2nd non-incumbent announces plans to run for Davidson's Board

Two years ago, Davidson resident Michael Angell ran for Davidson's Board as the only challenger to a full slate of incumbents.  Angell came up short in 2015 but he appears ready to try again this year.  In a Wednesday announcement on Facebook Angell had this to say:

Fellow citizens of Davidson.  After all the shenanigans at town hall over the last few months, I simply cannot take anymore.  I have decided to run for Commissioner of Davidson.  My platform can be distilled to "Transparency and Trees."  The sudden explosion of growth around Davidson will ruin our town if we do not continue to take steps in preventing the development of every parcel of land.  The citizens of Davidson deserve their voice to be heard about the new Town Hall so funding MUST come from a bond referendum.  The wishes for Beatty Street MUST be upheld.  The apartment building on Potts street MUST be stopped.  The Town MUST find a way to get out of the money draining MI Connection.  

About me:

NOT a developer

NOT someone who would benefit from growing residential housing.  

I am a retired Army veteran that adopted Davidson as my home town when my wife and children settled here during my deployment to Iraq.  They remained here while I finished the last 7 years to retirement in 2011.  I fell in love with this town and am determined to keep it from becoming over developed.  

Thanks for those of you who supported me two years ago.  We were very close to removing one tou the commissioners.  This is the year we start to take back our town.

Angell makes some strong statements in this announcement that likely ring true with many voters - covering several hot button issues.  What is unsaid is that the commissioner who Angell came closest to removing last time was Commissioner Brian Jenest.  Commissioner Jenest's firm also happens to be involved in the Potts Street appartmemts Angle mentions specifically.

Could that be a first shot across the bow this election cycle?  We will have to wait and see, but with filing just around the corner we won't have to wait too long.

Davidson names new Chief of Police: Penny Dunn

From Davidson Town Hall press release:

The Town of Davidson is pleased to name Penny Dunn as the new Davidson Police Chief to replace Jeanne Miller upon her retirement. Dunn will start on July 19th.

The Town of Davidson conducted an eight-month nationwide police chief recruitment process with the assistance of consultant U.S. ISS. We held meetings with over 50 community members, the board of commissioners, the police department, and staff to develop a comprehensive departmental profile to outline the type of person we were seeking for this role. We received 110 applications, and with the help of staff and our consultant, narrowed the field to three finalists through interviews and assessments. In May, the town held a comprehensive two-day assessment center consisting of community, professional, police, and staff interview panels.

Penny Dunn started her law enforcement career in 1986 and has served with the San Marcos (Texas) Police Department since 1989 where she currently serves as assistant police chief. Dunn’s experience in law enforcement includes work in several areas including criminal investigation; day and night shift and specialized unit (including the K-9 unit) command; narcotics; employee recruitment; and cold case investigation.

Dunn received her bachelor of applied arts and sciences from Texas State University and became a Certified Public Manager in 2011. Dunn has been recognized for her public service by receiving numerous awards.

“I look forward to relocating to the area to join the Davidson Police Department and being part of the Davidson community,” said incoming Police Chief Penny Dunn. “I have spent some time with Chief Jeanne Miller to transition into the role and recognize how she has transformed the department – she has such pride in the department and town.”

“We have worked diligently in a national search environment to find the right person to succeed Jeanne Miller as police chief,” said Town Manager Jamie Justice. “We welcome Penny into this role and believe her experience and personality make her an excellent fit for the position. I look forward to introducing her when she arrives.”

Roundup of Tuesday's Beaty Street RFP protest media coverage

Davidson Town Hall and the ongoing swirl regarding the Beaty Street RFP drew some serious media coverage yesterday.  In fact, more coverage than for anything in recent memory.

Here is an interview with Save Davidson activist Donna Pollack on WBT radio during the evening drive.

WBT Radio link

There were multiple TV crews on hand as well.

WCCB Coverage

Fox46 Coverage

WCNC Coverage

Spectrum News

First Candidate out of the gate for Davidson Commissioner is newcomer Sam Weaver

So, Davidson finally has its first candidate for the Board of Commissioners race this November.

aShortChronicle has been periodically asking the incumbents if any of them plan to run for reelection, and so far none have taken the opportunity to commit one way or the other.  Today however, the race officially started with political newcomer Sammy Weaver announcing his candidacy on Facebook Tuesday morning.

Announcement begins below.

Hello, my fellow Davidson Citizens! Thank you for this warm welcome. I am very happy to be here with so many new friends! I am here today to announce my intention to seek one the nominations for Commissioner of the Town of Davidson. Over the next few months, I will challenge myself, go out into public, speak and introduce myself to as many Davidson residents as possible. I will listen and more importantly, pay attention. And for the ones who have been more vocal than others, I HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!!! All I ask from you is to continue to be LOUD and maybe, maybe someone will hear. I know I will. I am here to serve the community and ONLY the community.  

I wanted to be brief but here are things that I am and are NOT. 

I am a Husband,
I am a Father,
I am a Veteran,
I am a Millennial, 
I am a Davidson Resident. 

I am NOT a politician,
I am NOT a developer,
I am NOT a lawyer,
I am NOT a builder,
I am NOT corruptible. 

My Slogan - “Roots Not Roads” 

This slogan is very important to me; it isn’t about anti-development or against growth. It is about establishing roots within our community, our home the Town of Davidson, and slow but important growth (similar to an Oak Tree) that benefits the community as a whole and not my self-interests (Roads, High Density Development, Compromising values, etc.). 
startled Stay Tuned for more information “On the Issues” and how we will address them together.  

Vote for Sam “Dream” Weaver (Just Like the Song)
“Roots Not Roads” 


Official filing begins on July 7th at noon.

