Blogs

In the most likely scenario that Charterwood will be approved tonight,  Chapel Hill citizens may choose to make some conclusions about the future of citizen input into how OUR town grows.

Despite significant environmental impact (not only to Eastwood Lake and Lake Ellen but to the Booker Creek headwater streams and the old growth trees), the disregard for neighborhood protection, the bastardization of process, the economic shakiness of the proposed plan, the reversal of affordable housing goals, the widespread public objections, the applicant’s frequent “misstatements,” and the precedent setting nature of the approval, Charterwood is virtually assured of passage.

What does this presage for the 2020 Future Focus Areas?  Will citizens, once again, be involved in busy work?  Will their work, like the work of citizens involved in the original Southern Small Area Plan,  the Northern Area Task Force, and 2020 be ignored?

Voter registration is heavy in Orange County, with 11,223 new voters since January 1, with 3,320 of those August 1 through September 21.

Conventional analysis focuses on net voter registration e.g. changes in totals (by party) since January 1, but I chose to look also at gross totals to see how registration drives are faring, then subtracting to see cancellations.

 One big observation, unaffiliated registration has been at record highs this year for Orange, with Ds and Rs at historic lows. I broke out this year in two parts before showing the total for the year. The cancellations are the total of gross minus net, and covers those who move away andd register elsewhere, die, or have felony convictions recorded.

 Looks like registration for this year is likely to set an all-time record at the current pace, as registration was quite high for the May Amendment One vote. Regular registration ends October 12, with registration allowed at early voting October 18- November 3