From the Orange County Board of Elections :
2009 Municipal and
Chapel Hill/Carrboro School Board
Election Schedule and
Candidate Filing Information
Election Day is November 3rd
In observance of Independence Day, the Board of Elections office will be closed
Friday, July 3rd.
Filing will start at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 6, 2009,
and will end at 12:00 Noon, Friday, July 17, 2009.
Filing Fees and number of seats open:
Chapel Hill Mayor - $5.00 – 1 Seat
Chapel Hill Town Council - $5.00 – 4 Seats
Carrboro Mayor - $15.00 – 1 Seat
Carrboro Alderman - $10.00 – 3 Seats
Hillsborough Mayor - $10.00 – 1 Seat
Hillsborough Town Commissioner - $10.00 - 2 Seats
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education - $5.00 – 3 Seats
Filing forms, along with the proper filing fee, must be received bythis office before the filing deadline of 12:00 Noon on July 17, 2009.This includes mailed notices of candidacy.
Important Dates
October 2, 2009 - Ballots available for Absentee Voting by Mail.
October 9, 2009 -Voter Registration Deadline. Postmarked or in Elections office.
October 15, 2009 - One Stop (Early) Voting Begins. Citizens mayregister and vote during the one-stop period if they failed to registerbefore the October 9th deadline.
October 27, 2009 - Requests for By-Mail Absentee Voting ends.
Note: Requests must be in writing and in Elections office by October 27th.
October 31, 2009 - One Stop (Early) Voting Ends at 1:00 p.m.
November 10, 2009 - Official County Canvass.
November 16, 2009 - Certificates of Election Issued by County Board of Election.
Issues:
Comments
How many hats will be tossed...
It starts today in just a couple of hours. How many candidates do you
think will officially get into the race on this first day of filing?
Penny Rich
filed for CH Town Council first thing this morning.
keep up with filings in real time here
For filings in Orange County:http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/2009CandidateFilings.asp[also for filings for Chapel Hill residents living in Durham County you check here:http://co.durham.nc.us/departments/elec/CANDIDATE_FILING/2009/Web%202009%20Candidate%20Filing.html UPDATE: The Durham website has been updated to delete the Chapel Hill listings and directing people to the Orange County page where it will be shown, I assume there will be some lag time for Durham actions to post to Orange. Those candidates file with Durham]
Voter Owned Candidates
To the best of my knowledge I believe both Mark & Penny are going for this. Are there any others who have expressed interest? More Sites to Share:Mark Kleinschmidt for Mayorhttp://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=91222152476 Penny Rich for Town Council http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Penny-Rich/98837990702
Busy 1st Day at OC BOE
As of COB July 6th Mayor of Chapel Hill (1 Seat)Augustus Cho Chapel Hill Town Council (4 Seats) Penny Rich Carrboro Board of Aldermen (3 Seats) Jacquelyn M. Gist, Randee Haven- O'Donnell, Sammy Slade Mayor of Hillsborough (1 Seat)Tom Stevens Hillsborough Town Commissioners (2 Seats) Mike Gering Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education (3 Seats) Michelle (Shell) Brownstein
New Facebook Page
Jon DeHart for Chapel Hill Town Council. I expect to see at least three more candidates for Town Council.
Matt Cz has filed
And so, he made it officially official this morning. Below is an email he sent out to supporters, as well as a number of non-supporters, via an email listserv to which he appears to have added every town advisory board member to involuntarily:
What does any of this mean?
What actual policies would result from these platform positions?
And what is up with that mailing list? I keep hearing about Matt sending out messages to thousands of people. Where did the list come from? Are people really getting mass e-mails involuntarily (which is against the law)? How (or) will this be reflected in camapign accounting?
politics not covered by anti spam
I think political emails are exempt from the anti spam law
What does he mean?
Anybody know what exactly he means by this statement?"a policy of unrestrained growth which has led to development projects which are shocking to many"
Seems pretty clear to me...
