Multiple new candidates to vie for Davidson Mayor in 2017

One of the worst kept secrets around town became official this past week with the announcement in Business Today that Rusty Knox will run for Mayor of Davidson this November.  It was known that Knox was strongly considering a run, but with an official announcement Davidson will have its first contested mayoral election since 2011.

Interestingly, the linked article was apparently in the print edition last weekend, but it didn't get up on the web until Friday the 17th.  Word started to spread Thursday when a photo of the print article was posted to Facebook.  aShortChronicle spoke to Knox on Saturday and he says the response has been overwhelming and positive as people have heard the news.

Knox is looking to carry on the family tradition of service to the town.  As most readers will know, Rusty Knox is the son of long time former Davidson Mayor Russell Knox.  Several years ago a regular reader told aShortChronicle the last time they felt that town government truly represented the citizens was when Russell Knox was mayor.  That should be welcome news to those who cherish Davidson's small town character.

Knox has not officially filed with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections but tells aShortChronicle that will be happening soon.

Speaking of filing for office...

In researching this post, we came across another candidate who has made it official by filing but has not officially announced.  Apparently, former Davidson Commissioner Laurie Venzon filed back in November and has been raising money ever since.

According to this Statement of Organization, "The Committee to Elect Laurie Venzon" was formed on November 1st.  The Organizational Report shows the campaign has purchased a domain name for a website.  Finally, the 2016 Year End Report filed at the end January shows Venzon has been raising money, over $2500 by the end of 2016.

Venzon was elected as Commissioner in 2007 and served through 2013 when she and her family moved to Kansas City.  They returned to Davidson last year.

Davidson politics appears to be entering uncharted territory.  It may be unprecedented to have multiple candidates vying for office this early in the election cycle.  Also, Davidson campaigns have historically been very low budget affairs with candidates often committing to raise little to no money to avoid the campaign finance paperwork.

With new candidates in the mix and significant money already being raised, 2017 is shaping up to be an eventful year.  Mayor John Woods will have quite a race on his hands, one could say it would be the Mt Everest of uphill battles, if he decides to run for reelection.

A ghost(writer) in Davidson Town Hall!?!?

This week's edition of the Lake Norman Citizen features a piece on last week's Davidson Town Board meeting where Commissioners addressed Mayor John Woods's June 8th trip to Raleigh to meet with Senator Berger regarding the recently deceased HB954.

While The Citizen depicted the Board's comments as a harsh rebuke of the Mayor's actions, but the Board's actions could be more accurately described as a slap on the wrist.  A good bit of the article was devoted to a transcript of the Mayor's statement attempting to explain himself.

A little digging would have shown the whole exchange for the kabuki theater it actually was.

Fortunately for readers, aShortChronicle has done that digging.  A public records request was done on the subject meeting and the results - as usual - show there is more to the story.

It may come as a surprise (or not) that Mayor Woods's speech was not entirely his own words.  He engaged a ghost writer for a little fancy wordsmithery.

According to the records request, on or about June 12th Woods engaged a local firm called "A Way With Words" - run by long-time former Commissioner Margot Williams - to spice up his presentation.

Williams served as a Davidson Commissioner from 1995 to 2011.  In 2007, she along with Woods voted unanimously with the rest of the Board at the time to form Mi-Connection, so it's maybe not all that surprising to see her helping him with the current hot topic of the I77 HOT lanes.

The wording of the draft speech was so that Woods could own his "authority as mayor".  To that Woods responded "Excellent! Thank you!"  The draft included these lines.

"I voiced my own opinions, based on hundreds of interactions with citizens and law enforcement, on the need to improve traffic congestion in our region.  As mayor I am accessible in town and constantly approached by citizens about the current crisis, placing me in a unique position to gather information and concerns on a daily basis."

While Woods spared citizens those lines in his town hall speech, he did use them in at least one response to a supporter per the public record.

While Woods clings to the position throughout his comments that he was only expressing his opinion and not acting as "mayor", these missing lines from his comments at the town board meeting show that his opinion was formed precisely because of his position as mayor.  His response of "Excellent!" to the idea that the wordsmithery was done to "subtly" have him own his "authority as mayor" also belies the true situation.

It's hard to believe that a ghost writer was needed for small town politics.  It's really a sad statement on current affairs.  What's next - a TelePrompTer at Town Hall??

However, there is a lesson in it.

Remember to not always believe what you hear.  There might be a ghost in the room.

"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.

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.

Ambush of Anti-Toll efforts on #NCGA Town Day - AGAIN!

This is like a bad dream...

Over three years ago aShortChronicle posted an article about an ambush of anti-toll activists by then Speaker Thom Tillis during the annual NCGA Town Day in Raleigh

That post, titled "HOT Lanes: The Empire Strikes Back", was the first post on the site to get what could be called a significant number of page views in a single day.  It hit a nerve.  It exposed the kind of behaviour individuals within government were capable of stooping to in order to pursue their dream of HOT lanes.  It was the first of many posts that would continually expose that fact.

Yesterday, that type of ambush happened again.

Late Wednesday/early Thursday word began leaking out of something hard to believe.

Mayor Woods and Mayor Travis traveled to Raleigh on Wednesday during this year's Town Day event and met with Senate President Phil Berger to strongly advocate for the HOT lanes project.

