Vote Early, Vote Often

Great links!

I hope all the regulars post as soon as possible after voting (or poll-watching) with reports...

Thank you county commissioners I hope your handling of merger doesn't hurt the environment, green space or proper land development - look what got sent out today.

Hi all,

Please get out and vote for Terri Tyson for Town Council today.  I have been an outspoken opponent of school merger since the start of my campaign.  My election to Town Council will send a LOUD message against school merger!

Merger is a major town issue because of the huge effects it will have, especially a massive redistricting of our children.

I have felt it to be my duty to fight merger.

 

I have 4 kids including triplets in the city schools.

Last year as PTA Council President I tirelessly advocated for

a 3rd high school in the southern part of town, though I live in the north.  I have volunteered extensively in the schools for 7 years!

 

A vote for Terri Tyson is a vote against school merger!

See all my issues at www.tysonforcouncil.com

Thanks!

Terri Tyson

elected officials and others -

what percent of the vote would Vanke need to make any kind of statement about unhappiness with current governmental policies?

Or does it not matter at all if/when he doesn't win?

I can't believe todays herald....

"From what I'm hearing from around town, Jeff has a good chance," said Alderman Jacquelyn Gist. "I know that in Carrboro there has been a lot of frustration in the past four or five years. I know that there are a lot of people in Carrboro who have been disenfranchised who will come out and vote for Jeff."

I'm amazed that someone can run an entire campaign based solely as a referendum on an issue the candidate will have no direct control over. Sure, be interested in the issue...and I have no problem with anyone sharing their opinion on the issue...but this is desperate posturing, at best. If voters chose to vote for Council based on the merger issue, it will demonstrate a solid rejection of the importance of the issues we're talked about on the weblog: Intelligent ideas re: downtown, Carolina North, improved town-gown relations, improved transportation options, infill development policies, etc.

It'll be interesting to see which the voters pick.

I think Vanke will need to pull at least the 25%-30% Mike loses every time he has an opponent. Anything less than that would represent onle the ABN (Anyone But Nelson) crowd that have been around since 1993.

A vote for Terri Tyson is a vote for the district school board ... oh, wait. Never mind.

Tyson runs the risk of confusing people about exactly what office she's running for, but never mind.

On Carrboro, I think the ABN crowd is worth at least 80 votes, and that would have been roughly 8 percent in the last election. The last write-in candidate got a little over 10 % of the vote without running until election day, so I'm assuming Vanke will do better if for no better reason than the fact that more people know he's out there, and he's received decent newspaper coverage. I'd say 25 % - 30 % will be an easy score for Vanke. I'd say he gets 35% - 43%, and only if Steve Rose voters come out strong. (I'm guessing that Rose is more capable of getting the vote out than Vanke, and that a majority of his voters -- not all -- might like to take a shot at Nelson.)

If it plays out like that, look forward to four years of declarations that "Nelson is vulnerable" and "Nelson's popularity is sliding" and "Nelson no longer understands the will of the people," and so on, until he either runs for higher office or whups the next write-in challenger.

What's the over-under on this thing? Who's got the book?

Maybe she is taking her cue from council members who over the years have involved themselves in foreigh relations and other non-Chapel Hill related causes. Go back and check their rational for what they did and her campaign tactic seems to follow that grand tradition. Obviously, not being able to really do anything about the issues you campaign for or pass resolutions to support never stopped anyone.

John A,

There's more than a small difference between what you are describing and what Terri Tyson is doing. I don't recall any aldermen, councillors, or commissioners making the Iraq or Patriot Act resolutions the central focus of their election campaigns. Now, we can debate whether those resolutions were appropriate (I think they were and are), but the comparison you're drawing is a fallacious one.

Best,

"taking a cue" is what I said, and I don't consider that to be an indefensable statement; it follows a grand tradition - just like your having the right to disagree.

Better to vote once, than often today:>

I am interested in knowing what Jacquelyn Gist meant when she said that "there are a lot of people in Carrboro who have been disenfranchised." What an odd and provocative claim. Who has been disenfranchised? Who disenfranchised them? And in what way? Did Gist mean something else and simply choose the wrong word?

Gist has endorsed Vanke, and is tired of being the only one to vote her way.

Swastika-Gate, French Trade Month, the Iraqi war bill, the anti-Patriot act bill, and other non-Carrboro issues have several hundred people disenfranchised. At least 1,000 people wrote to Nelson, or signed my letter to him about Swastika-Gate.

The sad part is the disenfranchised are apethetic, submissive, and in the closet. I bet they don't even come out to vote today.

Todd Melet

www.HippyHillNews.com

Todd, not agreeing with some votes doesn't make people disenfrachised. It might make them pissed-off, but as you pointed out, many are apathetic. As to whether they're submissive, I'll stay out their bedrooms thankyouverymuch.

From http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=disfranchise :

dis·fran·chise : to deprive of a franchise, of a legal right, or of some privilege or immunity; especially : to deprive of the right to vote

Gist used the wrong word, and I failed to catch it. I was always a poor english student. My teachers stressed creative flow of thought writing rather than grammer, spelling, vocab, etc.

After meeting several hundred of the "pissed off" locals, I learned a lot. They are more than just pissed. Many of those who are born and raised in our area feel they have been trampled on by an agenda they do not agree with. I must harshly criticize these folks for not doing anything about it. It was like pulling teeth to find Glosson willing to represent this group.

A bit of insite from the other side.

Todd

I believe Gist voted in favor of all three of those resolutions. I'm pretty sure the resolutions passed unanimously. Yet Gist is supporting a candidate who is running, essentially, as a reaction to those resolutions, to the art exhibition "issue," and to the perceived "disenfranchisement" among some people in Carrboro. I'm confused. I assume her endorsements are actually about growth/development matters, but I don't know. Maybe she'll explain here sometime.

I am starting a new topic for this thread on disenfranchisement.

Damon

I think you are correct about the Gist votes.

However you are wrong about Vanke from what I can see. His big issues seem to be more related to development, connecter roads, taxes, and listening to every voice. He was turned off by the Swastika, but he was in favor of French Trade Month, Iraqi war thing, etc. He even wrote a letter to the editor of one of the dead tree papers about it before running. This guy is as liberal as the average person reading this.

Gist and Vanke share many issues from what I can tell.

Todd

I'm amazed that Tyson is running on the merger as well. I've followed this race as best I can, but I am at a loss when it comes to her candidacy. Has she ever explained how she hopes to have any part in the merger? Her website sure doesn't have much to say about it. And has she ever said why she is against the merger beyond the fact that it might mean a longer bus ride for her children?

(By the way, that isn't much of an argument. I grew up in Northern Orange County, and it took me at least an hour to get home everyday. I can't say as it ever hurt me.)

Vanke was right outside the front door of the old folk's home where you vote asking people to vote for him and passing out fliers. I am sure that helped him get some votes. If the mayor didn't come to Trivia Night and say hello to me, I wouldn't know or care one way or the other which candidate to vote for and I would have voted for the guy out front. But me and nellie now we tight like dat.

So, Jeremy, could we make the local politics category a weekly thing now? Or maybe an all-local politics trivia night? Sorry, off topic.

Rickie

I've been thinking about the 2005 election for a couple months but the earliness of this indication by Mayor Foy caught me by surprise.

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy is seriously considering not seeking a third term in the town's top post. Councilman Bill Strom is seriously considering a run at it if Foy steps down.

With couching and caveats, the local heavy hitters set up a scenario for a changing of the guard.

Foy said holding the office is an honor, but it's also a lot of work, almost like having a second full-time job.

Thanks Matt for the heads up.