Mark Chilton's blog
Tuesday is the Democratic runoff primary contest between June Atkinson and Marshall Stewart. They are running against each other for the Democratic nomination for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
I'll let the candidates speak for themselves:
June Atkinson from the Herald-Sun Votebook:
Favorite Book: "Cold Sassy Tree . . . Laws and policy should be the honest and accurate expression of the will of the people."
Marshall Stewart from the Herald-Sun Votebook:
Favorite Book: "Bible . . . I have very strong values that are based on my faith."
The polls will be in their regular places and open for the regular amount of time (6:30 am - 7:30 pm). If you are registered Democrat or if you are Unaffiliated (and you voted in the Democratic Primary last month) then you are eligible to vote.
because this crow tastes terrible! So much for my career as a political pundit . . . So what DOES it all mean?
I think someone on the Late Breaking News may have hit on something by calling this a referendum on Margaret Brown.
Clearly this is neither a rebuke for NoMerger.org nor an endorsement of school merger.
I said it twice yesterday, the voters are not stupid. I suspect that they saw two good candidates and voted for them. In fact, I spoke to quite a few people who said that they were voting for Moses and Valerie. I just figured they were significantly in the minority.
That said, there were a number of comments on this site from people who said that Margaret rubbed them the wrong way. I still think NoMerger.org did Margaret a disservice by painting her with same brush they used on Moses.
Here are the theories I heard bandied about tonight (I am not saying that I buy these ideas):
1) Margaret was punished for trying to have it both ways on merger (or that she was punished for failing to take a stand).
Tonight, as the results come in, please OP.org readers, come one come all to post on this thread to update everyone on what is happening around the county and comment on how the preliminary results look.
I will go over to Carrboro Town hall at 7:30 to get the preliminary results from the Town Hall precinct and will post them here. Likewise anyone with preliminary numbers from other precincts please post those numbers here (Orange County Commissioner and OC School Board numbers only, please).
This should be fun if a couple of us do it. Blogging is the future of media and we should be able to scoop the newspapers with the commentary and anecdotal data on OrangePolitics.org. So join the fray . . .
Today is the day. Orange County Democrat and Unaffiliated voters will decide who our next two County Commissioners are. While there is a general election in November, it is perfunctory in Orange County.
While no one can know just how this race will end, I think I can see that there are realistically only three main possibilities. Here's what they are and what they will mean:
Alternative 1: Valerie Foushee and Pam Hemminger win
I think it is pretty clear what this scenario will mean. Orange County voters are a lot better at understanding elections than we necessarily give them credit for. It may well be that NoMerger.org correctly understands that there is a deep visceral reaction against school merger out there. If Val and Pam win then there is just about no way to look at it other than that the County's voters don't want merger. While Moses and Margaret have their detractors for other reasons, merger will be the only reason that anyone will remember for their undoing.
7:41 pm: Here is some live, during meeting coverage of the May 18, 2004 Carrboro Board of Aldermen by me, Alderman Mark Chilton.
Hopefully this account will be more interesting than being present in person!
The meeting began with some introductory remarks from Bo Lozoff - the man who is starting a job-training bio-diesel production facility in Orange County. The Mayor referred him to the Public Works director to discuss the town purchasing bio-diesel from his new facility.
Now we are on the Consent Agenda. This is usually an amalgam of non-controversial items. Scheduling issues, minutes, two contract awards (engineering and health insurance). We are also changing the speed limit on part of Homestead Road.
I will report more in a few minutes.
8:19 pm: Now we are talking about adopting new parking standards downtown. We are considering giving developers the ability to pay the town in lieu of creating parking for their buildings.
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
