Mark Kleinschmidt
Mark Kleinschmidt, attorney, current Mayor and former Town Council member, is seeking his second term as Mayor. In his initial run two years ago, Mr. Kleinschmidt was cast by many, including some Chamber members and staff, as the man to beat in a campaign that boasted a "pro-business" candidate. But after winning by one of the narrowest margins in memory, Mr. Kleinschmidt, has proven that he leads from the center and has championed economic development issues as well as any Chapel Hill Mayor we can remember. During his tenure, the Council has created a $100,000 economic development marketing fund; offered creative incentives to businesses to locate in our market; approved dramatic improvements to the commercial sign ordinance; conducted important retail, office and housing studies; made improvements to the development review process; and found innovative ways to accelerate economic development projects like The Edge and the Fordham Boulevard-Ephesus Church Road area. As a Mayor should, Mr. Kleinschmidt works to bring people together and find solutions. We appreciate that he keeps the local economy and the needs of local enterprise and the fiscal health of our community top of mind when making those choices, not only as mayor, but also as a member of the Town Council Economic Development Committee and an ex officio member of the Chamber's Board of Directors. While we do not agree on every issue (Mr. Kleinschmidt believes that Chapel Hill already has a strong panhandling ordinance, and we still feel it could be improved) he has effectively represented, and frequently championed, issues the Chamber cares about, earning our praise and respect.
Tim Sookram
Tim Sookram, independent web designer, is running for his first term. His stated reasons for running ("it's only $5"), proposed solution for the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) issue ("banning children") and dressing too casually (a Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt) for interviews suggest he isn't a serious candidate. We do, however, appreciate citizen democracy and the fact that he participated in the Chamber's interview process, candidate survey, and joint forum with the Sierra Club. The Chamber wishes that Mr. Sookram took his candidacy more seriously. If he did, others might as well.
Kevin Wolff
Kevin Wolff, a local attorney, is running for office for a fourth time. He ended his last bid prematurely, dropping out near the end to endorse another candidate. Although we received one email claiming that he was not "ignoring" us, we're disappointed that someone who has become a perennial candidate did not make more of an effort to get his message out and re-introduce himself to our members and our community. As in previous years, Mr. Wolff skipped the Chamber interview, declined to return the Chamber questionnaire and did not come to the joint Chamber-Sierra Club forum. We aren't sure why he is running for mayor again and will have to keep wondering as he has not been willing to share his positions or his motivation with us.
Jason Baker
Jason Baker, graduate student and marketing staff member at Weaver Street Market, is in his second race for Town Council. The Chamber has seen Mr. Baker grow and mature since his first bid six years ago and he now has more business and political experience under his belt. His positions on growth and development are very sound and he espouses an appealing brand of environmentalism that aims to combat climate change with denser transit-oriented development versus working to save individual trees. His experience working at a local business and chairing the Hillsborough downtown merchants' association have helped him understand firsthand the need for a more streamlined permitting process. While on the planning board, he voted to support Aydan Court and Charterwood, prioritizing the public good over more specialized interests. We hope he comes around on the Jordan Lake issue, but overall we found Mr. Baker thoughtful and interested in supporting the priorities of the Chamber and its members.
Donna Bell
Donna Bell, clinical social worker at Duke University, was appointed by the Chapel Hill Town Council to fill the seat vacated by Bill Strom and is running for election for the first time. Ms. Bell has been a quick study, asks good questions and actively seeks out information to help her make good choices. And while she has listened to and considered Chamber input and feedback, we must admit our disappointment in her public comments and votes on recent development applications and on OWASA's request to permanently secure our Jordan Lake allocation. In these instances her public remarks indicate she is relying more on her intuition and gut feeling rather than the experts and evidence presented. Ms. Bell has the opportunity to be one of the Town Council's most influential members and we wish that she would be clearer on her personal vision for our community rather than simply receiving and voting on that which comes before the Council or seeking citizen feedback. Ms. Bell continues to grow in her role as a Council Member and if re-elected will begin to move from simply voting to helping lead the Council toward the vision set out by our soon to be adopted new comprehensive plan.
Augustus Cho
Augustus Cho, retired minister, martial arts instructor, and actor, is making a second bid for nonpartisan municipal office. Though Mr. Cho has been very much in the public eye -- making a run against Rep. David Price in 2008 (though losing in the primary), chairing the Orange County Republican Party and running for mayor of Chapel Hill in 2009 -- this is his best-organized, most thoughtful race. Mr. Cho brings broad experience on town boards, committees and commissions (such as the Northern Area Task Force), most recently serving as chairman of the town's transportation board. He is a proponent of growing the commercial tax base, supporting local businesses and increasing the retail offerings, including welcoming national brand retailers. Known for being an outspoken advocate for reducing property taxes, he does join the Chamber in fully supporting the 1/4-cent sales tax. No matter what political party you claim, we believe that Augustus Cho is one of the most pro- business candidates this year and along with Jon DeHart, the candidate most likely to champion the Chamber's agenda.
