"Dead Men Walking" - one defiant jail break and one undeserved pardon

Well, Tuesday night in Cornelius and Davidson came and went with both Mayors still standing.

In Cornelius, as expected the Board unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mayor Chuck Travis - a vote he summarily ignored and one where he defiantly stated he would not resign.

The meeting was over in minutes.

Where the Board goes from here is hard to know.  What do you do with a sitting mayor who could not possibly have a working relationship with his Board, and it's over 16 months until election day?

In Davidson as was said earlier, the situation was "fluid".  That fluid turned out to be something like really watered down coffee that does absolutely nothing but leave a bad taste in your mouth.

For going to Raleigh and advocating a position contrary to the Board's position, Davidson Commissioners did nothing to Mayor Woods.  Not a reprimand, not an official censure, not a no confidence vote.  Nothing!

Instead, they just passed a resolution reaffirming their position against the project and contract.

Oh, wait...no, they did do something to Mayor Woods.

They took the harsh action of not letting Woods sign the resolution they passed.  The Board will sign it instead.

Commissioners Cashion, Fuller and Jenest plan to deliver that new resolution in a Raleigh press conference organized by Senator Jeff Tarte on Wednesday.

During the comments on the subject of the Mayor's visit commissioners danced around the subject and repeatedly said they were "disappointed".  Only Commissioner Graham gave a detailed reason for the Board taking no official action against Woods.

Graham spoke about 5 Commissioners not overriding the vote of the people that elected Woods.  That's a position that could actually be respected if a vote of no confidence and seeking a resignation was the only option.  It wasn't.  The Board could have issued a censure of Woods.  They didn't.

Not being willing to go even that far considering what Woods did to undermine the Board simply invites more of the same.

Also during the commissioner comments, Commissioner Brian Jenest spoke about "trust" and how officials have to be careful not to damage it.  Ironically, the lack of action by the Board greatly damaged public trust.  That is a certainty.

In fact, it may have done as much damage to that trust as Woods's initial actions did.  And that may be the saddest part of all.

OUCH!!! - No Confidence Resolution for Mayor Chuck Travis

Here is the no confidence resolution the Cornelius Board will vote on tonight.

Link to document

Mayors Woods and Travis - Dead Men Walking

Today stands to be one of the most interesting days in the history of North Mecklenburg politics.

Last week, we reported on the ill thought out trip by local Mayors John Woods and Chuck Travis of Davidson and Cornelius to see Senate leader Phil Berger.  The purpose of their trip was to advocate for the I77 HOT lanes in contradiction to the official position of their respective Boards.  In both cases the men claimed to only be expressing their personal opinions and not those of their respective towns.

Nobody bought it.

The public response has been swift, vicious, and very likely fatal to both of their political legacies.

Almost immediately reports began swirling that Cornelius would seek to oust Mayor Travis.  That Board had already censured his previouy for his off script actions on opposition to the town's official position.  Then on Monday, CorneliusToday.com posted a detailed story about what's likely to happen to Travis.

He will very likely will receive a vote of no confidence and then be asked to resign at a special merting called for Tuesday.

Over in Davidson, the situation is more fluid.

Davidson Commissioners have been tight lipped about what may happen to Mayor Woods.  Will he receive a censure?  Will he receive the same treatment as Travis?  Nobody is saying for sure.

However, one citizen posted responses from several Commissioners on Facebook to those questions.  The response was that the Board had met with Woods regarding the Raleigh meeting and that they were "disappointed" in his response.

It would seem unlikely that the Davidson Board would do nothing.  An agenda item for the I77 Managed Lanes project has been added for tonight.  If no official action or very weak action is taken, the public would see that as the Board being complicit in what Woods did.  They certainly do not want that as it would turn the public’s ire on them.

How all of this plays out is sure to be a spectacle, and it could have far ranging impacts.

Any political cover Senator Phil Berger was hoping to get from last week's meeting will have been stripped away.  Berger was clearly hoping to hold up these two renegade mayors as the reason for his holding up the bill to cancel the toll project.

If both of those mayors receive serious punishment, that plan will have fully backfired.

#Cornelius to the left of #Davidson on property rights?

Cornelius elected officials have a well earned reputation for being a fairly conservative bunch.

Among similarly sized communities, the town has long had one of the lowest municipal property tax rates in the state.  At the same time, it provides high quality services.  That’s an indication of strong fiscal discipline.  Town Commissioners, if not the Mayor, have also been some of the leading elected voices against potential regional boondoggles like the Red Line Commuter Rail and the I77 HOT lanes.

So, it’s peculiar to witness the town involved in a brouhaha with citizens and landowners over a rezoning request that has similarities to a recent example in Davidson – it’s more leftward leaning neighbor to the north.  Those two decisions would be Classica Homes development currently being discussed in Cornelius  and the Narrow Passage development approved last year by Davidson.

Development company Classica Homes wishes to build 40 age restricted townhomes on roughly 9 acres off of land off of West Catawba Ave.   In Davidson, developer Karl Plattner looked to build a similar number of homes on a large parcel in Davidson’s rural area.  In both cases, town Planning staff opposed the rezoning requests because they didn’t perfectly conform to previously approved plans.  In both cases public feedback was significant with citizens packing the public hearings and sending numerous emails.

There were significant differences though.

In Davidson’s case, opponents were trying to all but eliminate any real development in the rural area.  In Cornelius, it appears the Town is pushing to reserve land for more intense commercial development at some undetermined point down the road.  Also, in Davidson the citizen led Planning Board opposed the rezoning along with staff, and there was some element of the public who opposed the project as well.  In Cornelius, the citizen Planning Board actually supported Classica’s request and public feedback from the neighbors most impacted also appears unanimous in its support.

You'd think the Davidson decision would have been the hard one, or at least the closest vote, wouldn’t you?  Ultimately however, the Davidson Board recognized they should respect the landowners’ property rights and allow what was clearly a reasonable plan to go forward.  They unanimously approved the rezoning.

The Cornelius vote appears to be the closer one.  With Commissioners knotted at 2-2 during their last meeting with one Commissioner absent, they decided to kick the final vote until their next meeting on May 2nd.

