By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – While most candidate forums focus on only one election, Justice United broke the mold by inviting candidates running for all three local races – Carrboro Board of Aldermen, Chapel Hill Town Council and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education – to their fall assembly on Monday.
At the forum, held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, members of Justice United asked candidates not about their own agendas, but about what Justice United and its delegates believe to be the most pressing issues in Orange County – affordable housing, jobs and wages, environmental justice and senior citizen issues.
Robert Campbell, a leader in the Rogers Road community, asked if candidates, “knowing that we have a moral obligation to close the landfill,†would support the Orange County Board of Commissioners’ intent to close the landfill in 2013 and help the Rogers Road community find funding to better the community.
Carrboro Board of Aldermen candidate Braxton Foushee said that he supports the closure and has been working with Campbell for many years to solve this issue.
“Lots of promises have been made, but we have not seen [results]. All I want is justice for Rogers Road,†Foushee said.
Incumbent board member Lydia Lavelle answered not just as a board member but also as a neighbor of the Rogers Road community.
“I live in the Fox Meadow neighborhood off Rogers Road and these are my neighbors,†Lavelle said. “Carrboro will be putting in sidewalks and working with Chapel Hill Transit to extend bus service.â€
Incumbent board member Dan Coleman also noted Carrboro’s plans to bring improvements to the community, adding that, more than just being about helping the community, the improvements are about helping solve a social-justice issue.
Michelle Johnson, a board of aldermen candidate, said she too believes closing the landfill is a step in the right direction toward bringing justice to a community that has experienced environmental racism.
“When you leave here, think about where your trash goes and how much you’re consuming,†she added.
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he wasn’t sure he knew enough about the economics of the landfill to make a decision to close it, but will support the commissioners if that is their decision.
Incumbent Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski answered with a resounding “yes†in support of the 2013 closure of the landfill.
“I applaud the county commissioners for making the courageous political decision, and now it is time for us to step up,†Czajkowski said.
Council candidate Jason Baker also agreed with the county commissioners decision and said he believes the towns need to shoulder responsibility and help pay for what has happened to the community.
Council candidates Laney Dale and Augustus Cho and mayor candidate Tim Sookram kept their answers brief, saying they agreed with the other candidates and supported the closure.
Incumbent Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he has always supported the landfill closing sooner rather then later.
“I proudly objected to any extension of the landfill life,†he said. “The Chapel Hill Town Council, I believe, stands ready to be a leader and a partner with the county and Carrboro.â€
Council candidate Jon DeHart said he also supports the closure and looks forward to working to help the community.
However, not every candidate was in favor of the immediate closure of the landfill.
Incumbent Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said that while he feels a moral obligation to attend to the needs of the Rogers Road community, he can’t fully support the 2013 landfill closure because it remains uncertain where the county’s trash will then go.
“Are we all so fed up with what we have right now that we are willing to put this in someone else’s backyard?†he asked.
Council candidate Carl Schuler said that while he is in full support of the closure, the commissioners and towns need to look closely at where the trash will go once the landfill closes.
Council candidate Lee Storrow said that he has been a volunteer in the Rogers Road community and is excited by the opportunities for the community with the closure of the landfill.
Chapel Hill mayor candidate Kevin Wolff and town council candidate Donna Bell did not attend the meeting.