Greenbridge, Lot 5, Hwy 54, the proposed development on Hillsborough Street, and all the other residential projects that bring in high priced housing with a handful of "affordable units" thrown in, despite the Land Trust having said for the past several years that we need to pursue a different approach? Are you saying that over the past decade (maybe longer) the council has pursued a policy of balancing growth between residential and business development?
Do you believe that there
Do you believe that there has been any growth in Chapel Hill in the last few years that you do not consider to be "unconstrained?" If so, can you point us towards those projects?
Unconstrained?
I don't know what "unconstrained" growth means. If you mean are there conditions put on each new development agreement? Then yes, there are always conditions. But that doesn't get at the big picture. New development with affordable housing requirements are approved--but in the process the price of the regular units go up. So we have a lot of high priced housing and a few affordable units and nothing in between. And to make it worse, we lose long-term affordable housing that isn't owned by the Community Land Trust because working people can't afford to live here. So question back to you. What value have the longer, more extensive review processes served for the community as a whole? Have they preserved a wide range of housing prices? Has it solved the problem of so many university faculty (our major industry) having to commute to work from Durham, Cary, Raleigh?
Development process vs. high costs vs. campaign BS
Do you really think the affordable housing component of these developments is the largest driver of the high cost of the other units? Without the affordable housing the other units would still be expensive-look at the condos across from Polk Place, no affordable units and they are the most expensive in town. This argument is like saying that green space programs lead to higher land costs for developments. Actually they just make life better, developers will charge what the market will bear in any case.The review process was designed to allow maximum citizen input into the development process. It does take too long and is too expensive BUT it makes projects better. It appears to be what the citizens want. NO ONE on the council has done anything that shortens the process (or even really tried) so for a candidate to advocate for this in a campaign moving forward smacks of BS.Chapel Hill/Carrboro are too expensive for lots of reasons, mainly people want to live here. To blame the development process is convenient and a favorite ploy of the development community. Why not blame OWASA and the CH/Carrboro Public Schools? They provide clean water and a highly rated school system while being dysfunctional bureaucracies?When people run for office after they have been in office, we have an opportunity to see if they're claims are backed up by action. It will be interesting to see if this happens. Has Matt ridden his bike to meetings, like he promised?
Sustainable development
Yes, Matt has been riding his bike. CORRECTION: I have been this is not true.All I did was ask a question back to Patrick, Joe. But since you appear to think I'm stating my opinion, I'll say that I do dislike projects like Greenbridge, Lot 5 and Hwy 54. Not just because they are oversized for the scale of our town, but because they continue to escalate the cost of living here. It's not just the developments themselves that are the problem. It's the lack of commercial and business development. Sustainability is about more than green buildings. The development process, as it currently exists, is pushing the historically black population out of Northside. That's not social sustainability. It's not economic sustainability. I can't say that the cause of the situation is the long development review process. I've heard others say that though. When the council began talking about partnering with a developer on a downtown project, I was thrilled. But the devil is always in the details. They didn't devise a contract that brought a range of housing options to the town--they got overpriced units with a few affordable ones. The university's blue collar workers as you call us can't afford the commercial units and make too much for the affordable units. There's nothing in between. The economy of Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Orange County has devolved into the rich and the poor. So while I am not too concerned about the affordable housing issue, I am very concerned about the bifurcated economy.
Huh?
These developments escalate the cost of living here? If there was no development the cost would be higher still. You say:"The development process, as it currently exists, is pushing the historically black population out of Northside." Huh? Personal property rights and rising real estate values are doing that. The development process including NCDs have attempted to mitigate this. The development process has pushed mixed use where the developers weren't interested in it-which resulted in more commercial development. This has had mixed results. Adding empty retail and office space is not really worthwhile. The development process is in need of fixing but it certainly isn't responsible for all the ills that you are heaping on it.Given the fallacies in your other statements, I wonder if Matt has been riding his bike......
What?