Matt Czajkowski
Matt Czajkowski, CEO of NextRay, Inc., brings the most business and finance experience to the Town Council. Since his election in 2007, he has stressed the importance of showing that Chapel Hill is open for business. During his tenure, he worked on the economic development committee and continues to advocate for streamlining the development process, which we applaud. A sometime critic of dense transit-oriented development, Mr. Czajkowski publicly worries about the impacts of commercial and mixed-use development on surrounding neighborhoods. He is a champion of downtown, prioritizing safety and advocating for additional regulation on panhandling. While were disappointed by his opposition to IFC's shelter relocation and are sometimes frustrated by his public criticism of the Chamber and some of its members, we are pleased with his support for infrastructure improvements like securing our Jordan Lake allocation and the sales tax increase (though often with caveats). We also appreciate his attention to fiscally responsible budgeting and his willingness to look for outside-of-the-box solutions to some of difficult issues facing our town in these tough economic times.
Laney Dale
Laney Dale, CEO of Appuware and an entrepreneur, is somewhat new to Chapel Hill, choosing to relocate here for our quality of life. Part of the Startup Stampede in Durham, Mr. Dale recently moved his enterprise to Chapel Hill and is a proponent of developing successful strategies to recruit and retain local technology talent. We're glad he's rolled up his sleeves so quickly, serving on the parks and recreation commission, and developing a new smart phone app that promotes businesses and available parking in downtown Chapel Hill. A newcomer to local politics, Mr. Dale may be regretting his early commitments to limiting campaign expenditures and traditional campaign strategies as they may be limiting his ability to share his pro-business, pro-community message. He was given ample opportunity to express this message, so we're disappointed he was very slow to answer the Chamber's survey, because we want to know what he thinks are the best ways to support and grow local enterprises. The Chamber wishes Mr. Dale success in his bid and if elected know he will continue to apply his business leadership skills to the benefit of our community.
Jon DeHart
Jon DeHart, local mortgage banker, is making his second run for office on a platform promoting economic development, housing affordability and public trust. One of only two Chamber members running for office, the Chamber and Mr. DeHart agree on most policy issues and have only disagreed with his public opposition to the Inter-Faith Council's efforts to open a men's transitional shelter on Homestead road. While he ran a strong campaign in 2009, this year, Mr. DeHart's campaign is better researched and his opinions on the key issues facing our community are on target. Affable, cooperative and hard working, Mr. DeHart will bring his appealing brand of leadership to the Town Council. The Chamber appreciates his commitment to improving the development review process, increasing support for small business and making Chapel Hill one of the best places in the nation to grow and start an enterprise. Like Mr. Dale and Mr. Czajkowski, Mr. DeHart is a business owner and we know he'll bring that business mindset to Council meetings. Along with Mr. Cho, he is one of the candidates most likely to champion the Chamber agenda on the Town Council.
Carl Schuler
Carl Schuler, nurse consultant at UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care IFC, is a leader in his homeowners' association and serves on the current Inter-Faith Council's Good Neighbor Initiative with the neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed transitional men's shelter. One of two Chamber members running for office, we appreciate that he reached out early to the Chamber in this election cycle. Mr. Schuler is learning quickly, but the learning curve is steep and he still does not understand some critical issues like the rural buffer and the development review process well enough to effectively comment. A thoughtful citizen interested in lending his voice to make Chapel Hill a better place, he has not satisfactorily articulated his vision for Chapel Hill and we are not yet sure if he is running for office in order to help make things happen or to stop things from happening. We hope he stays engaged in the community and with the IFC's Good Neighbor Initiative, because we need all parties at the table. We look forward to working with him to become an even stronger candidate next election cycle.
Lee Storrow
Lee Storrow, managing director at NC Alliance for Health, was the first candidate to reach out to the Chamber and the first to proactively meet with us about his campaign. He is well researched, articulate and seems to be one of the hardest working campaigners in this 9-person race. We believe that Mr. Storrow has gotten over his initial belief that his vision was necessarily in conflict with that of the business community, and we appreciate that he is open to partnership. We applaud his strong support for securing our Jordan Lake allocation and for his expressed interest in recruiting and retaining knowledge workers and University spin offs. Regrettably he does not support additional panhandling regulations, is opposed to making any special efforts to seek additional business community representation on the Town's boards and committees, and is "unsure" if we should keep the joint advisory committee review process (The Chamber thinks we should). Bright and articulate, Mr. Storrow has brought energy to the campaign. The Chamber has no quarrel with his youth, but we do think additional work experience will help him better serve and support the business and economic development needs of our community. If fortunate enough to win election, the Chamber hopes he will continue to get smarter on what our community needs to support a thriving economy.
Jim Ward
Jim Ward, associate director for horticulture at the state's Botanical Garden, is running for his fourth four-year term. Mr. Ward's interest in and support for economic development had to be earned, but now as a member of the Town's economic development committee and the Visitors Bureau he has been an advocate for increasing funding for both organizations. We appreciate Mr. Ward's public positive comments about the Chamber and its leadership on sustainable economic development and thank him for being accessible and available to the Chamber and its members. However, we hope he will use his role as a senior member to keep the Council out of the details and focused on public policy and land use management issues they are most qualified to weigh in on. In 2007, the Chamber wrote that Mr. Ward "seems unlikely to be a strong advocate for increased commercial development." We think his position has now changed, but also feel like there's been a twelve-year history where during his Council tenure, our community has missed opportunities, and that his voting record may have contributed to the current unbalanced tax base we have now. While Mr. Ward is now more focused on the economic forest than the specimen tree, the trees remain very important to Mr. Ward. We cheer his support for increased signage for local businesses, how he considered the arguments of the Chamber and ultimately agreed with our position. His open mindedness on that issue reminds us why thoughtful people open to changing their minds make good Council members.