Unlike what happened in Davidson, the utter reasonableness of the proposal by Classica and the land owners appears to have been lost in the discussion.  Even if the proposal does not meet exactly what the town says it wants which is more commercial development, it’s hard to deny it is reasonable.

As confirmed by Town Planning Director, Wayne Herron, under the existing zoning the landowners could build a total of 16 single family homes -  no questions asked.  However, these would likely be large lot homes.  They would likely have as many cars and generate as many or more car trips as the 40 units in the Classica proposal.  They would also bring more children likely to attend local schools.  (Age restricted communities tend to have less cars, generate less trips, and don’t have children.)

It’s reasonable compared to other residential possibilities or even the town’s desired option of commercial development.  It will put less strain on area roads as well as area schools.

It’s reasonable when looking at growing the tax base compared to what could be built there by right already.  Forty high end townhomes will provide more revenue than the 16 homes already allowed.

Finally, and most importantly it’s a reasonable option for the town that also treats the landowners fairly – landowners who have been trying to sell this property for decades.

In Davidson, it was the reasonableness of the proposal which ultimately won over that Board.

Hopefully, reasonableness and respect for property rights will do the same in Cornelius at that Board's next meeting

This post first appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com.

Town should.take transparency to the next level.

It is that time of year again – time for the annual request for our local town governments to be as open and transparent as possible.

In last year's New Year’s resolution column three requests were made of the towns – improve email collections for public records requests, follow the spirit of the law (not just the letter of the law) when it comes to open meetings, and respect the will of the voters when it comes to filling vacancies in local town Boards.  While none of the towns passed ordinances that explicitly addressed these, incremental changes could be seen in positive directions on all of them.

That's a very good thing.

So, in the spirit of starting the new year off on a positive note, here is something a couple of or towns did which improved transparency that was not even on last year's list.

This past August Davidson began live streaming of its public meetings using UStream.tv -becoming the first of the North Meck towns to offer this to citizens.  To date, the various videos have received a total of almost 1000 views.  That may not seem like much, but when you consider that most meetings are relatively dull having few if any citizens attending, having  video available does make a relatively significant difference.  If nothing else, it makes it easier for the media to accurately report on what happened.  The real difference is made when there is something of high community interest.  For example, the video of the community meeting on Davidson’s controversial Downtown Catalyst Project received 226 view - proving that video availability significantly improves the reach of Town Hall when there is something people really want to see.

An added bonus is that this service is very economical.  Hosting the live streaming, which also allows for commercial free viewing, costs the town only $99/month.  Soon, Davidson won't be the only local town to offer video of its meetings.  One of the first items approved by Huntersville after the last elections was to set up a similar service.  With many new faces on Huntersville’s Board, this certainly will be a good new way for residents to put “faces with names” and get familiar with the new leaders.

Adding video is definitely a positive step for transparency.

But…you knew there was a “but” didn't you?  There is always more work to be done when it comes to shining light on the public’s business.  Here are two policies all town boards could implement easily to ensure as much openness as possible.

1. Require each elected official to copy a central town “public records” email box on their communications.  This can easily be done and is particularly important if an elected official ends up communicating what should be a public record on a private eat I account.  Town Clerks are responsible for being the keeper of a town’s public records.  Their jobs should be made as easy as possible and they should not be forced to try to always track down messages from individual officials.
2. Each town should implement firm policies or rules of conduct outlining exactly when elected officials and even advisory board members should publicly disclose if they might have even the perception of a conflict of interest.  The State law is very specific about when elected officials can be recused.  It is much less often than one might think, and it leaves plenty of room for people to rationalize away why they might not need to recuse themselves from voting or participating in a discussion.  Town policies making it very clear when something should be disclosed would go a long way to strengthening public trust.  At the very least, making that thought process less ambiguous would let citizens know when someone was not following policy.

All of the activism that has gone on around various issues during the last year has stated to improve things at the most local level when it comes to transparency.  Taking these two steps would be a sign the town boards are serious about taking it to the next level.

This column first appeared in this week’s Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com

Cornelius and Davidson had elections, too!

With all of the attention given to the election results in Huntersville, it might be tempting to forget that all of the local municipalities had elections two weeks ago.  Not much has been said about the elections in Cornelius and Davidson, but voters there also trekked to the polls earlier this month.

Last week, some more detailed numbers were available from the Mecklenburg Board of Elections that  are worth a look.

As one might expect Huntersville had the largest number of voters heading to the polls.  With competitive races and by far the largest population, that is not surprising.  However, when it comes to turnout rate, that top “honor” goes to Davidson.

14.61% of Davidsonians headed to the polls, followed by 13.93% of Huntersville’s registered voters, with only 13.25% of Cornelius’s voters making it out.  While saying the “honor” goes to Davidson for the highest turnout is true, that needs to be said with some serious air quotes around it.  It is a pretty sad state of affairs when all three towns had less than 15% turnout.

A closer looks at the numbers in the Mayoral races also revealed some interesting tidbits.

By now most people are aware if how lopsided the contested race in Huntersville turned out to be.  But what may surprise people are a couple of things that occurred in the uncontested races in Cornelius and Davidson.

At first glance both contests had margins of victory for the incumbents reminiscent of what you might see in Castro’s Cuba or the Kim Dynasty in North Korea.  Chuck Travis won in Cornelius with 93.9% and John Woods won in Davidson with 87.9%.

Write in candidates got a cumulative 6.1% and 12.1% respectively in the two towns which actually seems a bit high – particularly for Davidson.  However, after looking at the turnout data provided by the Board of Elections, it is clear there was a significant protest vote beyond even just the write-ins.

in North Carolina only votes where a candidate is actually selected actually end up being  counted – meaning if a ballot is left blank for a given race, that ballot is not counted in the total winning percentage.  These ballots are considered “spoiled” for this given race where they are left blank.  Not counting these ballots, makes the actual winning percentage look artificially high versus the overall total of voters who went to the polls.

So, what were the actual winning percentages when these “spoiled” ballots are included?

In Cornelius, Mayor Travis got 74.20% of actual ballots cast.  In Davidson, Mayor Woods got a little less, coming in at 72.66%.  In fact in PCT 127 on Davidson’s east side, Woods actually slipped below 70% with only 69.6% pulling the lever for him.

So, what does it mean when more that 25% of voters won’t cast a vote for the only name available on the ballot?

