Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:13:57 -0400
From: virginia penley
Subject: Follow up on the candidates forum
I attended the candidates forum on Tuesday along with over 100 other intrepid souls. It was a diverse audience with a good number of Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters in attendance.
As I stated previously, I respect all of the candidates who have put their names on the ballot and are willing to wrestle with the battle of ideas in the public arena.
And although I am a true blue Democrat I realize that good governance requires input from different perspectives and the current GOP-led majority of the county commissioners has worked on behalf of our entire community in good conscience from a philosophical perspective that they believe best manages the affairs of the county.
That said I believe the voters have a clear choice this fall regarding the direction and future of Chatham County and thus the region.
The current School Board Chairwoman, Karen Howard, is running unopposed in District 1 so we will have the benefit of her wisdom and input and for the first time since Carl Thompson was defeated in 2010 a voice of and for diversity on the board.
In addition, Walter Petty, the current chair of the board is running unopposed in District 5, so we will have his experience and knowledge as well as his perspective as a business owner and native of Western Chatham serving our county.
This leaves the choice of our future to the question of whether we will be better served by keeping Commissioners Brian Bock and Pam Stewart or trading them on election day for new commissioners named Jim Crawford and Diana Hales and herein lies the interesting question for the voters.
Whom do we trust to push back on fracking? Protect our drinking water? Champion planning for the near term and the far term, strongly support public education and invest in transit and our municipalities?
I will speak for Democratic candidates Jim Crawford and Diana Hales.
Jim Crawford grew up on farm in rural Central Pennsylvania. When he was in high school his father died and the family had to pull together to survive. It was tough. He graduated from Penn State and was accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill where he became the president of the grad student association and received his master’s degree and doctorate in US History. Jim is a carpenter and a man of letters who strongly believes in public schools, hard work and giving back to the community. His daughter is a senior at Northwood High School, his wife is an executive at Lenovo and they are opening a business together in Chatham County. Jim is on the planning board and will be a voice for rural Chatham as well as the more urbanized Chatham developing along the 15-501 corridor and the North East. He will also support a ban on fracking in Chatham County.
Diana Hales is exactly the type of person we need serving in public office. She is tireless, has attended all but two meetings of the BOC over the past three and a half years and lives on the Rocky River near Siler City. Diana is dedicated to banning fracking and protecting the air we breath and the water we drink. She has held a number of jobs over the years including working for the State of NC and she has the utmost respect for teachers. She will push to invest more capital in our school system and our teachers. She will also attend regional board meetings on behalf of our County because she understands that these relationships matter and the funding and assistance that we will need will only occur if our elected officials attend these board meetings.
I urge you to get to know the candidates and invest your vote for Crawford and Hales for the future of Chatham County and our region. -Virginia Penley