They did so behind the backs of their respective Boards. They did so against the will of their constituents.  They did so when they knew it would hurt the most.

This level of betrayal of the public trust when clearly an overwhelming majority of the public opposes the HOT lanes project is shocking.  It is hard to believe.  Even after all the underhanded and dishonest actions by the pro-tollers over many years, this one earns these elected officials a special place in the hall of fame for bad faith actors.

Benedict Arnold has nothing on these two.

In a conversation with Davidson Mayor Pro Tem, Beth Cashion, it was confirmed that none of the Davidson Board was made aware of the meeting prior to its occurrence or that Mayor Woods would attend.  In fact the plan was that Davidson was not sending anyone to Town Day this year.

Cashion went on to say that based on what is being communicated by those who were in the room, Mayor Woods was not accurately representing the position of the Board or the Town of Davidson.

In other words Mayor Woods was spreading "misinformation".

Woods loves to accuse people of spending so called misinformation.  It's his polite way of calling people liars when he disagrees with them.  See here for more on that.

Today, it looks like he was engaging in spreading misinformation himself at the expense of those he supposedly represents.

As the dust settles on this one, Davidson's Board will need to decide what to do with the Mayor.  If he misrepresented their wishes to one of the highest officials in the state, there must be consequences.

Woods has not returned multiple requests for comment from aShortChronicle and as of earlier today he supposedly was not returning calls from Commissioners either.  The town Public Information Officer also says he is unavailable.

The cone of silence has descended.

If mayor Woods or the town responds, there will be an update.

Mayor John Woods goes "Full Catalyst"

The latest quarterly town newsletter landed in Davidson mailboxes on Friday and Mayor John Woods went "Full Catalyst" in his "Mayor's Musings" column.

Espousing what can essentially be described as the "grow or die" mantra, Mayor Woods rattled off a bunch of items related to growth that he thinks Davidson needs to embrace - including what sounded suspiciously like the full blown version of the highly controversial Catalyst Project.

After a fairly condescending paragraph on the nature of "change" - just to make sure us underlings who don't have the "wisdom" of elected officials get it - Woods had this to say.

Davidson’s population growth has challenged us to support the town’s administrative and public safety functions that assure our quality of life. Our 25-year old town hall is no longer sufficient for our needs as we cannot place one more employee there, and  the spaces for fire and police services are totally inadequate. Indeed, our town hall was built when our population was 4,000; we now have over 12,000 living here. With our downtown booming and a growing waiting list of merchants wanting to serve Davidson, we continue a feasibility study to determine if the town could partner with a private developer to build a stronger downtown, enhancing parking, while emphasizing our small-town character. The town-owned property including town hall, the Sloan house, and current Jackson Street parking lots could be redeveloped to emphasize our downtown’s attractiveness, improve the Davidson Farmer’s Market location, and create improved public space, retail, offices, residences, and parking in the downtown area. An important part of this effort is the needed improvements in town hall, including the addition of sleeping quarters in our fire station to better assure timely response during the night-time hours. The growth needs in all our public safety functions -- police, fire, and  emergency first responders -- are an important consideration as our community continues to “transition.”

Nobody would question the need to ensure our public safety departments have what they need.  What people do question is leveraging that legitimate need to push something like the Catalys Project.  You'll notice Mayor Woods doesn't actually use the words "Catalyst Project" even though the bold portion of his comments perfectly describes that effort.  That's how toxic the project has become.

Davidson Town Hall has asked their consultants to look at three options more closely.  One of those is to just move public safety out of Town Hall and use the freed up space in the existing Town Hall building for other town needs.

That would be a minimally invasive solution without jeopardizing Davidson's small town character.

aShortChronicle is looking into information received that indicates the lean might be towards this low impact option versus what Mayor Woods describes.  That will be presented as soon as it is more confirmed...or not.

The Texas con of Mayberry starts to come undone

Mayberry con man "Dan Caldwell"

Once again, the warnings of anti-toll activists seem to be coming true.

With Cintra's announcement that its SH 130 toll operation in Texas is headed to bankruptcy court, the future of the I77 project is becoming even more clear if it is allowed to go forward - as in "this can happen here."

Cintra's US operation is based in Texas.  As we've pointed out here, there are Texas connections to our toll project in Lake Norman that lead all the way to Governor McCrory.  Now, Governor Pat - in a completely transparent effort at damage control during campaign season - is dispatching NCDOT to Texas to "reassess" what can be done about NC's contract with Cintra on the very similar I77 project. .

Readers will remember that just late last year, Mayors Travis and Woods from Cornelius and Davidson also travelled to Texas to review Cintra's operations.  They came back with a glowing report of a road that is nothing like what's planned for Lake Norman - the North Tarrant Express.

Like Barney Fife, they bought the bait and switch con.

Fortunately, all of our local electeds aren't so gullible.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Puckett, playing the role of the sensible Sheriff Andy Taylor, provided the below comment to aShortChronicle.

"This action in Texas is just the latest in a series of defaults, bankruptcies and systematic failures for Cintra and their partners. While the bankruptcy in Texas is not directly linked to the I-77 project the similarities in design and the projected revenues etc. have long been offered by NCDOT as an example of why they choose to go this route.  I and the majority of my fellow commissioners have long been opposed to this plan and have repeatedly asked for first a delay in signing the contract and after the fact asking for cancellation. I hope I speak for all of us when I say that while our wisdom and subsequent request have heretofore been ignored I hope NCDOT and the governor will now follow our official request and cancel this contract.  Attorney General Cooper told me personally that he would "vigorously" fight for the citizens of NC in fighting any lawsuits that may arise from cancellation and I have no reason to doubt his resolve and skills in working with the governor and the legislature to bring this to a quick and affordable conclusion."

