Q: Do you support the current ordinance which provides the option for candidates to use public financing of elections?  Explain your position.

I am honored to participate in the VOE program and feel that it will be an historic event for our town and state. VOE reigns in campaign spending, puts government back into the hands of the public and ensures that politicians are accountable to the voters and not special interest groups.

Q: Should the heavy reliance on residential property taxes be reduced? If so, how can this be achieved??

This should be achieved through the provision of incentives for new local business.  We should strive to keep the commercial tax base local. For every $1.00 spent at a local business, 45 cents are reinvested locally. When that same dollar is spent at a corporate chain, only 15 cents are reinvested locally.

Q: What is your position on encouraging high density along major transit corridors?

Although I support density along transit corridors for the sustainable land use and improved transit service benefits it brings, it will become increasingly important that we protect the surrounding lower-density residential neighborhoods.  Density along transit corridors should be coupled with more transit options for the parts of town that are already relatively dense.  The two go hand in hand.

Q: Should the Chapel Hill Public Library be funded in a different way?  Explain your position.

Chapel Hill residents can no longer be responsible for paying the majority of the cost of operating a library that benefits both town residents and county residents.  Orange County and Chapel Hill should work together in revising library budgets and funding methods to resolve this issue.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.