Campaign update/early voting/Project Homeless Connect/Greene Team opportunities

[sally greene]

Dear friends,

Some news from the campaign and elsewhere.

Campaign update

Last week there were two candidate forums--one at the Hargraves Center sponsored by Empowerment/Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce/Community Action Network and WCHL, which broadcast it live; and another at the beautiful new Robert and Pearl Seymour Senior Center. Both provided good opportunities for folks to hear from candidates. But forums are never fully satisfying for candidates--at least for me--because you often don't have the time to explain your ideas.

For example, this morning I had an email message from Adam Klein of the Chamber asking for a copy of an article I had cited in the Hargraves forum. The article argues that the environmental movement should reach out more strongly to minorities. It proposes that public high schools and vocational schools and community colleges start "green technology training centers" to train young people for jobs in the "green building" industry. "America needs an Energy Corps, like Americorps and the Peace Corps, to train and deploy millions of youth in the vital work of rewiring a nation."

http://commongroundmag.com/2007/04/eco-apartheid0704.html

It would be great if we could get something like this started in our area, and I appreciate Adam's interest in thinking about it.

In addition to forums, candidates have been busy answering questionnaires from various organizations. Yesterday the Chapel Hill News ran all our responses the following question:

Describe your vision for downtown Chapel Hill and assess the Town Council's current approach to revitalization.

Here is what I submitted.

"With the approvals of the Downtown Economic Development Initiative and Greenbridge, and with other residential projects including Shortbread Lofts subject to possible approval, downtown Chapel Hill is on its way to becoming a thriving neighborhood of walkable, safe, transit-accessible places to live and work. This transformative vision is one I share with the Council.

"The Downtown Partnership, with the town's support, has embarked upon establishing a common vision among downtown stakeholders. This process, modeled on that of the Main Street Project, is a commendable means of strengthening what's working while striving to improve the economic prospects for business owners. The Orange County/Chapel Hill Visitor's Bureau, another key Council partner, works to promote our downtown as "a special destination." The Council recently created a downtown police unit of 18 officers. All of these initiatives are underwriting our goal of transforming a good downtown into a great one.

"The Council's approach has much to recommend itself. It aligns with the "smart growth" principles advocated by Sierra Club, among others, in that, in conjunction with our urban services boundary, it says "no" to sprawl and "yes" to compact development in areas where transportation options are feasible. It anticipates the reuse of historic downtown buildings, a choice that increasingly is seen as an environmental as well as a cultural good. Finally, because citizens, through the Council, have a voice in shaping the redevelopment projects, it allows the community to act on its values through such means as requiring affordable housing and energy efficiency."

I do believe the Council is on the right track with downtown revitalization. Liz Parham, head of the Downtown Partnership, has done a great job in two years to work on issues of common concern. Here's something she said in a recent email message to the Council:

"While we will continue to work on these concerns, it is also important that we market all of the unique assets that our downtown has to offer. For example: Downtown Chapel Hill features 81 restaurants offering 14 different cuisines; it is the largest retail shopping district in Orange County offering more than 60 retail shops; few downtowns are anchored by world class cultural venues like the Morehead Planetarium and the Ackland Art Museum; and there is live music offered almost every night of the week!"

Speaking of downtown, do yourselves a favor and go see the "Meet Me on Franklin Street" exhibit at the Chapel Hill Museum. No matter when your Franklin Street experiences started, you'll surely get a kick out of it. Photos by Bayard Wooten. And much more.

This week, we have a forum at Carol Woods on Thursday. It starts at 3 p.m.


One-stop "No excuses" voting

Once again, the county is offering early voting. This year, for the first time thanks to a welcome change in state law, persons who are not registered to vote can register and vote on the same day at the early voting sites. (Note: "same day" registration does not apply to the November 6 election day.) The location this year for Chapel Hill is the old post office on Franklin Street--just across the street from the Morehead Planetarium, where it has been in the past. If you need handicap access or you need to stay in your car to vote, I understand your needs will be accommodated.

Dates and times for the Post Office location:

Monday – Friday, October  22nd - October 26th, 9:00 am– 4:30pm.

Monday – Friday, October 29th  - November 2nd, 9:00 am–4:30pm

Saturday, November 3rd,  9:00am–1pm.

Early voting will also be available in Carrboro and Hillsborough. Even if you are a Chapel Hill voter, you could vote at either of those sites; they will have all the ballots. You can read more about early voting at the Orange County Board of Elections site:

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/onestop.asp

Volunteer for Project Homeless Connect

Project Homeless Connect is happening on Thursday, October 25, at the Hargraves Center. Organizers are expecting more than 150 homeless people to come to take advantage of this one-day service event. Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Inter-Agency Council on Homelessness, will be on hand for the opening. Jamie Rohe has been doing a great job organizing this event. Please consider volunteering your time to help. See more:

http://greenespace.blogspot.com/2007/10/seeking-volunteers-for-project-homeless.html

Greene Team opportunities

Finally--the election is three weeks from tomorrow! My campaign really needs help from folks who are willing to hand out flyers in their neighborhood reminding people to Go Greene with their votes.  If you are willing to contribute any amount of time to this effort, please contact Tom Jensen at tje...@email.unc.edu and let him know where you live.  He'll get you the materials you need and then you can go out and distribute them anytime before the election that's convenient for you.

Cheers and thanks again,

Sally