An inquiry with the UNC School of Government did not turn up any academic research on the subject of “protest votes”, but a quick comparison to Huntersville sheds some light on it.  In Huntersville where people had two choices and both candidates were reasonable options, the overall protest vote was just 0.4%.

It would seem that Davidson and Cornelius just need more candidates and more options. If they had them, those candidates would likely be starting from a pretty solid base to make a run at the top spots in these two towns.  In fact, if  those options had existed, we very well may be taking about replacing all three Mayors in North Mecklenburg rather than just one.

Clearly, the main issue driving the electoral shellacking in Huntersville was the I77 HOT lanes.  It stands to reason, that same issue was at work creating the high level of “protest” voting in Davidson and Cornelius where both mayors had similar stances as Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain.

This post originally appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at huntersvilleherald.com.

Anti-Toll Candidates Achieve Crushing Victory in Huntersville, make gains in other North Meck Towns

In what will likely be one of the more memorable and important victories in North Mecklenburg local politics for a long, long time, anti-toll candidates swept to victory across North Mecklenburg towns Tuesday night.

Ground zero for the blitz was Huntersville's campaign for Mayor.  In the end, Mayor Jill Swain was unseated by challenger John Aneralla in a crushing victory.  Based on the unofficial totals, Aneralla won every single precinct in the town while cruising to the finish line with nearly 59% of the vote.

However, this victory was matched in its thoroughness by the victory of anti-toll candidates in the race for Town Board.  The top three vote getters were long-time anti toll incumbents Danny Phillips and Rob Kidwell coming in 1st and 3rd along with newcomer Mark Gibbons who came in 2nd.

In addition to Swain's loss, toll supporters and incumbents Sarah McAulay and Jeff Neely also lost reelection.  Melissa Bales who had been the top vote getter last time around fell to sixth place.

To give a sense of how ferocious the anti toll zeal was, between Swain and McAulay nearly four decades of combined electoral experience was cast aside.

These two officials became the focus of the anti toll movement due to their support of the I77 HOT lanes over the past three years with Mayor Swain working with the other local mayors to save the project on a number of occasions and McAulay serving as the Chair of the CRTPO as that body relentlessly pushed the project forward.

But the success of anti-toll candidates was not confined to Huntersville.

In Cornelius, Dr Mike Miltich gained the fifth seat on the Cornelius Board by a comfortable margin after missing in a close contest in 2013.  Also, in Davidson where all incumbents were reelected, the two who had been the most supportive of the HOT lanes project, Rodney Graham and Brian Jenest, came in fourth and fifth this time.

While all of the candidates from the anti-toll camp ran good solid campaigns, it was in Huntersville where the power of the grassroots activism behind the larger movement was really seen.  Activists from across the region focused on the Huntersville races putting in time, money, and effort to get candidates elected.

Over the course of this campaign, it became as much about seeking transparent and responsive government as much as it was about tolls.  If that effort and organization can remain in in tact it could have a lasting impact on politics in North Mecklenburg for years to come.

In the end, those efforts resulted in a resounding set of victories.

Election 2015 - This is IT!!!

Election day is finally here!

It is time to head to the polls. With the weather being what it is today turnout will probably be depressed a little bit, so if you do make it to the polls your vote will count for more.

Here are a few tips on how to supercharge your vote as well as recommendations for Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville.

Also, take a few minutes and reach out to friends and neighbors in any of the three North Mecklenburg towns and encourage them to head to the polls.  Give them to your recommendations that's another tangible way you can have an impact.

There are likely to be some close races and maybe a few surprises. Don't wake up tomorrow and regret that you did not vote if your candidates don't win!

North Meck early voting holds firm amid county wide falloff

Going into Thursday with three days left in early voting, it appears that totals for North Mecklenburg are almost exactly at 2013 levels while the county as a whole has fallen off considerably.

As of the Wednesday before election day, only 9,146 people had voted at the county's early voting sites.  In 2013 that total was 12,592.  That's a 27% drop!

However in North Mecklenburg the numbers seem to be holding.  The total numbers at the North Regional Library and Cornelius Town Hall are almost exactly the same as they were at this point in 2013.

1041 this year versus 1048 in 2013.

Assuming these two sites account for the vast majority of early voters from Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson it would appear there is a bit more enthusiasm in the north of the county than there is in the county as a whole.

Even so, it is hard to use the word "enthusiasm" when turnout is still this anemic.

2013 was a very close contest in a number of races in the local municipalities. With voting totals on par with that cycle, looks like we could expect the same this time around.

In the spirit of a Renaissance Festival herald...

Get thee to the polls!!!

Supercharge your vote this election

Election Day is upon us and it is time to head to the polls.  Last week’s column explained why local elections are so important.  This week provides tips on getting the most out of your vote this election season.  Here is how to super charge your vote.

First, actually go and do it.  Better yet, bring a few others with you.

That's not an attempt at humor, but a sincere suggestion.  Turnout is disturbingly low in municipal elections, so your vote and the votes of a few friends really matter.  Proportionally, your vote has greater impact in low turnout elections, giving real meaning to the old saying “every vote counts”.

Second, be selective in how you cast your ballot.

That may sound obvious, but many people often make a mistake in at-large contests like the races for municipal boards where you can vote for multiple candidates.  For example in Davidson and Cornelius, you can vote for up to five Board candidates and in Huntersville up to six.  However, just because you can vote for a full slate of candidates does not mean you must.

In this scenario, the sharpest arrow in the voter’s quiver is called the “single shot” vote.

Single shot, or bullet voting, is a tactic where you only vote for one candidate rather than a full slate.  It is a tactic often used by minority communities to get a candidate elected from the minority community even when their overall numbers are not a majority of voters.  It works by withholding votes from other candidates that would have otherwise been cast – giving that single vote a higher proportional value.

The same effect to a lesser degree can be achieved by voting for two or three candidates instead of five or six.  The basic idea is to just not give away votes to candidates that you don't agree with on major issues.

In Davidson and Cornelius most incumbents are going to win reelection anyway because only six candidates are running for five seats.  In those towns you may want to just vote for enough candidates to gain a majority on the board, or three candidates.  Alternatively, if you definitely want new blood, then only vote for one challenger.

