |r;/* s • *? MARK CHILTON Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 9/27/1970 Years lived in Triangle: 20 Job: Executive Director of EmPOWEßment Inc. Other offices held include Chapel Hill Town Council Endorsements: CAN, HABC, CHN, Indy, Sierra, PBA www.markchilton.org "It just seems like it's difficult to predict what the (affordable housing) situation will be 100 years from now. * BOND ISSUES CHAPEL HILL •Residents will vote on a $29.4 million bond package: $16.26 million library bond $5.6 million sidewalk bond $5 million to build greenways $2 million open space bond $500,000 to create an energy bank •Bond package is the largest in town history •Must pass as referendum to be accepted into town budget CARRBORO H’ jH MICHAEL R. NELSON Incumbent Date of Birth: 12/29/1963 Year lived in the Triangle: 16 Job: Carrboro Mayor Other Offices held include Carrboro Board of Aldermen Endorsements: Indy, CHN, HABC, Sierra, PBA, CAN www.electmikenelson.com "We have an aging population, and as baby boomers retire and age, we will have to increase the supply of housing for seniors." ff ' A gf H STEVEN J. ROSE Not Incumbent Date of Birth: 4/12/1943 Years lived in Triangle: 28 Job: Principal attorney for the N.C. General Assembly Other offices held include Carrboro Board of Adjustment, former alderman Endorsements: none www.roseforalderman.org "Economic developers must be in constant contact with business owners to prevent moves before they happen." News JEFF VANKE Write-in candidate Date of Birth: 3/17/1970 Year lived in the Triangle: 19 Job: Assistant professor of history, Guilford College Other Offices Held: none Endorsements: none www.writeinjeff.com “If elected mayor I would look out for education of our children and try to make sure we do what's best for them." ■ ''' 41 ALEX ZAFFRON Incumbent Date of Birth: 2/24/1962 Years lived in Triangle: 35 Job: House manager for The Carrboro Arts Center; Carrboro alderman Other offices held include N.C. State Democratic Party Executive Committee Endorsements: CAN, HABC, CHN, Indy, Sierra, PBA www.alexzaffron.com "We need to do a better job of outreach. (We need to) make African Americans more involved on a day-to-day basis." CARRBORO •Package includes a $4.6 million bond for sidewalk and greenway construction •A portion of the funds will be used to cre ate a greenway along a part of Bolin Creek on the Horace Williams Tract •If all bonds are passed, only 5.4 cents should be added to the tax rate •The Board of Aldermen is also exploring ways to receive funding for sidewalks from the N.C. Department of Transportation TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2003 GETTING TO THE POLLS The following numbers represent the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots during the last five local and national election years. Year 1997 1998* 1999 2000* 2001 Chapel Hill Town Council 17.2 40.1 20 40 27.2 Carrboro Board of ... Q( - ~ . ~, Aldermen 24 444 9 5 42 4 23 5 Ki'SisS! 0 22 m ,2 - 2 m 224 "National election years national average was 36.4% and 51.3%, respectively SOURCE: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS DTH/KHANH-LIEN NGUYEN Voter turnout likely to be low BY DAN SCHWIND STAFF WRITER Election officials should not expect a large turnout for today’s municipal elections, based on past voting records. Although Chapel Hill voter turnout rates have increased in each of the local elections since 1997, the rates were still noticeably lower than the town’s turnout for general elections in 1998 and 2000. The 2000 presidential and gubernatorial elections and 1998’s midterm congressional election brought out about 40 percent of registered Chapel Hill voters where as the 2001 municipal election, which posted the highest turnout since the 1997 election, saw only about a 27 percent turnout. That turnout was about 10 per centage points more than 1997, bucking the national trend of declining turnout rates. Nevertheless, town and nation al rates remain below the 50 per cent mark, which raises questions about the reasons for low voter turnout. Local resident Terry Hudgins said he thinks that Chapel Hill's low rates are related to University stu dents. “You often get students who feel like issues don't relate to them." Daniel Morris, a renter in Chapel Hill, said he will not be voting in this fall's election because of a lack of information. “Unless you’re a homeowner, its hard to know enough on local issues," he said. Several others expressed the idea that voter apathy can be traced to inadequate information along with a lack of electoral prominence. “It’s because (voters) are lazy and don’t think it matters," said Russ Lewis, a