Chapel Hill Town Council

Chapel Hill Town Council appointment: Do the right thing

Here is a commentary I contributed to WCHL last week (it ran last Friday, but I can't find links to their recordings anymore). It was a little too long so the bit in gray was not on the air.

Much has been said about the abrupt departure of Bill Strom from the Chapel Hill Town Council. Whatever frustrations we may have had with him, at least we can take comfort in the fact that Strom will no longer have any influence on Orange County politics.

As they have done with all other mid-term vacancies in recent history, the Town Council will appoint a replacement to finish Strom's term. The Town Council also has a long-standing tradition of using the appointment process to ensure that there is at least one African-American sitting at the table.

Will VOE = VOA?

During the election season we heard a lot about why Voter Owned Elections (VOE) were needed in Chapel Hill and how it would put power in the hands of the voters instead of some unnamed "big money forces." We now have had the election and the next test is the appointment to fill the Strom seat.

So for those who say the voters should have control, will they now re-frame their arguments to preclude the voters from engaging in a Voter Owned Appointment (VOA)? The facts are simple; there has not only been a debate over when to have the Council make their decision but also who should be appointed. Some wanted the newly elected Council to make the decision. Some want the candidate on the ballot who came in fifth to be appointed.

Chapel Hill inauguration

The new Mayor and Town Council members will be sworn in.

Date:

Monday, December 7, 2009 - 2:00pm

Location:

Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

Government

Chapel Hill Town Council

A Racial Observation

I'm sad to see that in a community facing accusations of racism because of Greenbridge and a potential waste transfer site, we managed to vote out our only African-American Council Member. If I'm not mistaken, since Merritt declined to apply, there are no potential African-American candidates from Strom's seat either, right?

Oh well, this should make for a couple of years of fun reading in the Chapel Hill News and Chapel Hill Herald.

Call it what It is: Free Land

On the surface, it is perfectly reasonable to agree with the IFC’s decision to take the University up on its offer to lease the land at a rate of $1 per year. However, there continue to be many unanswered questions that when addressed will shed an entirely different light onto the issue. I’ve listed some, but not all of those questions below.

1. Why is UNC being so generous?
2. What is UNC getting out of this extremely philanthropic act?
3. What are the criteria Chris Moran states the IFC used to select this area?
4. What criteria were used to select the previous sites that were ultimately rejected and where is the evidence the criteria were used before the previous sites were rejected?
5. What is to happen to the men who are turned away from using one of the planned 20 emergency beds?

Main menu