In Huntersville, gaining a majority would require four. You could vote for three board members and make your selection in the Mayor’s race based on who you want to be the tie-breaker.  Local mayors only vote in the event of a tie.

Huntersville is the only municipality in North Mecklenburg with a contest for Mayor this year.  However, even in Cornelius and Davidson you have a “choice”.  If you are in either of those towns and don't like how your Mayor is doing things, leave the race blank.  Don't just give away your vote if you don't think they deserve it.  While the amount of the “undervote” usually does not make the news, if the percentage of blank votes or write-ins in the uncontested mayors’ races was high enough that would certainly send a message.

In truth, many of the candidates in all of these races hold similar positions on the smaller issues facing the towns.  Voting for candidates based on their stands on the big issues is where the differences lie.  Whether it be something like the I77 HOT lanes or the Catalyst Project in Davidson, voting based on these issues is where you get the most impact.

Finally, there is one item on everyone’s ballot that will impact your future votes - the referendum to extend terms from two years to four on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners starting with the next election.  If you believe elected officials should be held accountable to the voters more often, then definitely vote “NO” on that item.

The last two times Mecklenburg voters have been   asked this question, it failed.  Keeping that trend alive, protects the power of your vote for years to come.

If you haven't done so  already, early voting continues through Saturday.   Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.

This column first appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com.

Election 2015 Cornelius recommendations...

Election Day is upon us and it is time to head to the polls. Here are some suggestions for Cornelius based on the methodology outlined in my upcoming column from this week's Herald Weekly.  Be sure to check that out on Thursday.

Cornelius is fortunate to have a solid Board and a solid list of candidates.  With only six candidates and just one open seat on the Board, it is guaranteed there will be a number of familiar faces on the Board after Election Day.

Commissioner Dave Gilroy should be at the top of your list.  He has been a stalwart on the Board for years ensuring the town maintains low taxes and avoids bad decisions. (i.e. Mi-Connection, I77 HOT lanes).  More than maybe any other elected official in North Mecklenburg, Gilroy is unafraid to speak his mind, ask hard questions, and hold your government accountable at any level.

Also on your list should be Dr Mike Miltich.

Miltich narrowly missed making the Board last time falling just 138 votes short.

A few months later, Miltich should have been selected as the replacement for John Bradford when Bradford stepped down from the Board to run for the legislature.  That would have been the right thing to do, but unfortunately in a divided decision someone who did not even run for office was selected.

Dr Mike showing the fortitude to run again in the face of that kind of "politics" is admirable.  Plus, he is a committed opponent of the I77 toll project.

As for Mayor, voters should consider leaving this race blank or writing in someone else.  As a founding member of the HOT Lanes Bucket Brigade and appointee to the NC Turnpike Authority, Mayor Chuck Travis is fully committed to bringing tolls to the area.

That alone should make it hard for many in Cornelius to pull the lever for him in this uncontested race.

Just my 2 cents...

Which LKN town is the most debauched and depraved?

Well, according to the data that was released by the Ashley Madison website hack a couple of weeks ago, it would appear to be...

You are going to have to read to the end to find out.

Last week, Spanish software company, Technilogica, released a map using their cartography software that breaks down over 30 million subscribers to the adultary enablement site by location.  You can check it out here .

So, which LKN town had the highest user base?  The answer depends on which way you look at it.

Mooresville (5712) had the largest number of users followed by Huntersville (3650). Cornelius (2360)  and Davidson (835) were in the middle of the pack.  Troutman (350) also had a number of folks apparently dabbling in the site's online activity.

That order is about what you'd expect based solely on population.  Though "expect" is a relative term here.  It is simply stunning (and kinda creepy) there are that many people around who are willing to sign up for a site like this.

Even if you believe the site ballooned its numbers with a lot of fake accounts, the numbers are pretty high.  Cut it by 90% and you still have over 500 in Mooresville and 360 in Huntersville.

But, raw numbers aren't the only way to slice and dice this data.  When looked at as a percentage of the population, here's what you get.  Mooresville 16.4% Huntersville 7.2% Cornelius 8.8% Davidson 7.1%. Troutman 14.2%

So, while Davidson eeks out the "moral victory" with only 7.1% of its population supposedly on the site, one has to ask - what in the world is going on in Iredell county's Mooresville and Troutman!!!

With both the highest raw number and highest percentage Mooresville takes the "prize".

Congratulations???

With candidate filing only one week away, the surprises start...

Candidate filing for our local municipal elections starts in one week and the first surprise rolled in this Wednesday.  Cornelius Mayor Lynette Rinker sent out a press release saying she would not be entering the race for re-election.  Here's the story from CorneliusNews.net.

Mayor Rinker's stated reason for not standing for reelection is that she has her eye on higher office and didn't want to leave Cornelius in the lurch by running for Mayor if she was planning on leaving...

“If I’m looking at other options, I just couldn’t tell the people of Cornelius that I’m committing for 2 more years when I may not be,” she said. “That is my personal decision and the way (husband) Mark and I are. I didn’t feel as if I could look people in the eye and ask for their votes, knowing I was leaving.” - from CorneliusNews.net

That's an honorable position, but a somewhat awkward one considering that it almost sounds like a swipe at former Cornelius Mayor and now State Senator, Jeff Tarte, who did just that during the last round of municipal elections elections in Cornelius.   Ironically, his quest for higher office which started soon after winning reelection is what put Mayor Rinker in her current office.

However, one also has to wonder if there's more to this decision as mentioned in this piece over at the Huntersville Herald.  The Herald reminds readers that Mayor Rinker has been a solid supporter of the I-77 HOT lanes project.  She drew attention at the WidenI77.org event at Cornelius Town Hall back in January.  (See video of that here: HOT Lane Opponents Pack Cornelius Town Hall (Video))  She also drew some ire after casting the tie-breaking vote throwing the Town's support behind the project.  (See  Cornelius Commissioner Blasts Town Decision to Support I-77 HOT Lanes for details on that story.)

Adding to this story line is an email received by aShortChronicle where Mayor Rinker strongly pushes back on WidenI77.org and its intention to publish a voter guide stating where candidates stand on the HOT issue.  She obviously did not like the idea and made multiple intimidating references to "electioneering" in an attempt to get the citizens group to reveal any donors to their efforts.