Like an old episode of the Andy Griffith show, let's hope this con is finally foiled by our own various versions of Sheriff Taylor before it's too late!

LNTC falls apart. Mayors to meet Monday to plan way forward.

With last week's action by Huntersville to withdraw from the LNTC, it was just a matter of time before the other shoes dropped.  That happened this week.

On Tuesday, Davidson voted to withdraw from LNTC by a vote of 3-2 with Commissioners Fuller and Jenest opposing it. (Officially, it was 3-1 due to Jenest being on the phone and only present voters count.)  As part of the vote, they retained the right to revisit the decision to withdraw at the next regularly scheduled meeting in March. On Friday, Cornelius is likely to do the same at a special meeting called for that purpose.

There is some question on the validity of the Davidson vote, as it was not on the published agenda, and the agenda that was published actually said the work session portion of the meeting was cancelled.  Questions are out to the Town and UNC-SOG to see if this can be verified.

However, it was the Davidson meeting on Tuesday that gives a little insight into what may be coming in the very near future.  The video is here.  Its the first 45 minutes.

Apparently, this coming Monday there will be a closed meeting of area mayors to discuss a way forward. The meeting was called by Davidson Mayor John Woods.  A few additional staff may be there, but Woods specifically indicated that this would be a non quorum meeting and that the media was not invited.

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in Davidson about how the region had gotten to this point with Woods using the word "bullying" to describe Huntersville actions.  Commissioner Fuller also appeared upset, and Commissioner Jenest who was on the phone seemed particularly disappointed.

One thing that became clear from the Davidson video is why the action is all taking place now within the towns. There is apparently a 4 month notice clause in the LNTC interlocal agreement for members to pull out of the group.  Since funding of the body comes from the town budgets a decision has to be made now.   March 1st is 4 months prior to the July 1st start of the new budget year.

Davidson's Board seemed most concerned about whether they would be on the hook with Mooresville alone to fund the body if both Cornelius and Huntersville had dropped out.  That, much more than a belief the LNTC had no value, appeared to be the driving force behind their withdrawal.

Monday's Mayors' meeting will be interesting.  My hope is that Huntersville Mayor Aneralla is wearing his body armor.  My guess is that he will be the target of many barbs from the other mayors.

Some might call holding that meeting behind closed doors where that can't be seen to be "bullying".

But hey...that's just me.

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.

Mayoral HOT Lanes Bucket Brigade finally comes clean!

A couple of articles in Tuesday's Observer leaves little room for misinterpretation that all three local mayors have been working against the will of the people when it come to implementing HOT lanes.

Not that there ever was really much doubt.  We've covered there antics over the past few years in pieces like this, this, and this.

Today, first there is this piece recounting outgoing Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain's unequivacle support for the HOT Lanes project saying to the Observer...

“What we need to do now is we need to move forward. We need to let this happen.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/o-pinion/article45204528.html#storylink=cpy

During the campaign all we ever heard was that saying Swain supported tolls was somehow spreading misinformation.  It appears those who defended her on this point were the ones being less than truthful.

In the second article in the Observer, it was revealed North Meck Mayors Travis and Woods have apparently been planning a boondoggle to Texas for "months" now to see Cintra's tolling operation.

“This is a fact-finding mission for information sharing and forecasting that we can report back to our community."

They better hurry.

Somewhat ironically, on the same day that story hit the news, this one out of Texas also broke.  It looks like the legislative tide has turned in the Lone Star State against managed lanes projects like the I77 HOT lanes.

In Texas...

"House Transportation Committee Chair Joe Pickett signaled he’s on a war path to end toll managed lanes at a hearing of the Select Committee on Transportation Planning last week."

Those are the current facts on the ground in Texas.

How much do you want to bet we don't hear anything about that from the Travis-Woods fact finding tour?

Bonus Observation:  The Observer made a big point of saying Travis and Woods are paying their own way to Texas and Cintra/NCDOT aren't covering the bill.

That being the case, paying their own way is the only way they could go.  After last week's pasting at the polls in Huntersville, does anyone see the Cornelius or Huntersville Boards paying for it?

2015 Election Davidson recommendations...

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

Davidson has seen a lot of positive change at town hall since the last election, and much of the credit goes to the newest faces on the Board - Commissioner Stacey Anderson and Mayor Pro Tem Beth Cashion.

On their watch the town has seen significant change in senior town staff with the retirement of Leamon Brice and the recently announced resignation of Town Attorney Rick Kline.  Getting new thinking and perspective in these important staff positions will be a plus for the town.

Since these two Commissioners have joined the Board, the town has become more open in communication in various ways and my personal experience is that they are willing to get their hands dirty with thorny neighborhood issues if needed.

They are the only two Commissioners from Davidson who signed a 2014 letter to Governor McCrory asking for a delay in the initial HOT lanes contract signing.  They are also committed to resolving the Mi-Connection situation and realize it was never a business the towns should have entered.

Both Anderson and Cashion deserve reelection.

