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Monday, December 10, 2018

One year in, new Davidson Board showing how to lead

One year ago this week, Davidson swore in five new elected officials after a statement election that saw the previous elected regime at Davidson Town Hall soundly defeated.  This was the culmination of years of Town Hall initiated controversies and came after a particularly contentious year where the public, via the Save Davidson movement, became vigorously engaged in municipal affairs.

In the run-up to Election Day 2017, those defending the status quo questioned, mocked might be a better word, the qualifications of challengers who hadn't been indoctrinated in the ways of Davidson Town Hall, engaged in anonymous attacks including a smear of Save Davidson to the state BOE, and spread fear and speculation at the possibility of what might happen if wholesale change actually did come to fruition on the Davidson Board.

However, when the votes were finally counted none of those tactics mattered a bit.  New voters flocked to the polls and cast their ballots for the challengers and incumbent Commissioner Jim Fuller who had often voted against the status quo at Town Hall.  When the fog lifted, it was clear a new day was about to dawn.

So, how has the new Board performed in the past year?  The answer to that is told as much by what hasn't happened as much by what has.

The past year has seen a distinct lack of major Town Hall initiated controversies.  That's been a welcome relief for those weary of constantly having to fight the bad ideas of years past.  The most contentious issue, at least from the public's perspective, came early in the term when the Town considered putting a left turn on Main Street - impacting public parking regularly used by DCPC.  The  new Board handled that well by not ramming the project forward in the face of public input.

Speaking of public input, the past year has also not seen the instances of highly choreographed public input sessions with seemingly predetermined outcomes.  Those sessions had become the hallmark of Davidson Town Hall in recent years when the Town repeatedly tried to push through unpopular development proposals.  Certainly, some people may not fully agree with this one, but most would likely agree, Town Hall listens better than it has in the past.

Finally, the condescension and general blow-offishness that was often the response to any criticism, no matter how slight, by many on the previous Board has gratefully left the dais.

All the while, this new Board has been getting things done - proving the concerns of those defending the status quo of years past were unsubstantiated.

The Beaty Street Park is underway with the formation of a taskforce busy at planning.  The CMS property on South Street has been purchased for a reasonable price - laying the foundation for addressing future public facilities needs.  The Board has dealt with multiple planning related issues including the watershed ordinance, legal challenges on the Griffith Street Hotel and Potts Street projects, kick starting a new Comprehensive Plan, and a series of decisions that show a strong preference for historic preservation.  That's a very solid list for a group of new folks who supposedly did not have the necessary experience.

Is there more to do?  Of course!

The Continuum conundrum has received little attention.  Yes, David Auger, CEO of the enterprise, gave an upbeat presentation to the Board in November, but there still doesn't seem to be a viable long-term plan for extricating the Town from the business other than to keep paying down debt and hoping things don't blow up again.  When it comes to business decisions, hope is not a plan.

Also, many of the same players on Town Staff who were involved in previous controversies are still in their positions.  Until that changes, there will always be the chance for backsliding.  This kind of change is hard, and hoping voluntary attrition will provide it likely won't get there.  Again, hope is not a plan.

All in all though, not too shabby for a Board the old status quo thought was unqualified.  They've restored confidence in how Town Hall operates and done so very quickly.  That's no small accomplishment in year one, and the Town should look forward to what this group does in year two.

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