One has to wonder if another reason for Mayor Rinker not defending her seat had something to do with the WidenI77.org group's efforts and that long, long list of petition signers they have been collecting.  

Regardless, stepping into the breach is another HOT supporter, Cornelius Commissioner Chuck Travis.  He immediately announced that he would be throwing his name into the Mayor's race.  So, maybe the real surprise in Cornelius will be if anyone challenges Travis for the seat and who ends up in what are now two open seats on the town Board.

Cornelius Commissioner Blasts Town Decision to Support I-77 HOT Lanes

After last Monday's surprise vote in Cornelius where the Town Board took a split decision supporting I-77 HOT lanes, many of the project's supporters were surely hoping this would bring a quick end to the discussion in North Mecklenburg by snuffing out the only vestiges of resistance among the local town boards before ramming this project through at the next MUMPO meeting.   

 

Unfortunately for them, that was not to be.

Cornelius Commissioner David Gilroy published the following on Sunday May 12th as his regular "Cornelius Update" newsletter.  Read this and ask yourself if you think this discussion is ready to be put to bed.

Begin Commissioner Gilroy's comments to end of post...

Hello Everyone,

This entire Cornelius Update is focused on the critical I-77 Toll Lanes issue - arguably the most important question currently facing North Meck and one that will fundamentally impact our daily experience and quality of life for several decades to come. Public frustration levels on this issue are beginning to boil over in North Meck and for good reason. The 3-2 vote to affirm Toll Lanes at our Town Board meeting this past week, was undoubtedly the single worst decision I’ve witnessed in my 8 years serving Cornelius. Based on the flood of emails I received, I am well aware that many of you share my profound disappointment in Chuck Travis, John Bradford, and Lynette Rinker for their ill-conceived and close-minded decision. I’ll explain where we are now on this issue, and then suggest how folks who want to channel their anger can get involved. Given the length here, you may want to read when you have a few minutes to spare.

A lot has changed since 2010 when we started exploring Toll Lanes as a means of widening I-77. Even since my last Newsletter 2 months ago when I wrote, “Political realities make financing General Purpose (GP) Lanes impossible for the foreseeable future”, the pace of change has been dramatic, and we have every reason in the world now to reconsider. In fact, anyone with an open mind taking a fresh look must acknowledge a compelling emerging opportunity to widen I-77 with GP Lanes on the same timeline as Toll Lanes, if not sooner. Here’s why -

• State funding & prioritization. Our NC Legislature is now moving Governor McCrory’s proposed Strategic Mobility Formula sponsored by this region’s own Rep. Bill Brawley. The potential new law offers $16 billion over the next decade for statewide and major regional transportation needs – with a much higher priority put on “congested arteries serving major cities”. The Observer’s article on Tuesday called this forthcoming new law “the biggest overhaul in state transportation spending policy in 24 years”. A core principle of this new regime is funding more roadway capital projects based on a “data-driven” approach, not the same old political approach of the 1989 Highway Trust Fund Act, which would be outright cancelled.

• Regional funding & prioritization. MUMPO (Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization – the key allocator of funds for our region) formally adopted an entirely new methodology and criteria (“Roadway Project Ranking Methodology”) on March 20, 2013. This new criteria explicitly puts far more weight on objective factors highly advantageous to I-77 GP Lanes (e.g. Reduces Congestion, Access to Employment Center) and far less weight on factors disadvantageous to GP Lanes (e.g. Center City, Impacts Air Quality which now carry no weight at all). Carefully considered analysis presented to our Board by Kurt Naas and Vince Winegardner suggest that GP Lanes would go from the infamous MUMPO ranking of #93 circa 2010 to the top of the list, if not the #1 project in the region. For those of us who drive around this region every week, this is purely common sense.

Even if the Strategic Mobility Formula legislation doesn’t pass this session, GP Lanes would still go to the top of the list in NC if MUMPO’s new methodology supports the project. This is because I-77 GP Lanes have always scored extremely well at state level on a quantitative merit basis, but have lacked MUMPO’s political support in the past which is key.

So, when Speaker Thom Tillis, whose words have huge impact and for good reason, famously said “good luck getting GP Lanes through MUMPO” earlier this year, in a meeting with several local officials and the Widen I-77 organization, he may have been right then, but the regional and state framework for highway funding is now changing radically almost real-time.

So, why no similar change in the views of many of our politicians, as reflected in Cornelius’s idiotic vote Monday night? Several reasons, all inexcusable:

1. Ego and psychology. Travis, Bradford, and Rinker (all close colleagues of mine who do not take strong policy disagreements personally), like so many other politicians, have strenuously and loudly made the argument in recent years that “it’s toll lanes or no lanes”. We all understand the powerful instincts in human nature against admitting when we might be wrong
2. Defeatism – Many of these I-77 discussions exude an attitude of defeat – “we’ve lost; there is no hope; Charlotte owns MUMPO and they’ll never support what's fair and makes sense in North Meck because they simply don’t care, etc.” This is self-fulfilling of course; as long as North Meck leaders don’t challenge status quo thinking, then Charlotte politicians are happy to let us pay tolls forever
3. Government inertia – “hitting the pause button” is never something government at any level does well. A massive enterprise like the current $550 million Private-Public Partnership (P3) conceived in 2010 and coordinated across innumerable local, regional, and state government entities long since took on a life of its own and an aura of inevitability. It’s the “way the wind is blowing” and so many of our politicians go along to get along unfortunately
4. Absolutism – for me, the most painful reason why North Meck is “sleep walking” into a minimum 50 years of paying several dollars each way to avoid ever worsening gridlock on I-77, is the reason John Bradford gave for voting for Tolls, “unless we have 100% confirmed proof of GP Lanes in the near future, then I choose Toll Lanes.” There are huge unknowns and risks associated with Toll Lanes (see WidenI77.org for a full set of facts and insight about managed Toll Lanes realities) and similar projects elsewhere have gone terribly wrong (see recent Washington Business Journal article about an eerily similar P3 structure set up in Virginia in the late '90s now in disarray with financial failure, crazy-high tolls, and hyper congested GP lanes AND surrounding secondary roads - Greenway Mess), why in the world would we err on the side of Toll Lanes as Bradford suggests?