Newcomer Michael Angell also deserves a look.  On the two biggest issues facing the town - I77 and the Catalyst project - Angell has had the right answers.  He has stated the HOT contract with Cintra is a very bad deal for all the right reasons.  He is the only candidate on record fully stating the Catalyst Project is a bad idea for Davidson.

Having a voice like Angell's on the Board may have brought the issues uncovered at last week's public hearing on the Catalyst Project much sooner.

Now, for the Mayor's race in Davidson.

Mayor John Woods is once again running unopposed, an unfortunate situation to be sure.

Over his long tenure as an elected official, Mayor Woods has certainly done some good things.  His love of Davidson should not be questioned.  However, when it comes to the biggest decisions facing the town, Woods's track record is lacking.

He supported creating Mi-Connection which is the single worst decision in the town's history.  He became the face of the Red Line effort and the blind pursuit of rail transit without first securing solid permission from Norfolk Southern.  He has also been anything but an opponent of the Catalyst Project which has the potential to alter the very fabric of the town.

While it is a shame that he has no opponent this time around, voters do have a choice.  They can leave the race blank.

Doing that can send the message that even if the officeholder does not change, the thinking needs to.

Just my 2 cents...

Davidson Mayor John Woods does not "recommend" a directed vote on TIP

The MeckBOCC Tuesday night forced a directed "no" vote on the upcoming TIP at the next CRTPO meeting August-19th.

The beautiful irony of this is that Dumont Clarke is the CRTPO rep for the County.  Readers will remember, Clarke had to recuse himself from a previous BOCC vote on a resolution opposing the contract due to a conflict of interest with a client.

Now, he will be forced to vote against the project after  a bi-partisan directed vote motion passed 5-4 Tuesday night.

Davidson meets next week so it seemed reasonable to ask if its Board would be doing something similar.

Here was Mayor Woods's response.

"In my experience, Davidson has never used a directed vote, trusting our representative to express our collective will.  Further, I do not recommend this procedure in this case." -John Woods

To be honest, that response is not unexpected.

Woods has been a valiant supporter of the I77 HOT  project - riding to its defense on more than one occasion.

Can the Board can be convinced to do otherwise?

Send them an email at Board@TownOfDavidson.org to let them know how you feel.

Davidson has a lone challenger this election season - Michael Angell.  This question was posed to him as well.

Check back for updates to see how commissioners/candidates respond.

Update: Check most recent post for Davidson Candidate Michael Angell's position.

Mayor Woods Files for Re-Election - Calls for "Stability"

Filing for this year's municipal elections kicked off on Monday.  So far, in Davidson only Mayor John Woods has filed for the top office in town.

In an email to supporters after filing, Mayor Woods said

"Our community faces major challenges in the coming years including the continued economic vitality of the commercial areas,  job creation, neighborhood support,   increased residential development pressures, the continued need for housing affordability, and a greater need for regional partnering to best enhance our quality of life.    With Town Manager Leamon Brice ending his twenty-five year tenure and the hiring of his successor, management stability is a major focus.  The development of transportation alternatives including public transit is a key issue.  Effective communications will always be a major focus."

Last cycle the mayor ran unopposed, but this email sounds like he expects a challenger this time.  Any challenger would have a target-rich environment when looking at Wood's record.

Over the course of Wood's tenure as Mayor we've seen the town burdened with subsidies for Mi-Connection - a purchase Woods championed as a commissioner.  Davidson has maintained by far the highest tax rates of any of our neighboring Lake Norman area towns.  The town has implemented the highest solid waste fee of any area municipality - one that is several times most others.

A champion of affordability, he is not.

As the chair of the Red Line Taskforce, Woods allowed the town to spend untold numbers of hours supporting a financing plan for the rail project without ever securing actual permission from Norfolk Southern to use their property for the project.  The Mayor has also been a very active supporter of the plan to toll I77 with HOT lanes - coming to its political rescue on a number of occasions

A visionary for sound transportation planning, he is not.

Finally, when it comes to communication, Mayor Woods has a habit of saying that anyone he disagrees with is spreading "misinformation".  That's just a nice way of calling someone a liar.  He has likened toll road opponents to "invaders" when they show up at meetings.  He has often brow-beaten commissioners in efforts to control the agenda.

A great communicator, he is not.

Let's hope someone steps up to the challenge and at least makes Mayor Woods work for it this time.  We could do with a little less of that kind of "stability".

Incumbent commissioners Stacey Anderson, Jim Fuller, and Brian Jenest have also filed for re-election to the Board.  Filing continues through Friday July 17th at noon.

Is there a River Run phase six?

That’s effectively the question being asked by a letter received by the town on June 13th from an attorney with the Hedrick Gardner law firm in Charlotte.  Writing on behalf of the River Run Courtyard Association – a sub-association of the larger River Run neighborhood – the firm raises several questions about some proposed new lots in the River Run area of Davidson.

In a column in early April, it was mentioned that the River Run Country Club wants to convert some of its golf course property to residential lots.  If successful, these sales would bring in several hundred thousand dollars to the club.

There have been several questions about the buildability of the land because it is significantly impacted by current flood plane lines.  However, beyond just the environmental questions homeowners have been questioning whether subdivision of these lots follows current town ordinances and procedures.

