
{"id":1263,"date":"2007-11-08T07:26:35","date_gmt":"2007-11-08T15:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2007\/11\/08\/lavelle-wins-a-seat-broun-coleman-chilton-returned-to-board\/"},"modified":"2007-11-08T12:34:21","modified_gmt":"2007-11-08T20:34:21","slug":"lavelle-wins-a-seat-broun-coleman-chilton-returned-to-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2007\/11\/08\/lavelle-wins-a-seat-broun-coleman-chilton-returned-to-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavelle wins a seat; Broun, Coleman, Chilton returned to board"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/lavelleresized.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/lavelleresized.jpg\" height=\"195\" width=\"261\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Lydia Lavelle (left) shares a laugh with her partner, Alicia Stemper. Lavelle was elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, receiving the most votes of any candidate <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>By Kirk Ross<br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lydia Lavelle, a first-time officeholder and resident of the newly annexed northern portion of Carrboro, gathered the most votes in the election for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.<\/p>\n<p>Lavelle took 1,656 votes, or roughly 25 percent of the vote, to top the list of alderman candidates. She was followed by two-term incumbent Joal Hall Broun and Alderman Dan Coleman, who was appointed to the board in 2006 and was running for election for the first time. Broun received 1,457 votes, or 22 percent, and Coleman won 1,305 votes \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 20 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The winners were followed by Katrina Ryan, running for the second time, with 927 votes, for 14 percent of the vote, and planning board member Sharon Cook, who received 861 votes, or 13 percent.<br \/>\nFrank Abernethy received 256 votes, or 4 percent.<\/p>\n<p>In the mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s race, 74 percent opted to return incumbent Mark Chilton, who won a total of 1,709 votes. Challenger Brian Voyce received 426 votes, or 18 percent, and Chuck Morton received 158 votes, for 7 percent.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Turnout was slightly lower than two years ago when Chilton and Alex Zaffron, both members of the board of aldermen, battled for the mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s post.<\/p>\n<p>Chilton said he was surprised to have won by such a wide margin.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I expected the alderman race to be closer and my own race to be closer,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said in an interview Wednesday. The results, particularly Lavelle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s election, he said, made it clear that while there are residents still upset about it the annexation of northern neighborhoods, the issue didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drive the election.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The voters are speaking loud and clear,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and I think they are saying two things. The first is that most are ready to move past annexation. Lydia coming in first place really says that to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The second point, the mayor said, was that attempts to capitalize on a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153north-south split\u00e2\u20ac\u009d didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resonate with voters. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The reality is that the north-south split is perceived and not real.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Morton said he \u00e2\u20ac\u0153felt like I got my butt kicked by the voters Tuesday night,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but added that he enjoyed the race and was happy that Chilton was re-elected.<\/p>\n<p>In an email to <em>The Citizen<\/em>, Voyce, who had been critical of Coleman throughout the election, wrote that &#8220;No greater comment can be made about Carrboro than the majority of voters have elected a man who has committed violence against a woman . . .&#8221; and alledged that Coleman had lied to police about the incident.<br \/>\nHe added: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcve done my duty.  I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve laid out the ingrained misconduct of Carrboro government in perpetrating injustices large and small among those not the pals of politicians, misconduct that I expect to continue. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve foretold in straight terms the coming degradation in the quality of life for the average Carrburban.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Lavelle said she understands that as a representative from the annexed areas she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll bring a different perspective to the board, but that it will be a duty among a host of others.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I certainly will represent all of Carrboro, but you know I wake up every day out here in the annexed area. I drive to town through streets that the other aldermen don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drive through every single day \u00e2\u20ac\u201d so I bring that perspective just as well as I bring other perspectives of my life to the board.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>While for some the anger over annexation is bound to linger, the election, she said, is an indication that it is not a majority view. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I held my own up here in our own precinct,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Lavelle said that, like her neighbors, she and her partner \u00e2\u20ac\u0153weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t crazy about being annexed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No one wants to pay more taxes. But a lot of us recognize that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a done deal. We are a part of Carrboro. We want to work with Carrboro now. We want to move forward.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>At their core, the issues faced by residents inside and outside of downtown are very similar, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When I campaigned, I walked through all of the precincts \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not just out here, which is important, but all of downtown Carrboro. Obviously everyone is concerned about their immediate neighborhood and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to affect them personally. I saw that time and time again.<\/p>\n<p>Rising taxes, easing the tax burden, getting commercial development and still preserving the character of the town were on the minds of voters throughout the town, she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was a common theme and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a challenge our board is facing over the next couple of years.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>After the totals came in, Coleman, who faced unrelenting criticism \u00e2\u20ac\u201d including sharp and sometimes vulgar personal attacks \u00e2\u20ac\u201d over a road-rage incident early in the campaign, said he was glad it was over and was ready to get back to work.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Coleman told supporters at a victory celebration at Milltown Tuesday night. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love working with this board of aldermen. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have a great board the next few years and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to accomplish a lot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nBroun said Wednesday she was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153honored that the voters have confidence in me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and was also looking forward to getting back to work. She said she wants to continue pushing for a more comprehensive countywide economic development plan \u00e2\u20ac\u201d an important element in keeping rising property taxes in check. Carrboro, she said, has an enormous challenge ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s critical for us to fashion some sort of overall policy that makes Carrboro accessible to all income levels, and that means retirees, young families, single people and more-seasoned families,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Broun said.<\/p>\n<p>Cook, who campaigned for a board seat in tandem with Ryan, said she was disappointed in the low voter turnout and with the amount of influence in the campaign that came from outside of town, including endorsements from Chapel Hill politicians: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was disappointed with the amount of outside influence. Carrboro is a town that prides itself on being special and unique.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>She said it also was a shame to see the issues in the race eclipsed by personal attacks. Cook said she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see people get more involved in understanding the positions of candidates rather than relying on endorsement \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cheat sheets\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from publications like the Independent Weekly.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is a university town,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We need to do our homework.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Cook said she did not agree that furor over annexation has subsided and said she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worried that the town has not taken adequate steps to get its finances in order.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan said she was surprised that she won more votes than her neighbor and friend Cook. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I ran because I thought Sharon Cook would be a great addition to the board of aldermen and Sharon wanted a running mate,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ryan said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>As for her, Ryan said she has enjoyed her two runs at the board because of the people she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s met and friends made during the race.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My life is richer for having run and no less richer for having lost,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/giffin-chilton-and-kidresized.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/giffin-chilton-and-kidresized.jpg\" height=\"174\" width=\"263\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong> Photo by Sam Griffin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lydia Lavelle (left) shares a laugh with her partner, Alicia Stemper. Lavelle was elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, receiving the most votes of any candidate By Kirk Ross Staff Writer Lydia Lavelle, a first-time officeholder and resident of the newly annexed northern portion of Carrboro, gathered the most votes in the election for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}