All of us in local, regional, and state leadership owe our constituents an intense effort to due diligence a GP Lanes option. With the rapidly changing framework for roadway projects in NC, now is the time. NC DOT will not sign the contract for Toll Lanes until the end of the year, so there is sufficient time to act. Clearly, development and good faith due diligence of an alternative option is simply smart planning. After all, I-77 must be widened ASAP, and there are still uncertainties around Toll Lane economics and feasibility. $170 million of the $550 million on the Toll Lane project is NC taxpayer funded anyway – can some way be found for these same dollars to go to GP Lanes (especially since we would only need as little as half of this total)?

As a first step, I made a motion at our Board meeting to respectfully ask MUMPO to analyze how a GP Lanes option would be evaluated under their newly adopted prioritization methodology (even if only to provide a preliminary, informal assessment). Common sense, right? Yet Rinker, in her confused, highly charged thinking on this subject, broke our tie in voting this motion down, even though earlier in the evening her chief criticism of the Widen I-77 analysis was that Naas and team had not yet worked directly with MUMPO personnel.

How can you help? Go to WidenI77.org and learn more. Sign the petition. Attend the next meeting (info below). Email lrinker@cornelius.org, ctravis@cornelius.org, and jbradford@cornelius.org and demand that Cornelius send a message to MUMPO and regional/state politicians that a serious, fresh look at GP Lanes is needed given the emerging, entirely new framework for transportation spending in NC.

WidenI77.org working session:
Date: May 14th
Time: 7pm
Place: Cornelius Town Hall,
21445 Catawba Ave., Cornelius

 

Dave Gilroy

Commissioner, Town of Cornelius

Threats, promises, and holes in the HOT lanes dike...

Fat Boys in Mooresville may turn out to be the unlikely place where the struggle to stop unwanted HOT lanes in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties took a momentous turn.  Or, what happened there Sunday may turn out to be just another bump in the road before NCDOT, MUMPO/Charlotte, leaders in the General Assembly, and the consultants all get their way over the rising voice of the people.  Whatever the ultimate outcome, the press conference held by Rep Robert Brawley along with members of WidenI77.org ensures this story gets much messier before its conclusion.

Rep Robert Brawley's statement and his switching positions from support to opposition to I77 HOT lanes makes him the most senior elected official and the only member of the General Assembly to publicly oppose the project.  This is significant - so significant that a reporter present asked if Rep Brawley was concerned about any consequences from Raleigh for speaking out.  This reporter relayed being told by other area politicians that "the moment you step out and start saying you are against the toll road, you get a phone call from Raleigh and they either tell you 'get behind the toll road or you lose other projects'.  The folks in Davidson were told, 'get behind us and we'll do the Red Line.'"

Rep Brawley's response?  

"Threats do not bother me."

He also went on to clarify that he did not expect to be threatened over changing his position - something we should all be glad to hear.

However, if one Representative in the General Assembly breaks what has effectively been a "code of silence" in opposing toll roads, might others not be far behind?

Maybe more importantly though is the horse trading that is possibly going on to garner support for the HOT lanes project.  The reference to Davidson being bought off by ensuring the Red Line goes forward is disturbing to say the least.  This question was asked on camera by a reporter with multiple competitors in the room.  It was asked seemingly without concern of being called on it.  If there is any truth to that, it needs to be cleared up exactly what that means.

And as a backdrop to all this drama in Mooresville?  There was a wall of petitions on display representing the thousands of signatures WidenI77.org has collected.  One member claimed 15 full sheets were collected on Saturday at the Cornelius Dragon Boat festival.

Those petitions contain the email addresses of the signers.  Email addresses are the lifeblood of any political campaign.  With WidenI77.org planning to put out a voter guide this election season, those politicians - unlike Rep Robert Brawley - who end up on the "wrong" side of this issue will likely face an email list of several thousand telling voters who wants to toll them and who doesn't.

NC-9 Republicans Meet in Cornelius...Unity a Common Theme

Republicans in North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District met in Cornelius on Saturday for a convention to elect a new slate of leaders for the congressional level of organization within the party.  The event brought numerous politicians to Cornelius Town Hall including Congressman Robert Pittenger, NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis as well as Representative Charles Jeter of Huntersville and Senator Jeff Tarte of Cornelius among others.  About 100 of the party faithful were in attendance.

There was some speculation that there would be fireworks surrounding the ongoing intra-party tensions around the I-77 HOT lanes supported by most Republican elected officials.  When it came time for nominations for officers, Convention Chairman, Billy Miller, paused extra long to see if there were any additional nominations beyond the existing slate - even making a joke that he thought there might be.  However, in the end the elections for offices was not contested and John Steward of Union County and Davidson's Linda Angele maintained their positions as Chairman and Vice-Chair respectively.   It was a good show of unity within the party.

That unity was a culmination of a theme hit on by most of the speakers throughout the morning.

Speaker Tillis first hit on the topic, highlighting "The Eleventh Commandment" made popular by Ronald Reagan..."thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican".  He also paraphrased another quote commonly attributed to Reagan.."the person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally."

Claude Pope, campaigning for NCGOP Chairman, said "for party unity we have to teach the losers how to support the winners, rather than taking their ball and going home."

Finally, John Steward, in his brief acceptance speech as NC 9 Chairman said that Republicans can't win without the Tea Party, the Tea Party can't win without the establishment Republicans, and that the Libertarians can't win on their own.  A statement that highlights the need for all the facets of the conservative cause to work together for a common purpose to be successful.

To a degree, they are obviously all correct.

However, for that unity to occur all sides must feel that they are being dealt with fairly, and far too often things occur during campaigns and during contentious issues to undermine that sense of fairness.  Whether it be perceived meddling in primaries, or how contentious issues are handled, to put all of Saturday's words into real action will require much more than saying "can't we all just get along?"

UPDATED: HOT Lanes: Municipalities Exert Influence with NCDOT on Monday?

In a classic case of "watch what they do, not what they say" Lake Norman municipalities have for weeks said they have no real influence over the decision by the State to pursue widening of I-77 with High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes via a Public Private Partnership (P3).

As recently as Tuesday this past week Davidson Mayor John Woods told a room full of Davidson residents at a Town Community Chat...

