VOLUME 113, ISSUE 94
Result
might
cause
appeal
District 2 result
rests on single vote
BY BRIAN HUDSON
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
A one-vote margin of victory in the
Oct. 18 special election for the District
2 congressional seat has the potential to
cause further controversy in the much
disputed race.
Junior Nicete Moodie edged out
freshman Pablo Friedmann 65 votes
to 64 in the competi
tion for the seat, which
represents midcampus
dorms.
The legitimacy of
the election, which was
certified by the UNC
Board of Elections
INSIDE
Congress
leaders ready
formal Code
review
PAGE 7
pending receipt of candidate financial
statements, was called into question
Sunday in a case before the Student
Supreme Court. The results were
announced following the hearing.
Voting irregularities during the
special election led the Black Student
Movement, which endorsed Moodie, to
call on the Court for a nullification.
Drew Erteschik, chief justice of the
Court, said the body ruled against the
BSM because it was bound by the Code,
which states that the Court can over
turn an election only in the case that the
outcome was called into question.
Although the BSM asserted that the
integrity was called into question, it
didn’t have the evidence to challenge
the outcome, he said.
Erteschick pointed to a section of the
Code that allows the election board to
nullify an election if it feels a violation
compromised an election.
“At this point I think if it comes
down to one vote the ball sort of is in
the board’s court,” he said.
The elections board notified
Friedmann on Monday morning in an
e-mail of his loss, but he was not told of
the final vote count.
When informed of the one-vote mar
gin Monday afternoon, Friedmann said
he was shocked, but he was hesitant to say
whether he would follow up with action,
though he didn’t rule out the possibility.
“I don’t want to act prematurely,” he
said. “I want to have all the facts.”
Initially he said he had been opposed
to overturning the election because he
believes all candidates were disenfran
chised equally by the irregularities.
But the closeness of the election
might change his decision, he said.
“It’s a difference of one vote,” Friedmann
said. “Had it been a difference of 20 votes
I would have been like, ‘Whatever.’”
SEE DISPUTE, PAGE 7
Dearmin to release report
Set to highlight
first half of term
BY NATE HEWITT
AND KATIE HOFFMANN
STAFF WRITERS
At the midpoint of his term,
Student Body President Seth
Dearmin and his cabinet are look
ing to lay out all their accomplish
ments before the student body.
The 2005 October Report,
—which will be released today
highlights the progress made
thus far by the Dearmin admin
istration.
CORRECTION
Due to a reporting error,
the Oct. 17 front page story,
“County debates tax, fund
ing equity,” incorrectly states
that city schools and Orange
County Schools have $3,945
and $2,796 to spend per pupil,
respectively. These totals are
solely the amount provided
to each district by Orange
County. The Daily Tar Heel
apologizes for the error.
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
(The lailu (Ear Heel
ELECTIONS LIMP
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DTH/STEVE ANDRAWES
Sophomore Wesley Merville casts his ballot during the early voting period at the Morehead Planetarium & Science Center on
Monday. The polls opened at 9 a.m. at the site, and 28 people came out during the day to exercise their democratic rights.
POLLS OPEN FOR CHAPEL HILL,
CARRBORO VOTERS BUT SEE LOW TURNOUT
BY LAURA OLENIACZ, STAFF WRITER
A few leaves blew across the empty steps of Morehead Planetarium and
Science Center on Monday the first day of one-stop early voting
there —but that’s about all that went down at what’s been called the
most popular Orange County polling site.
James Weathers, chief judge of a local precinct, said a total of 28 area resi
dents and students voted in the seven hours that the planetarium’s polls were
open Monday, although he said turnout likely will increase.
Among the 28 voters was Rebecca Goz, a Chapel Hill resident and UNC
faculty member.
Goz walked straight up to the planetarium’s polls and cast her vote Monday,
avoiding the lines and hassle of the regular polling dates.
“I have always felt my vote counts,” she said. “I cherish my citizenship.”
Early voting allows registered voters to
vote two weeks before the regular elections at
any of three locations the Orange County
Board of Elections office in Hillsborough,
the planetarium and Carrboro Town Hall
regardless of their precinct.
“A lot of people vote early
because they think it will be more
convenient,” said Carolyn Thomas,
director of the board of elections.
Voting in Hillsborough also has been light,
Thomas said.
Still, some say early voting days provide
the most accessible way to cast a ballot.
“If they wait for Election Day they have to
travel to their precinct’s polling place ... and
this is a very easy and convenient day to get
out and vote,” said UNC Young Democrats
Co-president Blakely Whilden.
Last year’s national elections saw record
numbers turn out for early voting, with 3,579
votes cast four days after the early voting polls
The document traditionally
contains information on student
government’s progress through
Oct. 15 and features progress made
on platform
planks, press
releases and
relevant news
paper articles.
“The October
Report serves
two roles: to
Wednesday: L-J
examining
the report
inform current students and
administrators and all stakehold
ers about the activities of student
government and to serve as a his
torical record,” said Matt Calabria,
2004-05 student body president.
online | dailytarheel.com
THIS IS GARBAGE Environmentalists
oppose a landfill proposed in eastern N.C.
SAVE THE FARM Mason Farm seeks
neighborhood conservation district status
MULTIMEDIA Check online to find a
slideshow from Saturday's football game
www.dailytarheel.conK
opened at the planetarium.