Without million dollar condos, it would cost more to live here? Give me a break. It the price of the housing developments that is causing the cost of living to skyrocket. The land use ordinances have been written to encourage mixed use development. But if there's not enough business to make such a development cost effective, the developers aren't going to build them. From discussions I've had with major developers, mixed use is only viable when there is sufficient traffic (foot or vehicle) from outside the housing portion of the development. If I wasn't clear, I will repeat that I'm not blaming the development process. It may play a part in making this community so dependent on residential and retail, but it is certainly not the only culprit.
From discussions I've had
From discussions I've had with major developers, mixed use is only
viable when there is sufficient traffic (foot or vehicle) from outside
the housing portion of the development.
That's absolutely true. That's what Meadowmont and Southern Village are. The developers threw in the retail and office portions to keep the town happy, and years later, both of them are, for the most part, failures. Both have vacancies which, at least in retail, don't really exist anywhere else in town. That's certainly a failure on the part of the town, but that doesn't explain why real estate is out of reach of regular people.
The simple reason why real estate is out of reach of regular people is that there's a very high demand to live in this area due to the university. People who want to live near universities tend to be higher educated, and as a result, more wealthy. They can afford to live here. Those who aren't as well educated and not as wealthy are simply out bid. The town's development process certainly doesn't help the problem, but I doubt there's any way the town or the county could do anything to change this very simple situation.
Affordable housing is a politician's gift from heaven
The affordable housing issue is so complicated due to the many societal factors that conspire to increase housing costs, that we will not see substantial improvement in housing affordability until our entire economy is revamped. All the economic winds blowing from insurance companies, the HBA, realtors associations, banks, material suppliers, the education establishment, the Chamber of Commerce, etc. are all pushing against affordable housing. All we can hope for from local government is piecemeal, small affordable housing initiatives. So, for the foreseeable future, the affordable housing drum will be beaten in every election cycle, just like it has in the last few decades.
transit
If there is a push for regional rail transit, this also has the effect of pushing up land prices near stations, yet also allows those living there to choose to live without autos. Roger Perry's 54 East project has a right of way corridor for light rail and a station site reserved on the property, as does Meadowmont. While 54E is decried by some as "out of proportion", others might say that transit oriented development by its nature is going to be dense. So many tradeoffs.
I got the email and I live in Efland
I have no idea how he got my email. I have never lived in Chapel Hill or been involved in town affairs, I never even comment on them. I am active in the county Democratic Party, but the OCDP never releases its email address list, even to Democratic candidates!
The OCDP does put the emails
The OCDP does put the emails of precinct coaches online, so he probably got it from there. It still doesn't make sense why he would want you on his list, though.
Another email
I received an email from Cazjkowski apologizing for "inadvertantly" including me on his email list and telling me he has removed my email from the list.I emailed him back and said it was no big deal, it didn't bother me, I was just curious how he got my email address. Erin's theory is likely correct, as my email is on the list of OCDP "coaches" and also as a member of the State Exec Comm.
Triple-header
I got the email three times! Haven't lived in Chapel Hill since '93, and moved last month from Carrboro to Durham.
I feel very bad
Am I the only one in CH who didn't get the email? Guess I've done too good a job at protecting my address over the years....
Got the e-mail as well
I recieved his e-mail at my work e-mail today. Not sure how I made the list either, nor do I know what he means.
Another CHTC Candidate
Matt Pohlman Has Filed To Run For Chapel Hill Town Council. In addition to the two who have now filed, Penny Rich and Matt Pohlman, I think we will see three incumbents and at least two others file by Saturday the 17th.
Matt C's email list
I received the email...and I live in Durham!
Removal
When I scroll down to the bottom of the email, I see To be removed click here
I clicked for you
I saved you a step and clicked thru to remove you
Faculty are only a small part of UNC
Terri's quote: Has it solved the problem of so many university faculty (our major
industry) having to commute to work from Durham, Cary, Raleigh?
