Last night, the County Commissioners did a pretty good job of displaying why it has been so easy, maybe even necessary, for the County Manager to be such a policy leader. Fortunately, I did see Barry Jacobs really step up and push the board forward on transit. I think he'll be even more effective when joined by 2 or 3 new allies after the general election.

Big items on the agenda included delaying property revaluation, reappointing the defunct Economic Development Commission, and approving a long-awaited transit plan. They managed to do all three, but not without some kicking and screaming. See my live tweetage and other responses on Storify and below.

Item 7c on the Orange Couny Commissioners agrenda for Tuesday 5/14 7 pm (Southern Human Services Center):

c. Orange County Transit Plan and Related Agreements

The Board will consider adoption of the Orange County Transit Plan and consider approval of the Durham/Orange Cost Share Agreement, the Orange County/Triangle Transit Implementing Agreement and the Do Not Levy Agreement and authorize the Chair to sign if approved.

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/OCCLERKS/1205157c.pdf

In a tight Democratic primary involving 3 candidates for 2 seats in Orange County's district 1, civil rights attorney and former Carrboro alderman Mark Dorosin came out ahead with 10,474 votes. He will be joined on the Board of Commissioners by current Chapel Hill Town Council member Penny Rich (9709 votes). Because there was no Republican primary in district 1 this year, Dorosin and Rich will take their seats after the general election in November. They will replace outgoing commissioner Valerie Foushee and incumbent commissioner Pam Hemminger (9167 votes).

In the statewide vote, Amendment One passed easily with 61% of the vote. However, Orange County overwhelmingly rejected the amendment by a vote of 79% to 21%. (Our neighbors in Durham County likewise voted 70% to 30% against the amendment.) Some precincts in Carrboro and Chapel Hill voted against the amendment almost unanimously. The map below shows the Orange County precinct-level results of the referendum.

Last Monday, candidates running in this Tuesday’s primary submitted their first campaign finance reports of the cycle. The Orange County Board of Elections posted these reports last week, and if you’re interested in looking through them, they’re available here. If you don’t have that kind of time, then here’s some relevant information you might find useful to know, sorted by district and candidate.

District 1

Mark Dorosin
Raised: $10,364.15
Total Aggregate Contributions: 77
Total Donors Reported: 45
Cash on Hand: $5,650.08

The Orange County Board of Commissioners will vote in May, one week after the primary election, whether to put a half-cent transit tax on the ballot for voters to decide. The transit tax is a critical component of our region's long-term transit and growth plans, and it's time for Orange County voters to join Durham County and vote for expanded transit service to ensure a more sustainable Orange County in the future.

Welcome to the open thread for tonight's Orange County Board of Commissioners candidate forum for the Democratic primary election. There are three candidates for two seats in District 1, two candidates for one seat in District 2, and one candidate unopposed for an at-large seat.

You can observe the forum at http://orangepolitics.org/elections-2012/forums/county-commissioners.

We hope you'll use this open thread to post your thoughts and reactions. Also, if you want to propose additional discussion topics, you can reach the editors during the forum via Twitter, Facebook, and the contact page. The forum moderator will have final say in question selection.