The Club has been pursuing an administrative approval from the Davidson Planning department to plat the lots for sale.  The neighborhood association letter contends that the development of new lots in the proposed part of the neighborhood should not be allowed under the ordinance which brought River Run into the town back in 1992.

If anything it would appear that this should be approached as more of a new development involving a change of use from golf course to residential and approval from the town board itself – not an administrative change.

The association’s attorney sums it up by saying “the River Run Country Club’s request to plat lots on Wildcat Trail and River Crossing Blvd. is a violation of town ordinances and not substantiated by fact, or the record. The Association strongly urges the town to reject the River Run Country Club’s request.”

All of that may seem like rather mundane land development back and forth.  However, that is not the most interesting part of the letter.  The association’s attorney closes with this.

“Should the town believe that further legal opinion is necessary; the Association asks that such opinion be obtained from an outside council. Town attorney Rick Kline, is as a founding member of River Run Country Club and has advised the Country Club on this matter. Furthermore, his long tenure as the council of record for River Run Limited Partnership, and thus, his probable involvement in drafting documents for both the Partnership and the Town, that are a part of the record, makes obtaining an outside opinion the only legitimate way to insure that the rendered opinion is unbiased and without even the appearance of impropriety.”

Ouch!

For those keeping score, this is now the second time in recent months that a homeowners’ association in Davidson is officially questioning the town attorney’s role in land development in town.  The first was by the Bradford neighborhood at the end of last year for Mr Kline's role representing that neighborhood’s developer.  In that instance, Mr Kline was asked to get an opinion from the State Bar on his involvement.  As of this writing, the neighborhood has not heard back on the outcome of that request.

Based on reviewing public record emails, when Mayor John Woods saw the letter from the attorney in the current River Run Club situation, he quickly came to Mr Kline's defense.

However, that defense was roundly refuted by the HOA with several examples of Mr Kline's involvement.  These examples took place over several months and include references involving senior town staff, the Planning Department, and regular citizens.

One of those references refuting the mayor’s defense is very direct.

In early October the club’s developer sent an email to a River Run resident concerned by the lot proposal, stating, “A Club member and attorney, Rick Klein has been kind enough to participate in the plat recording process to be assured that the plats correctly reflect all these restrictions.”

In another instance the town attorney’s advice to staff  that these lots would be “grandfathered” under the original zoning for the neighborhood was actually refuted by the town manager, Leamon Brice.

Based on speaking with people familiar with the situation and reviewing the public record, multiple attorneys have reviewed this proposal as well as other planning professionals and even the UNC school of government has been contacted.  Nobody appears to think these lots should be approved without a much more involved process.

Davidson’s town attorney has been with the town for nearly four decades.  He’s also been in private practice as a real-estate attorney during that time.  After seeing the recent repeated examples where things become a bit too gray between those two jobs, it may be time for the Town Board to ask him to choose which one he would rather do.

This post first appeared in the Harold Weekly opinion section at huntersvilleHerald.com

Like Frankenstein…It’s Alive!!!

With Halloween upon us this week, we bring you the latest transportation spending monster being planned for Mecklenburg County.  This one involves new ways to fund a project that just won’t die – the Red Line commuter rail from Charlotte to Mooresville as part of the regional 2030 Transit Plan.

The Red Line received an apparently fatal blow last June when Norfolk Southern indicated track sharing with commuter rail did not fit the long-term plans for the company’s O line corridor which would be used for the project.  However, that has not phased the mad scientists down at the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) who have been hard at work coming up with new and creative ways to finance floundering rail transit efforts - including the Red Line.

Earlier this month, the road show to start gathering support in North Mecklenburg for that creative financing kicked off in Davidson.  The MTC is requesting the towns support the following as part of its 2015-2016 Legislative Agenda for the next General Assembly.  The MTC wants:

1. Authorization to use Public Private Partnerships as a financing mechanism for transit.
2. Authorization to access certain low interest Federal loan programs usable for transit infrastructure.
3. Removal of the sunset provision on Special Assessment District legislation so they can be used for long-term transit projects.

Immediately after the September MTC meeting, canned language for supporting resolutions was distributed to all of the participating towns.  The request was to have resolutions passed by the Commission's member boards by the MTC's November 19th meeting.

Of the North Mecklenburg towns, only Davidson has seen the presentation from LNTC Chairman Bill Thunberg at this point.  He is doing the road show on the MTC’s behalf.  Davidson will likely vote on any supporting resolution at its November meeting.  If Huntersville and Cornelius vote on such a resolution by the originally requested date, they would likely need to do so at the same meeting where the information is presented to their Boards.  That puts Board members in a real bind if they are trying to make an informed decision.

Giving limited time to review information is a standard tactic when trying to ram something through.  Pushing this through while most people are focused on something else - like our current elections - is also a good way to slide this by the voters.

Why would the MTC want to do this?  A couple of reasons come to mind...

Authorization of P3s for transit financing sets up the same sort of monstrous projects we are seeing with the I77 HOT Lanes.  During the entire HOT debate, elected officials have been using the fact that the NCGA "authorized" the use of P3s years ago to abdicate any responsibility for it.

The earliest plans for tolls on I77 were tiny compared to what the project has morphed into now. Authorizing P3s for transit financing without knowing how a project would take shape in the future will result in the same thing for a project like the Red Line.