UNC is primarily a blue-collar and middle-class employer. Of 15,000 employees, only 2,000 are faculty. One of the critiques of Chancellor Moeser was that he tried exclusively to help the faculty at the expense of the bulk of the employees. I think that Chancellor Thorp appreciates the breakdown of employee types better.
That said, every UNC person, faculty, staff and 27,000 students, needs to get to campus somehow and needs to live somewhere. With that kind demand, it is no wonder why closer-to-campus housing prices are higher. The best K-12 school system in the state increases the demand. An interesting and relevant phenomenon has occurred recently in Westwood, our close-in neighborhood. "For Rent" signs, which used to appear only during the summer, are now visible throughout the academic year as well. I attribute that to a glut of apartments on the periphery and the fare-free bus system which has diminished the relative attraction of a walk-to-campus location.
I don't understand Matt's statement "a policy of unrestrained growth" beyond its obvious appeal to those who dislike the type and locations of projects like East 54 and Greenbridge. While there is likely some immediate political gain (read that votes) to such a statement, it can't begin to counter decades of developer's complaints that Chapel Hill is hostile with a burdensome review process. Yet the developers who critique the Chapel Hill process still choose to build here. Ruby's question is right on. What will Matt propose as a policy, make the review process more difficult?
Aargh...software updates. Here's my post
Terri's quote: Has it solved the problem of so many university faculty (our major industry) having to commute to work from Durham, Cary, Raleigh?
UNC is primarily a blue-collar and middle-class employer. Of 15,000 employees, only 2,000 are faculty. One of the critiques of Chancellor Moeser was that he tried exclusively to help the faculty at the expense of the bulk of the employees. I think that Chancellor Thorp appreciates the breakdown of employee types better.
That said, every UNC person, faculty, staff and 27,000 students, needs to get to campus somehow and needs to live somewhere. With that kind demand, it is no wonder why closer-to-campus housing prices are higher. The best K-12 school system in the state increases the demand. An interesting and relevant phenomenon has occurred recently in Westwood, our close-in neighborhood. "For Rent" signs, which used to appear only during the summer, are now visible throughout the academic year as well. I attribute that to a glut of apartments on the periphery and the fare-free bus system which has diminished the relative attraction of a walk-to-campus location.
I don't understand Matt's statement "a policy of unrestrained growth" beyond its obvious appeal to those who dislike the type and locations of projects like East 54 and Greenbridge. While there is likely some immediate political gain (read that votes) to such a statement, it can't begin to counter decades of developer's complaints that Chapel Hill is hostile with a burdensome review process. Yet the developers who critique the Chapel Hill process still choose to build here. Ruby's question is right on. What will Matt propose as a policy, make the review process more difficult?
A 3d CH Mayor Candidate
filed today --- Kevin Wolff. He ran twice before. One more?
Charming
Kevin Wolff. The fellow with the multi-purpose posters. Chapel Hill's own Alf Landon.
Mark Kleinschmidt announces for CH Mayor
got this link on Facebook 20 minutes agohttp://www.mark4mayor.com/mark-kleinschmidt-files-for-mayor/Mark Kleinschmidt Files for MayorPosted by Mark on July 13, 2009I am excited to announce today that I am officially filing as a candidate for Mayor of the Town of Chapel Hill. Over the last eight years as a member of the Town Council, I have been a strong and effective advocate for affordable housing, economic development, environmental conservation, transportation, and responsible growth. I am looking forward to continuing my work on these issues as the next Mayor of Chapel Hill. My experience has prepared me to lead our Town through what will be several challenging years for our community. Here are some of the issues I will be talking about in the coming months:Our Economy
Carolina North
Growth
There will be many other issues to discuss over the next several months. I look forward to engaging the people of Chapel Hill and continuing to learn from them.Chapel Hill is the best place in America to live, work and play. It is the people of Chapel Hill that have made it what it is. I look forward to celebrating with you all that is great about our Town, and to working with you to face the challenges that confront us in the years ahead
1 week into filing, & still only
two voter owned candidates. Can we expect to see any more before filing ends on Friday of this week (the 17th?) Anyone have the scoop?I'm glad to see Mark & Penny have opted for this campaign finance reform Voter Owned Elections deal. I had hoped we would see more candidates willing to take that step.
