By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
A flurry of interest just before the filing deadline has heightened the competition on the ballot in Orange County.
With the exception of the Hillsborough mayor’s race, where incumbent Tom Stevens drew no challenger, every race will feature more candidates than seats available.
There was a small delay in reporting last Friday’s rush at the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough after construction work nearby sliced through officials access to its website, which could not be updated until hours after the filing period closed.
But by day’s end, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton was joined by two opponents in his bid for a second term, Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy found himself in a re-match, the number of candidates for the three seats on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen rose to six and additional candidates challenging four incumbents seeking re-election to the Chapel Hill Town Council brought the total number running in that race to eight.
Following is a breakdown of some of the races:
Carrboro Mayor
Brian Voyce, 53, a resident of the recently annexed Highlands neighborhood and an outspoken critic of Chilton and the town government, signed on to the mayor’s race. Voyce, who sued the town unsuccessfully to block the Winmore development and helped lead a petition drive to get Rep. Bill Fasion (D-Orange) to introduce a bill this year to reverse his neighborhood’s annexation, issued only a brief statement on the political forum of the Squeeze the Pulp website.
“November’s election means more for Carrboro than bike paths and greenways. Other than to note that I have neither land development business interests to further nor political career interests to further, I’ll simply say to fellow Carrburbans, ‘Enjoy your Summer!,’†Voyce wrote.
Chuck Morton, 50, a 15-year resident of downtown, said he got into the race because he sees the next few years as an important era for the town.
“We’re going through a critical phase of growth,†he said. “We’re basically going from a one-story downtown to a five-story downtown,†he said.
Morton said he hopes to bring some liveliness to the campaign and plans to get out and knock on doors and listen to what’s on voters’ minds.
Like Voyce, Morton said he’s concerned how Chilton’s real estate connections might affect his decisions as mayor.
Chilton said Wednesday that he does not think his real estate business, Community Realty, presents a conflict of interest.
He said he has recused himself from votes on issues where he has a direct conflict, mostly in the case of nonprofits he has represented.
Many elected officials, including other members of the town board, find themselves in similar situations, he said. “We’re all pretty careful about that.â€
“The notion that there is some kind of grand problem here is pretty doubtful,†he said.
State law narrowly limits when an elected official can be recused from voting. Under the rules an official must have a direct personal financial interest to be recused. Otherwise they are required to vote.
Carrboro Board of Aldermen
Katrina Ryan, who gathered 736 votes in 2005, and Sharon Cook, a recently appointed member of the Carrboro Planning Board both entered the race for three seats on the Board of Aldermen last week.
In an interview after filing, Ryan said she hopes to bring some business savvy to the board.
She said the town must increase its commercial tax base to help spread out the tax burden. Ryan called the town’s attempt to create commercial space on the northern side of town an “abysmal failure.†She said more thought needs to go into the effort as the area starts to boom.
“Otherwise we’re going to end up with another 9,000 more homes and no place to buy a gallon of milk,†she said.
Ryan and Cook join Frank Abernethy and Planning Board member Lydia Lavelle, who filed earlier, and incumbents Joal Hall Broun and Dan Coleman in the race for three seats on the board. Alderman Alex Zaffron declined to seek re-election.
Chapel Hill Mayor
It’s a Kevin-Kevin rematch for mayor of Chapel Hill. Kevin Wolff, 58, whose 1,178 votes total in 2005 was swamped by Kevin Foy’s 4,289 votes has opted for a re-match, but has not issued any statements on his campaign.
Chapel Hill Town Council
Those who were calling this year’s council race “a sleeper†spoke a little too soon as Friday’s deadline passed with three more challengers to incumbents Cam Hill, Sally Greene, Jim Ward and Bill Strom who are seeking re-election.
In addition to David Nash, who filed earlier, Penny Rich, 48, Matt Czajkowski, 58, and Will Raymond, 45, filed to run for the four seats up on the council this year.
Raymond, who helped pull the plug on the town’s redlight camera program, ran in 2005 and came in fifth place in a race for four seats with roughly 12 percent of the vote. Since then, he’s continued to speak out on town issues. In a statement issued via his Web site citizenwill.org, Raymond reiterated his criticisms of the current council on a number of issues including affordable housing, technology and downtown planning.
“In the last 18 months, we’ve seen some of our Council become so enamored, even obsessed, with their Downtown development plans, that they’ve wavered from their obligation to maintain our Town’s sound fiscal foundations,†his statement reads in part.
Rich, who has served six years on the board of directors of OWASA, said she also wants the town to carefully think through its plans for downtown. In a statement issued upon filing, Rich said the town should strive to remain true to its roots and that the council should do a better job of listening.
“Town Hall needs to reach out to our citizens, and strive for a more representative government. This process will embolden us to become a more harmonious community, and move us forward to a brighter future,†she wrote.
Czajkowski said he too is concerned about plans for downtown.
In an interview with The Citizen Wednesday, he said he’s worried that the town is evolving into just another “affluent suburb†along the lines of Cary. Taxes and rising home values, he said, have made it difficult to retirees and others to remain in the community.
“We all need to ask what we want Chapel Hill to be five or ten years from now,†he said.
Czajkowski said Carrboro has done a better job of creating an inclusive, inviting downtown and that plans that tilt toward expensive condominiums and upscale shopping are ill conceived.
“Is that the only solution?â€
Keep up with the elections through The Carrboro Citizen’s Elections & Politics Web site. Visit www.carrborocitizen.com/politics