More details on this evening's Davidson Town Hall "Ethics" protest

Organizers with the Save Davidson Facebook page have sent out the following press release.

Save Davidson  

(formerly Save West Davidson’s Tree Canopy)

Media Alert: Citizens Plan Protest for Tuesday, June 13, 2017

“Save Davidson March for Ethics”

WHO: Davidson citizens are planning to protest, calling it “Save Davidson March for Ethics,” to continue voicing their objections to the town commissioners ignoring a 1985 signed agreement to make the Beaty Property a park.

WHAT: Citizens’ primary concern is that the town board will vote on June 13 to move forward to develop Beaty Street Property. Citizens view this as a violation of an agreement the town made in 1985 with Mrs. Venie Clontz. In a new development, it has come to light that a private entity donated property to the Town when the Hobbs Hill neighborhood was developed. According to an e-mail from the private entity to the mayor and town manager dated April 19, 2017, these parcels were donated as a condition of the Hobbs Hill I & II Subdivision approval by the town. The parcels were required to be given to the Town as 1) a buffer against future development along this portion of Beaty Street and 2) to interconnect to a future park within the adjacent pond site. Considering two different entities provided land for park and buffer purposes, is it ethical for the town to now develop those properties?

WHEN: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, 2017. This is the evening that the town board meets.

WHERE: Davidson Town Hall, 216 South Main Street, Davidson, NC

WHY: It’s a violation of trust if the Board chooses to proceed with this development process now that it is aware that it directly conflicts with the agreement with the seller 32 years ago. The Town owns the land, not developers. A Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation commissioner cautions about the loss of town-owned land to development considering projections for growth in the region. After numerous documents have come to light (we can provide these to media) citizens are concerned the town is not keeping its word. Added to that is concern about adversely affecting water and air quality, traffic flow and overall quality of life, particularly considering a major development just north on Highway 115.

UPDATE: Davidson Town Hall sent out an updated agenda this morning just before 10am that did not include a vote on the Beaty Street Property.  A previous agenda as of 3pm yesterday still had tjis included indicating something possiy happened in the overnight hours to cause this to change. While this is seen as a step in the right direction by activists, per the Save Davidson group this has no impact on the planned march.

Save Davidson Ethics March on Tuesday

As Davidson electeds sit down Tuesday for a meeting full of critical long range decisions, they will be greeted by a good old fashioned protest.  Recent meetings have been packed with opponents of various plans, but protesters on the picket line is definitely a rarity.

Volunteers with the Save Davidson Facebook group have been hard at work getting the word out over this past weekend with the "magnet mobile" pictured above parked on Main Street most of the past three days and a flyer handout across town.

As these local activists have gotten more and more involved in local issues, particularly around the Beaty Street RFP, they have noticed many of the same things aShortChronicle has over the years.  (Staff working more in line with developer interests than what the townspeople want; conflicts of interest whether they meet the true legal definition or just common sense perception; spending priorities and their consequences that treat taxpayers money like the town's personal piggy bank.)

On Tuesday, all of that will result in a march on Town Hall.

Bonus Observatiin:  Commissioners will be making these critical long-term decisions and at this point, none of them have officially announced whether or not they plan to seek re-election.  That means they could be making these decisions as "lame ducks" who won't have to face the voters.  Filing is in mid-July.

As Chief Miller retires, will Davidson Commissioners support DPD camera request?

Tuesday's agenda at Davidson Town Hall is packed with controversial topics, but it will begin and end on something the Board should absolutely be able to agree on - the leadership and support of the Davidson Police Department

Starting off the meeting, the Board will recognize long-time police chief Jeanne Miller.  Miller is retiring this month.  She has done an great job over the years leading the department, and she will be sorely missed both around Town Hall and, on a personal note, around the Bradford neighborhood.  Yours truly has been neighbors with the Chief since moving to town and my family and I are sad to see this day finally arrive.

A reception for Chief Miller starts at 4pm Tuesday at Town Hall.

Bookending the meeting is a second agenda item that is a priority for DPD - a  $20k budget amendment from the Town fund balance plus just under $30k from the 2017 contingency fund before the end of FY2017 to start funding a digital camera system around town.

The DPD has been talking about a system similar to what Mooresville and Cornelius already have in place for a couple of years now.  The full proposal would involve 11 cameras installed around town with 7 of them including licence plate readers.  The full cost of the system would be about $153k plus annual monitoring.

While some may have concerns over such a system from a civil liberties point of view, the plan is to only have the system used as an investigative tool Esther than an actively monitored system.  Readers, should also be reminded of the value of these tools.

From speaking with those familiar with how these systems work and who have seen them in action, they are pretty awesome in narrowing the scope of an investigation quickly.  The Davidson homicide in 2015 was solved quickly in large part because the perpetrators' vehicle was captured on the Cornelius system.

One has to wonder if last week's burglary in Davidson which left the town uneasy might have been resolved immediately if the requested system had already been in place.

It is a bit of a pricey system, but Davidson Commissioners seem to be able to find the money when it's really important to the town.

For example, they coughed up a hefty sum for the two "information kiosks" on Main Street.  Even though the one at South Main Square seems to be broken a lot of the time, having this at the entrance to town probably comes in handy for a few people (when it's working).

Then of course there is this purchase which greatly

contributes to the town core values of protecting the environment.  The town "ELF" is rarely seen plying Davidson streets, but when it does get used at least there are zero emissions.

Ok, all kidding and sarcasm aside.  Considering these things made the cut as reasonable expenditures according to this same group of elected officials, then surely something that benefits public safety will bubble up to the top of the priority list.

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