VillageMatters.org Looks to Influence the Conversation

This blog, aShortChronicle, was started as an attempt to influence the conversation on local politics here in Davidson.  The goal was to give a voice to the more conservative point of view on local issues in a town where that was sorely lacking.  Over the past couple of years I think we've successfully done that. 

A few examples...

• The debate over 4-year staggered terms came and went without the town instituting that change.  Keeping the status quo in this case was a victory for voters and has helped keep elected officials accountable by ensuring they face those voters on a more regular basis in a meaningful way.  Information provided here definitely influenced how that debate turned out.
• The constant and running theme of "transparency" pushed at aShortChronicle regularly nudges and prods our town officials to do the right thing when it comes to open government  For instance, the recent discussion of conflicts of interests and Commissioner Jenest being recused from a vote regarding CHS probably would not have happened (at least not to the degree it did) if the subject was not raised in these pages.
• The issues of taxes and spending are regularly covered here.  As a wealthy town it would be easy to say "well, we can all afford to pay a little more".  However, when taxing and spending other people's money, it is absolutely required in my opinion to constantly ask the question "does this expenditure meet the needs of the vast majority of the public and is it absolutely required?"  That's a question that should be asked every single budget cycle.  We are glad that it now appears to be.

In a relatively brief period of time we've shown that a difference can be made if you speak up, and with that we want to bring to your attention to VillageMatters.org.

Former Commissioner Connie Wessner and Professor Ann Fox from Davidson College have started a new blog and Twitter effort to give a more liberal and progressive voice to the blogosphere discussion here in Davidson.  That effort is VillageMatters.org.  Readers should check it out.

Former Commissioner Wessner was the strongest supporter on the previous Board for a unilateral change to term lengths without putting it to a voter referendum.  She's also been a strong proponent of Davidson's high property tax rates.  If the below tweets from last Tuesday's Board work session are any indication, my guess is their effort will be pushing back on at least some of the discussions we'll be raising here at aShortChronicle. 

Check out the #villagematters hashtag for the entire feed.  This is just a selection.

 

How this discussion progresses will be fun to watch.



 

Endorsers and Ensorsees Everywhere this Election

Endorsements are pretty standard fare when it comes to elections, but in Davidson they tend to be mostly person to person conversations or maybe an email sent from someone to their list of close friends.  As a candidate, when it comes to getting the word out about your campaign there is nothing better than having the "neighborhood politico" put in a good word on your behalf.  While those types of endorsements certainly were a big part of the process for all candidates this year, this past election also saw several "official" endorsements from organized groups and local politicians.  That was definitely something new.

Here are the big ones.   Some of these made the news, others did not.  All of them had some impact.

 

The North Mecklenburg Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) endorses candidates in the local towns every election season.  In the past, they have endorsed people of all political stripes from one end of the spectrum to the other.  This year they endorsed myself and Vince Winegardner. 

If there was anything unusual about this endorsement, it was that not a single incumbent even agreed to meet with the group.  That struck me as odd considering that their only question this season was around improving communication.  That's it.  It was in the invite, and there was not anything controversial about the interviews. Why incumbent commissioners would not want to even sit down with a group to talk about issues seems strange to me, but then again maybe that's why the only question on their list involved improved communication.

The endorsement came with some adds in local media including the Huntersville Herald, Lake Norman Citizen, and DavidsonNews.net. 

After the PBA endorsement which was expected.  The rest of the endorsements this season all fall into the "unprecedented" category.  That's where things get interesting.

The first one that made a big splash was the TollFreeNC/Widen I77 endorsement.  These activists have been fighting the plan to add HOT lanes to I-77.  Fortunately for us here in Davidson, the splash was mostly in Cornelius and Huntersville where the group went negative and posted signs asking voters to "fire" some candidates while posting other signs asking them to vote others into office.  In Davidson, we only got the endorsement signs. Personally, I am glad about that.

The results here were definitely a mixed bag though.  Two endorsed candidates won and two lost.  Interestingly, the two who lost were also the two who were most vocal in their opposition to HOT lanes.  The two who won included the candidate who got the most votes - Beth Cashion.  Read into that what you will, but it would seem to mean that the HOT lanes issue just did not resonate with voters as much as many people thought it would - myself included.

Then came the "politicians"...

As early voting started, former Commissioner Laurie Venzon endorsed three non-incumbent candidates.  The near immediate response was Mayor John Woods endorsing all of the incumbents. 

Mayor Woods's endorsement definitely got more attention with both DavidsonNew.net and the Huntersville Herald actually publishing the Mayor's endorsement message.  But which one carried more weight? 

Beth Cashion came in a strong first.  Stacey Anderson became the first challenger to knock-off an incumbent since 1997 when she came in fifth edging out incumbent Connie Wessner.  I started with arguably the lowest name recognition and came in seventh, but only a few dozen votes behind the pack. 

All of the incumbents received less votes than they did in the last election - some received considerably less.

While not a true apples-to-apples comparison because there was one more candidate this election season, it would appear that a former commissioner's endorsement may have influenced more people than the sitting mayor's.  That says something.

Then finally, there was the "endorsement" that may have had more actual impact than any other.  On November 1st just days before the election, the River Run Property Owner's Association encouraged residents to "learn" about the two neighborhood candidates - Stacey Anderson and Vince Winegardner.  This received basically no publicity, but it made a difference.

Why was this possibly the most influential?  Find out in the next post on polling.

Signs, Endorsements, Polling and Money...Davidson elections go mainstream

Davidson's past election season went "mainstream" with many diversions from the so called "Davidson Way" resulting in a contest that was both competitive and healthy for the town.

The results?

Two new faces, Beth Cashion and Stacey Anderson, will grace the dais this coming term.  New ideas and approaches to governing will be discussed.  There will be more balance on the Board of Commissioners.  All of these things should be good for the town if handled correctly.  All of these things should help more Davidsonians feel more connected to the town.

How did we get here?  How did these "un-Davidson" campaign tactics impact how we elected our new crop of officials?

The first thing that appeared which is not something done normally here in town was the use of campaign signs.  Several candidates used them this cycle, myself included.  There were not too many of them.  They were not placed in public right of way along the roads.  They were not negative signs, or large signs, or ugly signs.

In fact, every campaign sign was placed in a yard by a candidate because the homeowner either asked for them specifically or accepted if a candidate asked.  I could have used twice as many as I purchased because that many people asked about having one in their yard.  The other candidates who used signs mentioned similar stories. 

There were also more creative signs.  I had a couple of large magnets on my truck which came in handy when I was walking neighborhoods.  Multiple people mentioned seeing them either around town or parked at the neighborhood entrance when I was going door-to-door.  Commissioner Wessner also very creatively turned her bicycle into a rolling billboard by attaching a campaign sign and then regularly parking her bike along Main Street.

Contrary to popular belief, signs apparently are not the public nuisance many believe them to be.

However, I still heard reports this season of people thinking they were somehow "divisive".  One candidate was even told that they had lost a "lot" of votes because of the use of campaign signs!?!?  (That candidate won by the way.)

Compare all that to the "Vote Yes" signs supporting the education bonds on the ballot.  Those were larger, more visible, and placed all over town (often in public right of way against town ordinance).  At the candidate forum at Town Hall, I actually helped Bill Russell of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce unload a trunk-full of them to give to Mayor Woods for distribution.

What does that tell you? 

It tells you that campaign signs are "OK" as long as they are the right signs - meaning signs supported by town hall.  Signs for non-approved/non-incumbent candidates?  Not so much.

Then there were the endorsements...

...but that's for another post.