appointment

Filing has now closed for Penny Rich’s vacated Town Council seat. There will be a special public hearing January 14th where the applicants will be allowed to speak. The Council will consider making an appointment to fill the vacancy on January 23rd.

There are 11 applicants to the seat. I believe that this applicant pool is more diverse than in past appointment processes. There are 4 women, one student, one Latino candidate, one African-American applicant, one candidate who identifies (per her voter registration record) as multiracial, and a Republican. Below is a brief introduction (in alphabetical order) to each candidate:

Sally Greene- Sally is a former Council member, having served from 2003-2011. She did not run for reelection because of job commitments, but has a new job now that will allow her the time to serve again. She has written about her candidacy here on OP. In that thread, there is also a copy of the resolution Council passed honoring Sally when she stepped down, which details her accomplishments as a Council member.

Loren Hintz-

Unsurprisingly, names have started to surface as possible applicants for Penny Rich's open Town Council seat once she leaves her post to join the County Commission in January. Today I heard via Twitter that George Gianciolo and Jon DeHart likely plan to apply for the position.

While I'm sure either of these men would provide a thoughtful voice for Council, the unpleasant reality is that if either were appointed, the gender breakdown of CHTC would be just two women and seven men (including Mayor Kleinschmidt). Council would be comprised of just 22% women, exactly the same representation as the NC legislature.

It's embarrassing that a municipal government we proudly consider to be a model for progressivism in our state could possibly have the same gender breakdown as our backward-thinking General Assembly.