"The community is engaged in a rather confusing and complex discussion," Davidson's Mayor John Woods said.  There has been a lot of back an forth discussion and opinions on what is right or wrong about this, but we are under the direction of the state. The town of Davidson doesn't manage I-77, nor does the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County or Iredell County." Huntersville Herald 1-31-13

Yet, two days later on Thursday the Lake Norman Citizen reported on meetings being organized for Monday Feb-4 between the LKN Towns and NCDOT...

The meetings are open only to elected officials and selected town staff, but similar public sessions are planned in the coming weeks.  Because only two elected officials from any one town will be present at any one time, the sessions are not subject to open meetings regulations.  The meetings were organized by mayors Lynette Rinker of Cornelius, John Woods of Davidson, Jill Swain of Huntersville and Miles Atkins of Mooresville. - LakeNormanCitizen.com 1-31-13 breaking news

Also, this isn't the first time Davdison Mayor Woods has exerted municipal influence in support of HOT Lanes.  Back in 2010 when the project was in its infancy Mayor Woods submitted this letter in support of the HOT lane concept on behalf of the Town of Davidson.

So either the municipalities have no influence or they do.  It would appear to be the latter.  Why they feel the need to exert this influence in meetings coordinated to circumvent State open meetings law is a different question.

Letter supporting HOT Lanes from Davidson in 2010.




































UPDATE: Scheduled Town of Davidson Attendees and Times.  Received Monday AM, after a Sunday request.  Mayor Woods responded Sunday with instructions to provide the information Monday morning.

10:30-12:00 – no representatives from Davidson

1:00-2:30 – Comm Rodney Graham, Comm Laurie Venzon, Mayor John Woods and Cristina Shaul (Town Communications Officer)

2:45-4:00 – Comm Connie Wessner and Comm Jim Fuller 

*Asst Town Mgr Dawn Blaubaum will attend either 1-2:30 OR 2:45-4:00 meeting

Under North Carolina law there was still no quorum for Davidson at the 1pm meeting even though half of the Board Members were there.  See here from the UNC School of Government for more details on that.  Comm Brian Jenest did not attend, but as the former Chair of the LNTC he likely knows the State position well.

MUMPO Presentation from January 18th meeting on I-77 project.  Unconfirmed report that Jim Ray of RayStrategies would be at today's meeting.  Mr Ray is mentioned on Slide 2.

UPDATE #2: Another unconfirmed report that Parsons Brinckerhoff gave a pro-P3 presentation at Monday's meetings as well.  PB is also the leading consulting company on the Red Line P3 proposal.

UPDATED: Media Watch: Is Lake Norman Media in the tank on I-77 HOT lanes?

The good news is that in general the answer is "no" they aren't completely and totally biased on this subject. 

Most local news outlets seem to be doing a decent job of getting out both sides of this story - covering the WidenI77.org efforts to promote investigating alternatives.  Most are at least making an attempt to give space to alternative opinions in their letters to the editor or commentary pages.  Most aren't aggressively attacking those alternative opinions when they should know better.

DavidsonNews.net & CorneliusNews.net have covered the story well - posting notifications of WidenI77.org meetings, multiple articles about the citizens group's efforts, and even giving space for a lengthy commentary on the subject by Mr Vince Winegardner.  See articles here, here, and here with Mr. Winegardner's commentary here.  DNN has even posted links directly to WidenI77.org information and links to audio and video of the Iredell County Commissioners and Cornelius Board meetings where those boards voted against the proposed toll plan.  They are doing a good job of giving citizens all sides of this important story as it unfolds.  (Note: Posting Mr. Windgardner's commentary shows a particular willingness to give hearing to all voices.  During the last municipal election in Davidson, there was a bit of tension between Candidate Winegardner and DavidsonNews.net, but the publication does not appear to let that impact it's editorial choices.)

The Huntersville Herald has also done a fair job of reporting.  It's coverage of the WidenI77.org January 14th meeting was nothing but a presentation of the facts of the event.  The publication has also allowed letters to the editor from the citizens group's members to be published.  See here and here.

Cornelius Today has had similar reporting to the Herald - covering the January 14th meeting here as well as the Cornelius Board resolution against the project here.  They also posted the announcement for the December North Mecklenburg Republican Women's (NMRW) meeting in December where this topic was discussed as did some of the other publications.

Incidentally, the NMRW hosted both Kurt Naas, founder of the WidenI77.org  group, and Bill Thunberg of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC) at their December monthly meeting.  There was a conscious effort on the group's part to include both sides of the discussion at the meeting to ensure attendees heard as much information as possible.  For a group that's not a news organization, this effort at evenhandedness was nice to see.

Then we get to the Lake Norman Citizen.  The Citizen is one of the Lake Norman area's main sources of local news.  They have a history of poking at some of the Lake Norman area municipal governments and have regularly posted biting letters to the editor on controversial subjects.  However, on the I-77 HOT Lanes the Citizen has fallen down on the job.  In fact at times, they have veered into actively attacking those who are questioning the proposal.  They seem to have thrown objectivity into the backseat on this ride.

Here are some examples:

Citizen coverage of the WidenI77.org January 14th meeting painted a much different picture than what actually happened.  The post-meeting article focused almost entirely on comments by State Rep Bill Brawley rather than the presentation which was the reason for the meeting.  It very incorrectly painted the meeting as "tense".  If anything, the presenters from WidenI77.org did an excellent job throughout the evening of keeping what could have been a tense evening rather light.  Everyone was treated with respect including those on hand from the NCDOT and the elected officials willing to express support for the project.  The Citizen apparently didn't see it that way.  (Watch the whole presentation here if you want proof.)

They took their disdain for opposition to toll lanes a step further when they also attacked a fellow member of the media - Mark Washburn of the Charlotte Observer - for writing this piece.  The Citizen's anonymous Talkers page took a few cheap shots - anonymous cheap shots - at people who might want to speak out on the subject.  And here's the kicker, they paint Mr. Washburn this way...

"Talkers just love it when one of the Charlotte daily paper's professional pontificators practices his profundity on a topic impacting we suburban pioneers (Did you know there are towns north of Charlotte that actually are in Mecklenburg County? Astounding!)."

...as if they didn't know Mr. Washburn actually lives in North Mecklenburg himself and certainly would have an opinion on what it's like actually driving I77 every day. 