The second reason to rush this through is that paying off these projects will require going outside the half cent transit tax originally approved by voters.  If this agenda goes forward, the local economy will be stuck paying for a much larger percentage of these projects than voters originally supported.  Before gutting the property tax base with tools like Tax Increment Financing and Special Assessment Districts to pay off any massive new loans from the Federal government or the P3 private partners, the MTC should have to go back to those same voters for additional approval.  You can be sure that is not something transit supporters want to do. 

At the October 14^th meeting in Davidson, Mayor Woods described supporting the MTC agenda as a “benign and routine request”.  It is anything but that, and we’ve previously seen this same kind of horror movie with this same cast.

Former Mooresville Mayor Thunberg and Davidson Mayor Woods were instrumental in pushing for the creation the money-hemorrhaging Mi-Connection cable company back in 2007.  It too was presented to the public as something that just had to be done.  Like Dr. Frankenstein himself, as Mooresville’s Mayor, Thunberg cast the tie-breaking vote that actually brought Mi-Connection to life.  It was a disastrous decision for both towns.

Now, as the LNTC Executive Director and the MTC Vice-Chairman, Thunberg and Woods are showing the same zeal in pushing for the Red Line and transit.  With that in mind, elected officials on the various town boards would be very smart to decline supporting the MTC legislative agenda.  At the very least they should not support it without a commitment to go back to the voters first on any new financing plans.

Will enough LKN commissioners oppose something destined to be more “trick” than “treat” for area residents?  We will all know soon enough.

This post originally appeared in the Herald Weekly

It's the Huns! It's the Mongol Horde!!! Oh, wait. It's just WidenI77.org.

Welcome CarolinaPlottHound.com visitors!

The last post ended with a reference to how this whole HOT lanes situation is beginning to take on the trappings of a Shakespearean tragedy, but little did we know that the act would continue so soon. 

Davidson Mayor John Woods possesses a flair for the melodramatic, and once again he delivers.  The below gem surfaced during our investigation of who exactly requested last week's closed meetings with NCDOT and Spanish tolling firm, Cintra.

"Invade!"  Really???  Is that what people are doing when they show up to participate in their government?  One would think Atilla the Hun or Ghengis Khan was about to roll into town rather than a few fed up citizens.

In this email, Mayor Woods is referring to last Monday's visit to Davidson Town Hall by Mecklenburg BOCC Chair Trevor Fuller for a meeting that was open to the public.  As such, it was a highly stagemanaged affair where Commissioner Fuller dodged any and all HOT lanes questions by claiming ignorance on the subject.  NCDOT's Warren Cooksey was also on hand that night.  He did not participate but could have served as a good backup to Comm Fuller - just in case some "invaders" (aka citizens) got out of hand and asked some really hard questions of the top county official.

Fortunately, the invaders were well behaved.

Folks, Mayor Woods's email and last Monday's session with BOCC Chair Fuller are prime examples of the "Us vs. Them" mentality of too many of our top elected officials.  The "Us" being the establishment ruling class, and the "Them" being the rest of us.  If you disagree with certain elected officials, you are labeled as an invader.  If you ask hard questions, you will get subterfuge and stonewalling for the effort.  If you stand up for what you believe is right, you will be smeared.

This is what the public faces day in and day out from our halls of power.

To be fair, not all of our elected officials act this way.  Commissioner Rob Kidwell from Huntersville exposed the planned closed meetings last week on the HOT lanes.  Commissioner Dave Gilroy from Cornelius regularly asks hardball questions on important issues.  However, silence is acceptance from most.  We need many more elected officials to step up and call out this type of behaviour when it occurs.

For elected officials to treat citizens this way is plain and simple bullying, and it needs to stop.

HOT Lanes: Disagree with Davidson Mayor John Woods? You are a liar or a scaredy cat!

We've recently been pretty rough on Davidson Mayor John Woods.  But with all his recent squashing of debate at Davidson Town Hall and colluding with the other North Mecklenburg Mayors to push the much maligned HOT Lanes project forward, it's criticism well earned.

However, his most recent quote in the Lake Norman Citizen takes the cake.  It shows an utter disdain for anyone who disagrees with him whether they be a citizen or a fellow elected official.  Referring to those who oppose the HOT Lanes plan for I77 Mayor Woods says...

 

If you ever disagree with Mayor Woods, you can be sure that he'll toss out the "misinformation" accusation at the earliest opportunity.  Tellingly, this accusation is never accompanied by exactly what the misinformation was or what the correct information should be.  He sort of just throws it out there and lets it hang in the air to color the debate.  It's nothing but a polite way to call someone a liar without using the word. 

Ironically, he has a long history of using this divisive tactic on major local issues where he's the one who turned out to be wrong.

In 2012 regarding the now sidetracked Red Line commuter rail project, John Woods had this to say in DavdisonNews.net  ...

While John Woods may think the debate is over regarding commuter rail, the actual owners of the track, Norfolk Southern, obviously would disagree.  The rail road company recently put the kibosh on track sharing in the corridor which effectively kills the project unless hundreds of millions in new funding appears, or the State gives them a sweetheart deal on their permanent use of alternative track currently owned by the North Carolina Rail Road.  Additionally, Mayor Woods himself recently said at a Community Chat in Davidson that the current financing plan for the Red Line - the financing plan he was defending in the above quoted article - is "dead"

Were those opposing the Red Line in 2012 spreading misinformation? Or were they right?