In 2003 municipal elections drew more
than 30,000 voters during the early voting
period.
However, only 329 people aged 18 to 22
11 MUNICIPAL
iSa ELECTIONS
T^*2oos
Kris Gould.
“The students... don’t seem to care about
(the elections) but I think they definitely
should,” he said.
The organization is trying to drum up sup
port for the elections, planning events that
members hope will draw students into poli
tics.
The Young Democrats are hoping to hold
a discussion featuring John Edwards, former
vice presidential candidate. After the event
SEE EARLY VOTING, PAGE 7
He said the report is a good
opportunity for members of stu
dent government to step back and
assess their progress.
“The process of putting togeth
er the October Report makes you
think about what you have and
have not accomplished,” Calabria
said.
“It really helps the student gov
ernment leaders gain perspective
on their activities so far,” he said.
Calabria said a student body
president at least should have
started to work on his main plat
form issues by the release of the
SEE REPORT, PAGE 7
City I page 2
IT'S YOUR FORUM
The Chapel Hill Downtown
Partnership gears up for a
forum at 5 p.m. today at the
Varsity Theatre to discuss the
Main Street approach.
voted that year.
“Students definitely are not as
involved as they could be,” said
Young Democrats Co-president
Water rates a point of contention
BY TED STRONG
CITY editor
In Hillsborough this year, high
quality H 2 O is more than just a
cool, quenching liquid.
It’s also an important cam
paign issue, as residents continue
to pay heffy prices for city water
and sewer services.
Water rates recently were
adjusted to be revenue-neutral,
and sewer rates were hiked this
year.
In essence, the race boils down
to two main points of view.
One camp holds that current
efforts to steady the rates are
working and will take effect with
time.
“If they wait
for Election
Day they
have to travel
to their
precinct’s
polling place.”
BLAKELY WHILDEN,
CO-PRESIDENT YOUNG DEMOCRATS
Early voting
information
Morehead
Planetarium and
Science Center
250 E. Franklin St.
Chapel Hill, NC
► Monday to Friday
Oct. 24 to Nov. 5
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
► Saturdays
Oct. 29 and Nov. 5
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
. | MUNICIPAL
2005
Issue Spotlight
CARRBORO
ALDERMEN
Wednesday:
How Carrboro's
growing Latino
population has
an influence on
town politics
“Water rates, they’re absolutely
high... but we’re doing everything
that we can to hold them down,”
said Mike Gering, a Town Board
incumbent.
The other maintains that more
could be done.
“Our water rates are high,” said
Paul Newton, a board challenger.
“The Town Board has no plan
to do anything about our water
rates, other than to raise them.”
features | page 6
SMOKING HOT TREND
Smoking hookahs is
becoming more popular on
the West Coast and growing
locally, but health officials
warn of dangerous effects.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2005
Bernanke
tapped as
reserve
chairman
Looks to issue
inflation targets
BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
In a Monday announcement,
President Bush named Ben Bernanke, a
well-respected academic and chairman
of the President’s Council of Economic
Advisors, to succeed
Alan Greenspan
as chairman of the
Federal Reserve.
Bernanke imme
diately pledged that
his top priority will
be to maintain the
policies enacted
during Greenspan’s
tenure.
“I will do every
thing in my power,
in collaboration with
my Fed colleagues,
to help ensure the
continued prosper-
Ben Bernanke
likely will
succeed Alan
Greenspan as
Fed chairman.
ity and stability of the American econ
omy,” he said.
The selection of Bernanke, a for
mer member of the Fed’s Board of
Governors and a widely known mon
etary economist, was well-received by
U.S. financial markets. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average climbed nearly 170
points Monday, and the Nasdaq closed
33 points higher.
The Fed chairman has significant
power in setting U.S. monetary policy,
working to promote stable economic
growth while keeping a lid on infla
tion.
“What the Fed does is very impor
tant,” said Richard Froyen, an econom
ics professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.
“In financial markets, for what goes
on in economic policy, the chairman
of the Fed is the second most impor
tant person in the country, behind the
president.”
Bernanke’s strong background in
academia and limited exposure to the
political world he has been Bush’s
chief economic adviser only since June
send a signal of stability for Fed pol
icy, Froyen said.
“I think he’s an excellent choice,” he
said. “Over his career, he hasn’t been
a partisan, hasn’t been very political
at all. His main career has been as a
monetary economist.”
As chairman of Princeton’s econom
ics department from 1996 to 2002 and
a founding editor of the International
Journal of Central Banking, Bernanke
has published a large body of work on
macroeconomic policy.
“He’s am extremely strong econo
mist” said Douglas Pearce, head of the
economics department at N.C. State
University. “I’ve had several of his
papers over the years on my graduate
SEE BERNANKE, PAGE 7
Regardless of what camp they
fall into, candidates agree the high
rates come as the town pays down
long-term debt service on expan
sions to the system, including a
new reservoir.
“It’s really a long-term debt
service that we are trying to pay
off” said Frances Dancy, another
board incumbent.
“It’s not because we want to
raise water just to be raising
water, but in order to give the
people the kind of service that we
need,” she added.
Candidates have said that pros
pects of actually lowering rates for
SEE WATER, PAGE 7
weather
Mostly Sunny
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calendar 2
crossword 5
sports 11
edit 12