sophomore business major. Whatever the cause, a nationwide effort is being made to register new voters and encourage those already UNC helps define Carrboro elections BY SUSIE DICKSON STAFF WRITER Carrboro Board of Aldermen hopefuls debated local issues including town-gown relations and the rising student population in Carrboro at several candidate forums leading to today’s election. Candidates Joal Broun, Mark Chilton, Steve Rose and Alex Zaffron are competing for three seats on the board, while incum bent Mike Nelson and write-in Jeff Vanke are running for mayor. Although the candidates agreed on many issues, several topics incited debate. At the forum hosted by the Chapel Hill Herald, incumbents Zaffron and Broun agreed that the board needs to pressure the University to provide adequate stu dent housing. Candidates also discussed the strained relations between the town and the University at a forum hosted by the Orange County Community' Action Network. Zaffron cited the importance of remaining engaged with the University. Chilton said he fears that stu dents will crowd residents out of apartment complexes, which are important to community diversity. Candidates also discussed the 46-unit Pacifica housing develop ment at a forum sponsored by three local environmental organizations. The controversial development was approved by the board in June. Zaffron, Chilton and Nelson are in favor of the development, while Rose disapproves. Broun, who expressed disap proval of the development earlier this year, said she w'ould like to see the town move past the develop registered to get out and vote. I/really, groups such as student government are working to emphasize the importance of municipal elections. Ben Adams, chief of staff for Student Body President Matt Tepper, said the group already has registered more than 2,300 new voters and has shifted its focus to getting those voters to the polls. “There are a lot of issues that the town decides that affect students,” Adams said. “Off-campus housing, noise ordinances, parking, trans portation. They make decisions on all of it.” Student government hosted a candidate forum Oct. 28, passed out flyers in the Pit and began phone banking and e-mailing reg istered voters to remind them of the election date and voting loca tions. “I think it’s very important for students to have a voice in the community,” Adams said. Hector Perez, executive director of Carrboro’s El Centro Latino emphasized the need for all eligible voters, not just students to partic ipate. “I think its terribly impor tant to get involved,” he said. Hudgins pointed out the inher ent patriotism in voting in local elections. “If you believe in repre sentative government, this is where it all starts," Hudgins said. Another effort was the county’s one-stop voting program. The program allowed residents to register and vote at the same time and registered voters to vote early at one of three locations in Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. As of the end of the program Saturday, 612 voters had taken advantage of this opportunity. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. ment to concentrate on the long term goals of the community. Vanke was strongly opposed to the development and foresaw problems concerning sidewalk construction and storm water management. Candidates also discussed the town’s recent five-story building ordinance at the Herald’s forum, which raised the town’s maximum building height to five stories. Chilton said taller buildings are more appropriate in some areas of town than others. Rose said he would like to see the ordinance be altered so that build ings in the older downtown section cannot be taller than three stories. Vanke said five-story buildings downtown would create traffic congestion and parking shortages. Broun and Zaffron agreed that the revised ordinance will allow businesses to expand and stay in Carrboro, while Chilton and Nelson stressed the importance of Carrboro’s Revolving Loan Fund in retaining local businesses. Chilton also suggested updating older buildings to make them more appealing to businesses. An issue at the forefront of the mayoral candidates’ discussions has been the potential merger of Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Vanke has pushed for a referen dum on the merger on the ballot, while Nelson said the merger is an irrelevant election issue that does not fall within mayoral jurisdiction. Annual election forums began in 1999 to allow residents to learn more about candidate positions. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. 7
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