Bill Strom

About last night

There has been a lot going on and I can scarcely find a moment to blog about it. Maybe in 6 years when my son starts school and I don't have to work to pay for daycare so I can work so I can...  where was I? Oh yeah, so last night three important things happened in local government - we took 2 steps forward and one step back for social justice.

1. The Orange County Commissioners rejected both door number one (a new, expanded landfill) and door number two (a waste transfer station).  Instead they will be shipping our trash to Durham, an idea which I never years in literally years of debate about this issue.  In any case, this seems to be a huge victory for the historically African-American Rogers Road neighborhood, which has shouldered Orange County's landfill for nearly four decades and which is ready to move on the the next phase of their lives, that is: not being neighbors to any major waste handling facilities. 

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.

More from the Chapel Hill poll

With the election mercifully in the rear view mirror Chapel Hill political observers will now shift their focus to the appointment of a replacement for Bill Strom.

Our poll found voters in town evenly divided on whether one of the losing candidates in yesterday's election should be appointed to fill the Strom seat- 38% in favor, 38% opposed, and 24% unsure.

Trumping that finding with the loss of Jim Merritt though is probably the question we asked about whether Chapel Hillians thought it was important to have an African American on the Town Council.  57% of voters said yes to that with just 28% dissenting, and I imagine given the strong support from the community that's the direction the Council will now go in with the appointment.

Two other key findings from the poll, neither of which is particularly surprising given the returns.  51% of Chapel Hill voters support publicly financed elections with only 31% opposed.  Given Mark Kleinschmidt's win and Penny Rich's first place finish it's clear there was no backlash from that and it's even possible the opposite was true.

Should the new Council decide the 5th seat or should the current council ?

I believe the decision should be made by the new council. If you believe that as well, please sign this online petition today before 5 PM. It will be presented at tonight's Town Council meeting.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/seating-stroms-successor.html

Pages

 

Community Guidelines

By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.

 

Content license

By contributing to OrangePolitics, you agree to license your contributions under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Creative Commons License

 
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.