Jake Goad for Office?
Since you've got a Facebook group set up by that name, are you thinking of throwing your hat in the ring as a voter-owned candidate? The more the merrier!
students?
Jason, are there any potential student candidates? I assume you are close to that pulse.
Wish I knew
Not that I'm aware of. It's amazing how quickly you can drift away from campus once you're not there for classes every day. I'm glad to have seen the student government petitioning council right before the recess, though - perhaps there's an engaged student there waiting to emerge as a candidate?If anyone's lurking, I'm more than happy to give them an essay on what not to do. Literally. Thad Beyle had me write one as my faculty advisor for an independent study project after I ran four years ago. Stored away somewhere I've got a great essay by Erik Ose from Mark Chilton's campaign that does a good job painting the successful side of the picture, too.
18 & 36 symmetry
It's been 18 years since Mark's win and 36 since mine, with several failed student campaigns scattered around from 1972 to present. Symmetry would call for something this year.
Jon Dehart
Jon DeHart has a facebook group with 61 membershttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=98411254462Mark K has 221 members in his mayoral grouphttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=91222152476Jake Goad has 106 members but it appears generic and not focused on this year's town council racehttp://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=jake+goad&n=-1&k=200000010&sf=r&init=q&sid=0#/group.php?gid=15887256639
Maybe someday...
I'm starting grad school in the fall for a Masters of Public Administration. But from everything I've heard about grad school, its pretty time consuming
I am filing for Town Council today
I will be headed to Hillsborough this afternoon with kids in tow to file for Chapel Hill Town Council. I have a statement and a platform on my website: www.laurineasthom.wordpress.com. Congratulations, too on all of those that have already filed and those that might in the next couple of days. Serving the Town of Chapel Hill has been very rewarding. Laurin Easthom
Happy to hear Laurin has filed
I look forward to continuing to work with Laurin on housing issuesJacquie Gist
congrats
Congrats Laurin. Glad to see your name on the OCBOE web page.
Happy for Jacquie and Penny
I never take my office for granted, and if I'm lucky enough to get reelected this cycle, I will be very honored to work with someone who has a TON of experience and much to share, Jacquie. I serve with her on the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust (now Community Home Trust), and she is such a valued member whose experience I admire. Thank you Penny! and congratulations to you, too...and as I have said before, it takes great courage and leadership to delve into the new voter owned elections program that many are watching across the state. Good luck with everything. Laurinwww.laurineasthom.wordpress.com
Mayor Chilton gets a challenger
Amanda Ashley, 53, of North Greensboro Street. A Google search turned up her Myspace page, but I wasn't able to find her in the voter rolls.
I didn't find her either
I looked at the voter records and found no Amanda Ashley. Also no one with last name of Ashley at that address. I guess she registered when she filed.
Not unusual
When I filed for Alderman a few years ago, I was registered as Grimball. In order to run as DeVine, I was required simply to re-register on the spot. Easy as pie. I don't recall even having to show any ID. Amanda could be anyone.
Amanda Ashley a Wiccan?
On the OCBoE website, http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/2009CandidateFilings.asp Amanda Ashley's email address is astartechalice@yahoo.comA little googling turned up a post by that email address at a Wiccan website:http://books.dreambook.com/kgarber/wiccanway.htmlReal Name:amanda ashleyWhat's your magickal name?:Nebula OtterE-mail address:astartechalice@yahoo.comPath:DianicHow long have you been studying Wicca?:Less than a year Out of the closet?:Just about the whole world knows.Where did you find my website?:surfing wiccan placesWas my site helpful?:YesComments:Yes, very... will be back ....Saturday, September 17th 2005 - 10:10:54 PMHer MySpace blog is interesting, to say the least http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=45988739
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