October 2007

Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth (NRG) has again decided against officially endorsing any candidates in this cycle. However, we're very interested in helping citizens to understand the positions of the candidates on issues we care about.

NRG presented all candidates with a short questionnaire, and the candidate responses are posted to our website. We invite all interested citizens to browse the answers at NRG's Chapel Hill Elections 2007 page.

The questions we asked were:

On density and growth

1. In its Comprehensive Plan, Chapel Hill is committed both to denser urban development and to protection of existing neighborhoods. Do you see any conflict between these goals, and what do you feel is the best way to achieve them?

On environmental protection

2. Please describe at least three ways you feel the Town could do a better job protecting creeks and other environmentally sensitive habitats.

On cooperation of local governments

3. What suggestions do you have for better ways for the local governments in the Orange County area to work together?

In 1982, five Orange County women who believed that every child born should be loved and wanted, founded a local chapter of Planned Parenthood. This year, we celebrate 25 years of reaching out, growing strong, and meeting the needs of the community.

We've grown from a small storefront operation that could only dispense education and contraceptives to a powerful organization that helped 18,889 people last year alone.

In addition to our health centers, we have reached countless people through our peer education and through our advocacy for good public policy. During the last legislative session we supported a bill that would provide emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault; one that would repair NC's Sex Ed curriculum, one that would expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program and another that provided information about the HPV vaccine to parents.

This article in today's N&O explains why UNC has continued to dump untold mega-gallons of water on the synthetic "grass" of its field hockey field (adjacent to the law school, where I work) as our drought has deepened and our reservoirs are drying up. (Have you driven by University Lake recently?)

It makes the playing surface safer for the athletes during games and practices, we're told. Unlike natural turf, synthetic turf is harder to get a grip in when dry.

Why, though, would the better solution not be to shift field hockey to natural-turf fields until the drought is over?

Recently I noticed that two Carrboro candidates are running as a slate. Has this ever happened in Orange County before? Another thing that was pretty different was that there is one brochure and one sign for both candidates. Both of these materials advocate for both Sharon Cook and Katrina Ryan.

I believe two years ago Katrina threatened to run an all Northern Carrboro slate. Is this what this combo is about? I've seen candidates collaborate on mailings before, but this is practically two candidates with one campaign. What do you think about candidates running together?