Durham People’s Alliance PAC 2009 Candidate Endorsements

(NOTE:  Endorsements were made by a vote at a 9/1/09 People’s Alliance membership meeting attended by over 50 members.  Previously a PA-PAC committee had solicited and then reviewed candidate questionnaires on a wide variety of issues facing the city (read the candidate responses, here) … and conducted interviews with all candidates who wanted to interview.)

For Mayor - William V. "Bill" Bell - Few people in Durham can claim to know and love this community as Bill Bell does. None can match his record of selfless public service. A practical progressive, Bill has presided over the rebirth of Durham's downtown and has focused his energy on obtaining a similar result in long-neglected east Durham. Although he has just one vote on the council, Bill has provided steady leadership and has earned the respect not only of his council colleagues, but of every segment of Durham community from the Chamber of Commerce to, well, the People's Alliance. During our interview, Bill stressed the Barnes Avenue project as an example of his commitment to the revitalization of east Durham. He remarked that downtown revitalization has proved to be easier in some ways than neighborhood renovation. His big-project approach in east Durham has not found favor with every PA member, but Bill's ideas are clearly thoughtful. He is sensitive to the problem created by the zoning mish-mash in neglected neighborhoods.

Bill Bell's opponent in the race, Steven Williams, is sincere, but has only a limited command of the issues. His interview responses indicate that he is anti-union and would favor development at the expense of the environment and existing neighborhoods. Williams argued that Bell has been in power too long. He said that the generation gap is too wide and that Durham needs a more youthful mayor. We disagree. Bill is always on the job, gets highest marks on his command of the issues, and he never shrinks from responsibility. He takes ownership of city government. We're lucky indeed to have him.

For Council, Ward 1 - Cora Cole-McFadden - Cora is a reliable supporter of the People's Alliance on housing, civil rights, children's welfare, homelessness, and neighborhood revitalization issues. She is the foremost advocate for the welfare of city employees. She opposes moving the watershed boundaries to accommodate dense development and is coming around to the PA's position against softening billboard rules. Cora also gets high marks for her knowledge of city government and the issues it faces. She is dedicated, approachable, and in nearly eight years on the council, she has missed only three meetings. During her interview, Cora was at ease and confident in her responses. She serves on the council's Northeast Central Durham Committee. Cora supports reserving a penny from the tax base each year for housing and related programs. She would use the city's power to regulate land use to improve neighborhoods and protect the environment. Although she has shown some interest in modifying billboard rules in the past, she indicated that she is not convinced that changes are necessary.

Among her opponents, Donald Hughes promises to run a spirited campaign. He has little experience, however, and his positions on the issues lack depth and cohesion. During his interview, we pressed him hard about his support for the 751 developers and their desire to reduce the watershed buffer surrounding Jordan Lake. He tried to backtrack, but his arguments were disappointingly shallow and revealed that he had little understanding of the issue. Hughes's council bid is premature. His energies would be better spent building a solid record serving on a city board or commission.

For Council, Ward 2 - Howard Clement, III - During his long service on the City Council, Howard Clement has won our support, lost it, and has now won it again. Howard began his career in elected office thirty years ago as a democrat and civil rights leader. Although he later switched to the Republican Party, he has never wavered in his support for equal rights for all members of the community. Here, and on issues relating to housing and public safety, Howard and the PA have made common purpose. When the issues concern land use, neighborhoods, and protection of the environment, we have not always seen eye-to-eye. During his interview, Howard told us that he supports reserving a penny on the tax base for housing programs. In his questionnaire, he indicated that he thought Durham's protection of watersheds is "just right." Howard is never doctrinaire, however, and as the conservative voice on a progressive council, he has been open to persuasion. Although Howard dislikes the idea of down-zoning property against the owner's wishes, on a couple of occasions he has voted to do it when he was convinced that it was necessary to protect a fragile neighborhood. We look forward to working with Howard on those matters where we have always agreed and to persuading him on those issues that have divided us in the past. In recent years, Howard has rethought his support for the Republican Party and has changed his registration to "unaffiliated."

Opponent Matt Drew is an ardent Libertarian. During his interview, he told us he opposes public schools, public money for housing, and down-zoning to protect neighborhoods. He supports more lenient rules for billboards.  He is, however, refreshingly lucid on (and concerned about) water supply and water quality issues facing the city.   Clement's other opponents were also unimpressive on the issues. Some come with serious baggage and none promised to be reliable progressive standard bearers. One, Darius Little, has criticized Clement for his age, but in this Ward 2 race, Mr. Clement is still the swiftest horse.

For Council, Ward 3 - Mike Woodard - Only rarely do we find an elected official with Mike's knowledge of city government and his command of the complex issues confronting Durham. This former InterNeighborhood Council President is one of the council's foremost advocates for housing, the environment, and neighborhoods, but enjoys the respect of the development community. A consensus builder, his ideas are always intelligent and sensible. Like Mayor Bell, he is a practical but persistent progressive. Woodard supports reserving a penny from the tax base for housing. He supports using target incentives for redevelopment not just downtown, but in other parts of the city as well. He cited the need for revitalized shops and restaurants in the retail areas along Fayetteville Street to serve the university market. He supports a return to citizen-advised small area planning to protect neighborhoods. These initiatives, he said, deserve a dedicated line-item in the budget like downtown. Woodard opposes relaxing watershed boundaries for Durham's drinking water reservoirs and he opposes relaxing Durham's stringent billboard regulations to accommodate the industry's desire to erect electronic billboards and reposition its existing inventory of signs. Woodard is the obvious choice for council. His opponent, Alan Polack, is a no-show candidate. He did not return our questionnaire and cancelled his interview appointment.

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