Let's go even further back in time to 2007 and we'll find, John Woods saying this to DavdisonNews.net about the oh so successful Mi-Connection deal he helped push through.

For those in Davidson who have had to suffer with the fallout of the terrible decision to enter the cable business, this one should be particularly bile inducing.  This decision pushed and supported by John Woods nearly bankrupted the town.  It has cost the town dearly in lost opportunities as millions upon millions are poured into the operation to bail out the politicians who foisted it on the citizens.

Some of the Davidson locals who opposed this disaster had experience in high finance, technology, and telecommunications.  One such person, former Mi-Connection Chairman, John Venzon, opposed the decision to create the company, but he then had the courage to step in and spend years cleaning up the mess John Woods helped create.

Again, were those opposed to this decision spreading misinformation, or were they right?

So, back to the widening of I77...

Mayor Woods has recently become the face of the HOT Lanes project among local elected officials.   He is the project's most vocal champion, and so the "misinformation" accusations start flying.  This time however, he's taking the rhetoric one step further claiming other leaders have somehow become "scared" by HOT Lanes opponents - by people who are simply asking questions and demanding information about a project that will impact their lives for decades.

Let's be clear.  The other elected officials who are questioning the project aren't scared.  They are doing their jobs to protect the citizens who elected them - a job that Mayor Woods has failed at repeatedly in the past.

North Meck Mayors + Speaker Thom Tillis (aka The HOT Lanes Bucket Brigade)

When the I77 HOT Lanes issue once again caught fire two weeks ago with the release of new information from NCDOT on potential toll rates, things got hot around North Mecklenburg among elected officials as well.

As reported here last week, Davidson's Town Board declined to have a special meeting to discuss the issue.  What may be even more interesting is the amount of water carrying done by the North Mecklenburg Mayors with some help thrown in by NC House Speaker/Republican US Senate Candidate, Thom Tillis.  Together, Mayors John Woods, Jill Swain and Chuck Travis - along with Speaker Tillis - formed a bucket brigade to put out the flames.

aShortChronicle obtained several emails outlining how the North Mecklenburg Mayors took the lead in attempting to stem the revolt brewing among the towns' Commissioners.  Even with their efforts, 9 of the 16 Commissioners ultimately signed a letter to Governor McCrory and NCDOT requesting a delay in signing the Commercial Close for the project - a request that was ultimately ignored.

As part of Mayor Woods's response to the special meeting request in Davidson, he indicated he would reach out to his fellow "regional mayors".  These emails appear to be the result of that effort to squelch the "hoopla" caused by the "well organized anti-group" - Mayor Woods's words to describe those opposing tolls.
 
After a weekend of activity, Monday evening Mayor Travis from Cornelius sent the below message to the Mayors of Davidson, Huntersville, and Mooresville in response to a message from Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain. 

Notice how the release of more information on the I77 HOT Lanes project is described as "non-relevant" and "outdated".  Mayor Swain even calls it "old news".  If it's such "old news" why is it that just about every news outfit in the region and state is just now reporting on it?  When the Stantec report supposedly wasn't "old news" in 2012 it certainly did not get much public attention.  Maybe this "old news" was communicated to the Mayors in one of the closed door meetings with consultants like this one specifically designed to avoid public meetings law?  In a separate email, Davidson town manager, Leamon Brice, laments about the NCDOT not giving them a heads up this information was coming out.  Truly "old news" would not cause such concern.

Also, notice how Mayor Swain dumps this project squarely in Speaker/US Senate Candidate Thom Tillis's lap saying "this is their project, and by God, let them take ownership."

Well, apparently the Speaker did just that.

See the below email just a few hours later from Cornelius Mayor Travis.  This is on a separate email thread that includes the Speaker (with everyone using their elected office email accounts this time).

Notice the repeated references to text messages with the Speaker, and the Speaker's apparent indication that Tarte is "Ok".  That would seem to be a reference to Senator Jeff Tarte.  The next day Senator Tarte would tell the Charlotte Observer that a legislative review would be conducted before the final, final, we really mean it this time contract is signed with Cintra later this year.  This request for review was done "with the support of legislative leaders".

 

While we should all be glad an additional review is going to take place, the legislature has had opportunities to force a real review - aka a VOTE - on specific toll road projects.  That was in the form of HB 267 last year.  Read these stories to get a refresher on how the Legislature avoided going on record - H267: George Orwell Comes to Raleigh AND H267: Redux - NC House really, really, really doesn't want to vote on tolling you.  With Senator Tarte and other leaders still strong supporters of the project, it's hard to see any review at this point as anything but a bit of kabuki theater.

 

Then finally, Monday night there's this desperate plea from Mayor Woods to the Davidson Town Board.  It's an obvious reference to the letter the nine area Commissioners were contemplating sending to the Governor and NCDOT.  He is all but begging them not to sign it.

 

 

After once again smearing citizens who oppose HOT Lanes by calling them "naysayers", Mayor Woods attempts to sway Commissioners by alluding to possible participation in a "transit" project - for those here in North Meck that's an obvious reference to the Red Line Commuter Rail - a project that can best be described as "his baby".  He makes this statement even though as Chair of the Red Line Task Force he knows that less than 48 hours later at the Wednesday Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting it would be announced Norfolk Southern has all but killed the Red Line project with its latest announcement that takes track sharing off the table.  Why he decided to tie these two projects together is anyone's guess.  When we reported on the rumored linkage here last year, there was definite push back against such insinuations.  (In any event, Mayor Woods was off to Raleigh this week to see if he could save the Red Line.)

