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Letter to the editor: Airport to nowhere

Posted on October 2, 2008 by Staff

I am writing with interest about an issue of great concern to citizens in Orange County and parts of Chatham County – the UNC-proposed Orange County Airport. On the evening of Sept. 28, more than 250 area citizens gathered for a community meeting on this topic, and among this group it’s unanimous that no one wants this “Airport to Nowhere.” This issue illustrates how an abuse of power at the local level can lead to the continued drain of federal dollars – all in the name of special interests and at the expense of good government and property rights.

There are a lot of critical issues at stake here. First, the UNC system exists for the purposes of education, not for the operation of an airport. There are certainly special interests and ulterior motives involved in this case – but the UNC Board of Governors isn’t coming clean.

Second, the federal government has no Constitutional justification to allocate money for a local airport and should not be asked to pay for such projects.

Third, we cannot build strong, sustainable local communities if citizens are constantly fighting to protect their property rights against a government that is serving special interests. Using eminent domain and seizing land is a last resort, and should never occur for private special interests.

Rep. Price’s staff didn’t get the memo – America is broke – so earmarks and projects serving special interests are no longer being funded. Meanwhile, I’m proud to see that citizens have formed Orange County Voice and are mobilizing quickly and intensely, as they should – but it’s a shame they are forced to do it in the first place.

As North Carolina’s Fourth District representative in Congress, I would ensure that special interests would not take precedent over private citizens, nor would any federal money go towards funding a state university-run airport.

William (B.J.) Lawson, M.D.
Candidate for U.S. Congress, North Carolina’s 4th District

1 thought on “Letter to the editor: Airport to nowhere”

  1. Lee says:
    October 2, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    Dr. Lawson sure has my vote for making such a courageous stand against the less-than-open, good old boy powers-that-be here in Orange County.

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