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As many OP readers know, the Historic Rogers Road Task Force has been meeting for the last year to discuss strategies to bring sewer service and a community center to the Rogers Road neighborhood. At the last Assembly of Governments meeting, there was a discussion about whether the task force should continue to meet next year. Michelle Johnson, Molly DeMarco, and I have drafted the following letter to deliver to the county commissioners prior to their January 24th meeting asking them to continue the task force. If you support this effort,
please sign onto our petition prior to January 17th. Dear
Chair Jacobs and Orange County Commissioners:
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-
Newly minted county commissioner (and former Chapel Hill Town Council member) Penny Rich just sent a letter (quoted in its entirety below) to Chapel Hill mayor Mark Kleinschmidt. In it she takes strong exception to the behavior of Chapel Hill Planning Board chair Del Snow, who attended a county commissioners meeting last month to speak against the implementation of the Orange County transit plan. (See OP's live coverage of the meeting and discussion of the transit vote.)
While I wholeheartedly share Penny's concerns about Del misrepresenting the town, her call for the town to remove Del from the Planning Board will probably provoke a defensive response about municipal sovereignty, which will make it politically difficult for the town to actually do anything about it. Frankly I'm even more bothered that someone in a position of planning leadership such as Del is working to undermine the large-scale community transportation planning that is so critical to our future. Either way I'd like to see some new leaders on the Planning Board, preferably who appreciate both planning and process. But only the Chapel Hill Town Counil can make that happen.
I have copied the letter I submitted today for town council. As of today 5 other people have applied for the position. I look forward to learning about the other candidates. Fifteen years ago when my son was one I applied for a vacancy. Since then I've served on numerous committees and boards but never ran for office. (My only attempt was in 1990 when I ran for the State House.) More recently I decided not to run because of my aging parents who then passed away. My wife had an illness but she has completely recovered. My son is older and more independent. Teaching always keeps me busy but I now have a much better handle on it. So I am ready to devote myself to Town Council.
Loren
Application for Town Council by Loren Hintz Jan. 4, 2012
I was in Ohio for the holidays. My sister works for a fastfood place. Her boss told her she needs to reschedule all of the full time employees to 28 hours or less so he does not have to comply with any of the new health law requirements. Is this happening in North Carolina and is it legal?
Loren
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