 

The irony of all this effort to stop a letter from nine Commissioners to the Governor and put out a sudden wildfire?  The letter had already been sent a few hours earlier.  It went out late Monday afternoon.

 

As the I77 HOT Lanes project moves forward, it's likely the "Bucket Brigade" (aka the North Mecklenburg Mayors and Speaker Tillis) will be called back into action. 

 

We'll be watching.

 

Bonus Observation:  The passing the buck on this issue continues. In this week's issue of The Lake Norman Citizen there is an article on HOT Lanes. (link not available)  According to Huntersville Rep Charles Jeter, there's nothing, just nothing the General Assembly can do at this point.  Of course, Rep Jeter also voted against giving the NCGA the authority to vote on specific toll projects back during the debate on H276.  Read the H267 links for the details on that.

 

Rep Jeter repeatedly says this issue is now with the "executive branch" - meaning Governor McCrory and NCDOT. 

 

The response back from the "executive branch" to the 9 Commissioners' letter?  Crickets...nothing...nada.

How Davidson Failed to Have a Special Meeting on HOT Lanes

There's been a lot of activity and swirl around the I77 HOT lanes project the past week - activity generated by the release of additional information from NCDOT - prior to Thursday's signing of the Commercial Close of the deal.

Here in Davidson much of that activity was around the request for a Special Meeting of Davidson's Town Board to discuss seeking a possible delay in signing the Commercial Close on the project until this new information could be clarified.  The need for the special meeting (if one was going to be had) stemmed at least in part from a post on this site last week.  Since we reported that this special meeting was not going to be held, aShortChronicle has obtained emails from the Town of Davidson detailing how that decision was reached.

There is much more in the documents received than the below set of emails, and it does appear there will be a sincere effort to hold a joint meeting with NCDOT and other area elected officials - possibly in early July 7th in Cornelius. Also, as part of the documents received, a list of detailed questions was compiled primarily by Commissioner Anderson and submitted for response to NCDOT.   Both of these are very good things towards getting clarification and updated information.

As for how Davidson's Board decided to not have a special meeting on the subject, that's a different matter.  There is definitely some room for improvement there.  Below are the relevant email selections on that.

Emails in time sequence starting with Comm Cashion's original request.
 

 Comm Jenest's response to Comm Cashion's original request...

Comm Fuller's response to Comm Cashion's original request...



 

Mayor Woods's response to Comm Cashion's original request...



Comm Graham's response to Comm Cashion's original request...

Comm Jenest's response to Comm Graham...

Comm Anderson's response to Mayor Woods (There was no direct response to Comm Cashion's initial request in the documents received)...

Without commenting too much on the individual responses, it appears that Mayor Woods had the strongest objection to having a special meeting to discuss this issue of a delay.  The extensive use of bold and underlining in his response being the clear indication of that.  Readers are strongly encouraged to go back and read that one a second time paying attention to the tone of it.  His frustration at even being asked for a meeting and having this conversation is palpable.

As for the Commissioner emails, readers can decide for themselves who gave this issue the most thought.

We'll leave our comments at that on the responses to the special meeting request.  We here at aShortChronicle would not want to be accused (again) of spreading misinformation or engaging in hyperbole.

Bonus Observation: Davidson's adopted Rules of Procedure require the Mayor or any three commissioners to call a special meeting.  This appears to be in conflict with the North Carolina general statute GS 161A-71 governing these meetings. That statute says the Mayor, the Mayor Pro-Tem, or any two commissioners can call a special meeting.  If Davidson was following the General Statute on this issue, both alternatives for who can call a special meeting were met.  Commissioner Beth Cashion is Mayor Pro-Tem and Commissioner Stacey Anderson provided the second needed request.

To eliminate the kind of heavy-handed response exhibited here by the Mayor against reasonable requests from Commissioners to call these meetings if needed, the Board should update their rules of procedure to be in line with State requirements.

HOT Lanes Contractor Picked...let the spending begin!

After more than a year of back and forth with critics and opponents of wasteful spending, NCDOT picked the contractor for the I77 HOT Lanes project.  And the winner is...CINTRA, a Spanish firm with experience in this field.

As a sign the critics were right all along about the out of control costs, the initial price tag is a cool $665 million - well above the stated price of $500-$550 million used during the whole debate about the project.  When all is said and done, it WILL be much higher than even that.  These projects always work out that way.

Who pays all of this extra money?  You, that's who.

Per Davidson Mayor John Woods at DavidsonNews.net...

Davidson Mayor John Woods said the I-77 widening would have “a long-lasting effect on our region.” He said the use of a public-partnership has been critical.

“Although we haven’t got all the details before us, this announcement certainly proves locally that P3s are a viable method to structure and pay for large projects,” he said. “In addition, this announcement confirms the viability of our I-77 widening project and certainly greatly accelerates the project completion, which is so badly needed in our region.”

If just getting a contract on the table without all the details that costs at least 25% more than originally stated qualifies as a plan that "confirms the viability" of a project, then we are all in big, big trouble. 

Of course, why should you expect to hear otherwise from someone who thought Mi-Connection was a good idea?  It's not his money.