2009 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Elections

2009 Carrboro Municipal Elections

Mayor
Amanda Ashley
Mark Chilton
Brian Voyce

Board of Aldermen
Sharon Cook
Jacquelyn Gist
Randee Haven-O'Donnell
Tim Peck
Sammy Slade

Amanda Ashley

Click here for Chamber Commentary
Click here for Audio Responses

Legend:
Y = Yes, N = No, U = Undecided

1.) Will you make economic development, job growth and employer retention top priorities for you during your term in office?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

2.) Is increasing the commercial tax base in Carrboro a top priority for you?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

3.) Will you support efforts to improve the predictability of the development process and shorten the time to get to project approval/denial?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

4.) Will you actively support creating, by ordinance, a set of criteria for desirable development projects and then expediting the approval process for projects that meet the Aldermen’s established objectives?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

5.) Do you support land use regulations and regulatory practices that promote the construction of office, retail and workforce housing along transportation corridors?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
N	Y	Y	Y	U	Y	Y	Y	Y

6.) Will you play an active role in advocating for the extension of water and sewer to the long-identified Orange County Economic Development Districts so that they can be developed?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
N	N	U	U	Y	Y	N	N	Y

7.) Would you like to see improved cooperation and collaboration between Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County Economic Development Efforts?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
U	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

8.) Do you believe the principle driver of downtown parking policy and management decisions should facilitating economic development and downtown business success?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
U	Y	Y	Y	Y	U	N	Y	Y

9.) Would you support a cap on the Carrboro privilege license tax?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
U	Y	Y	Y	U	Y	Y	Y	Y

10.) Do you support modifying the Town’s panhandling ordinance to be more restrictive of the locations where people may panhandle in the downtown?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen					Chamber Position
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade	Chamber Position
U	U	Y	Y	U	N	N	N	Y

11.) What three things will you do as an Alderman to help Carrboro achieve its adopted goals of doubling its commercial tax base?
Carrboro Mayor			Carrboro Board of Aldermen
Ashley	Chilton	Voyce	Cook	Gist	Haven-O'Donnell	Peck	Slade

Please click the following questions to hear the the candidates' response when asked at the forum held on October 8:

The mayor is just one vote of nine. How do you propose to lead the Aldermen and staff to accomplish your priorities?

How would you address concerns that our community lacks opportunities and facilities for young people to safely socialize in a supervised environment after dark, and would you be willing to lead an inter-governmental task force to address this issue during your time on the Council?

What will be your role as Mayor in recruiting new and retaining existing employers?

In the last 18 months there have been a surprising number of violent and property crimes throughout the community. Do you think this is a problem and what will you do to increase safety and the perception of safety?

Where would you like to see increased cooperation and partnership between Carrboro and its surrounding communities?

Chamber Commentary:

Amanda Ashley, a retail associate for a local shop, wants Carrboro to remain pedestrian-safety centered on a walkable scale. So although early on she was pegged as wanting a town population cap, what she really meant is that she does not want the town to annex any more residential areas or approve large residential-only development and instead concentrate on the long-stated town goal of increasing the commercial tax base. Unfortunately, she was unable to demonstrate a broader knowledge of town issues or how, as mayor, she would get the board of alderman to be effective on even her most important issues. She said that developers did not need more predictable development rules, the just needed to understand the "essence of Carrboro" to tell them whether their project would be acceptable or not. "Maybe we want to be a well-kept secret."