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Orange County historically has a lot going on and it's always challenging for any political leader to stay in front of issues important to the broad diversity of Orange County constituents. With the great economic downturn finally behind us, but with questionable policy coming out of Raleigh and a growing economic disparity here at home, those challenges will only increase over the next few years. Now is not the time for political lightweights, for folks without proven track records. Now is the time for experienced leadership.
Two of the races for Orange County Commissioner in the upcoming March primary offer just such a candidate. For the county-wide at-large seat Mark Marcoplos is the clear choice. No other candidate for the At-Large seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners has anywhere near Mark’s experience and expertise. Similarly, Bonnie Hauser in the District 2 race has such a strong background in finance, accounting, and community organizing that she stands out as the obvious choice for commissioner.
This election year, we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of holding our usual live online candidate forums, we have asked the candidates for the Orange County Board of Commissioners to complete a brief questionnaire.
Last October, the Campaign for Racial Equity in Our Schools—a coalition of students, parents, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools staff, and concerned community advocates—released a report detailing the racial inequities that plague the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools and making recommendations for beginning to resolve those inequities.
I attended the January 13th forum on the future of the American Legion Post 6 property, hosted by Woodfield Properties. As a resident who lives within walking distance of Post 6, I wanted to go beyond the headlines and see and hear for myself the details of Woodfield’s vision for the site.
Here are eight observations and perspectives from the forum:
The N&O ran a piece at the start of 2016 about the “new generation” of leaders in the Triangle. Missing from their list? Any “new generation” leaders from Chapel Hill.
But this omission isn’t the N&O’s fault. If you look at Chapel Hill, you’ll find that the town has a shortage of the types of young professionals the N&O was looking for on this list – and a shortage of the kinds of amenities and resources required for young professionals to succeed. How can we have a new generation of leaders without any of the next generation living in town? Why don’t we have that next generation in town? And what does it mean for the future of Chapel Hill if an the next generation is missing from our community?
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