The Citizen has also refused to open it's pages to the members of WidenI77.org for commentary pieces and letters to the editor - at least since that January 14th meeting when the subject has become a much hotter topic.  Based on what members of the group have made available to aShortChronicle, multiple pieces have been turned down from multiple writers.  That's a sharp diversion from the openness to differing opinions the paper has shown in the past. 

Finally, Citizen coverage of Cornelius's vote to oppose the current toll lane plan focused almost exclusively on why supporters thought opposition should be muted, and it reinforced the status quo position that there are no other options. 

For all these reasons, the Citizen deserves 4 tanks out of 5 on their I-77 HOT Lanes coverage.

UPDATE: The Citizen has finally published a piece that is just "the facts" on the subject of I-77 HOT Lanes for their January 31 issue.  Nice to see they were finally able to get there.  See here.

HOT Lane Opponents Pack Cornelius Town Hall (Video)

The WidenI77.org activist group generated an overflow crowd at Cornelius Town Hall on Monday night to present information on the proposed High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes for widening I77 through North Mecklenburg and South Iredell.  To say the least they did an excellent job communicating some very important and useful information!

Every major local news organization was there covering the event.  Various elected officials from the North Meck towns were present.  NCDOT sent representatives.  Our state officials were represented by newly minted Senator Jeff Tarte.  Rep Bill Brawley was there as a representative of the legislature's House Transportation Committee.

The major takeaways from the meeting were these:

• HOT lanes would be a $500m project where only a small fraction of that cost, perhaps as little as only $50m - $125m, could do the job of relieving the bottlenecks in the Lake Norman area with general purpose lanes.
• NCDOT's primary motivation for doing the project is to relieve congestion in downtown Charlotte, not Lake Norman.  However, Lake Norman commuters would be the primary payers of the project's tolls.
• HOT lanes require congestion on the existing general purpose lanes to entice people to pay the toll.  This project will therefore do nothing to actually relieve congestion for existing commuters and will actually make the situation worse for many current users of the existing HOV lane since they will now be required to have 3 people in the future HOT lane to avoid the toll rather than only 2 in today's HOV lane.
• Compared to other HOT lane examples around the country, the LKN area does not contain the population to make the project work financially.  This could lead to extremely high tolls in the future or an additional State bailout.

The meeting ran over two hours with the attached videos covering about 1:45.  The first covers the WidenI77.org group's presentation itself.  The second finishes the presentation and most of the QA.  The third includes comments from Rep Bill Brawley on the Legislature's take on the project.

The videos obviously speak for themselves, but maybe the most important comment of the evening came from Bill Brawley just after the recorder ran out of space.  While recalling how he was involved in stopping an unwanted road in the Matthews area as a councilman on the Matthews town board, he said it requires citizens to work on the State Legislature.  That was also the major point of this recent post here at aShortChronicle, Understand Whole Story on I-77 Toll Lanes.  Municipal leaders can are our best and most effective channel to the Legislature.  Use them for that purpose.

For those of us here in Davidson, Commissioners Graham, Fuller, and Venzon were present Monday night.  It was encouraging to see them there after a note sent to the Davidson Board regarding the meeting seemed to fall flat with Mayor Woods.  He described the citizen effort questioning HOT lanes as spreading "errors and wrong assumptions" and effectively wasting our state officials' time.

Judging by Rep Brawley's attentive comments, the presence of numerous other elected officials, and the active participation of NCDOT, the Davidson Mayor's perception seems to be far from reality on this one.



Video WidenI77.org Cornelius Town Hall  - January14, 2013
(Please excuse the shakiness. There are also a couple places with lost audio - just skip ahead a little.)

PART 1 - Presentation
3:45 - Cornelius Tranportation Advisory Board Member Kurt Naas put on a clinic on MUMPO, HOT, and I77.



PART 2 - Presentation Cont and QA
18:30 - Cornelius Mayor Lynette Rinker defends her non-position on HOT lanes.
32:50 - Lewis Mitchell of NCDOT makes comments on state toll efforts.



PART 3 - QA Cont and Rep Bill Brawley's Comments
10:30 - Cornelius Commissioner Gilroy wants study of alternatives before going forward.
12:30 - Huntersville Commissioner Julian opposes HOT.
14:30 - Rep Bill Brawley explains how we got where we are with this decision.

Understand Whole Story on I-77 Toll Lanes

Info session Monday, 1/7. Click for larger view

I'm a daily bus rider, so if the proposed High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are built on I-77, I will benefit.  It will make my commute shorter and reduce traffic for me and my fellow bus riders.  Because I ride the bus, I won't even have to pay the toll.  It won't cost me a thing.  That's what I'm told to think.  That's why I should support the toll lanes.  But I try to only support things only when I know all the facts...

What you have heard is that toll lanes are the only way to widen I-77 in the foreseeable future.

What you have heard is that other options do not exist.

However, that's not the whole story.

Residents of North Mecklenburg and Mooresville will be the primary funders of this project if tolls become a reality, and we should encourage our municipal leaders to have all the information before they throw their support behind this decision.  To date, that has not been done.  Only one side of the story has been presented to most local bodies.

Below are some links to an effort to get out the rest of the story.

I would encourage people to reach out to their local boards in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville.  Ask them to go into this decision with their eyes wide open.  Ask them to have all the information before they throw their support behind this effort.  Don't let them off the hook with a simple "it's a State decision, not local".  Your municipal representatives can be your most effective channel to the State representatives.  Ask them to do that job.

But first, they need the information.  Here are some resources that can provide just that.

www.wideni77.org - Citizen activist group leading effort to look at alternative solutions.

Lake Norman citizens group opposes toll lanes on I-77 CharlotteObserver.com

Opposition to I-77 Toll Lanes Grows FoxCharlotte.com




Update:  Here is another link that comes at this from a different point of view.

Unequal at Any Speed: How the Beltway's New 'Hot Lanes' Divide Us into Speed-Rich and Speed-Poor  - thebreakthrough.org

Update #2:  In a response to an email to the Davidson Town Board encouraging them to take in all sides of the story, Mayor Woods indicated that the Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC) may be in the process of organizing a meeting that would bring all parties to the table including NCDOT, the Towns, and those presenting another point of view.  No date given, but it is a potentially encouraging sign that at least nobody will be able to claim they "didn't know" about other viable options.