Citizen Will

Category: Elections

  • CitizenWill is Certifiable

    As some of the more “critical” of you readers have noted elsewhere, CitizenWill is certifiable – and here’s the proof. I zipped down yesterday to Raleigh for the 2 hour campaign treasurer training session to comply with the new NC election statutes. Though I’ve been filing reports since 2005, and a lot of the material […]

  • Proprietary Public Policy: Chapel Hill Streaming Video Goes Live?

    In reviewing this evening’s notes on increasing the Town’s election contribution limits ($200 to $250) and lowering the standards of disclosure ($25 instead of $20), I noticed that Internet video is now available. The Town’s proprietary Windows Media-based solution from Granicus was opposed by a number of members of the since dissolved Town Technology Advisory […]

  • Godzilla vs. Bambi::RAM Development and Chapel Hill

    If I worked for RAM Development, I’d be dancing quite a jig this evening. Not only have they negotiated the sweetest of deals – their own publicly underwritten Downtown tower of wealth – they’ve gotten the friendliest of non-reviews by the majority of Council. Maybe folks will like “rah rah” growth RAM Development style. If […]

  • Election 2007, Already? Who’s the West-End Business Candidate?

    Robert Poitras, representing the West-End business community announce this evening at the Downtown Partnership forum that the West End business community plans to field a “business candidate” for Council in 2007. Interesting. Has election 2007 already begun?

  • Signs, Signs Everywhere Fewer Signs?

    Made a quick 18 mile cycle through the major municipal precincts, along major roads, ramps and intersections last night to pick up some signs for a few candidates plus my Honest Abe NO on the referendum. Baddour’s supporters, considering the incredible number of his signs, seemed to have done an excellent first pass.

  • Sign, Sign Everywhere a Sign…

    This time last year I was catching 14 winks in preparation for election day. Earlier in the evening I had made the rounds collecting my outlying signs for redeployment. About 3 hours from now, I was leaping out of bed to fill some balloons, say a hasty goodbye to the family and rush to pick […]

  • Election Signs 2006, Care And Feeding

    Maintaining election signs feels like an art form. During the 2005 election season, I plotted various energy saving routes to “care and feed” for my signs as I drove around town on regular errands. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. I didn’t just fix my own signs. Heck, at one point I’d repaired […]

  • Vote No on Orange County Districting Referendum, Another No from Katz

    A resounding NO from former Orange County Democratic Party chair Barry Katz in his Oct. 28th LTE to the Chapel Hill News: I will vote no on the ballot referendum to restructure the Orange County commissioners. First, there hasn’t been enough public debate on the merits of change, and I oppose change without voters’ understanding […]

  • Vote No on Orange County Districting Referendum

    Thank you Orange County League of Women Voters for sponsoring tonight’s forum. There were 15-20 folks in the audience this evening, including former BOCC candidate Artie Franklin, current BOCC candidate Jamie Daniel and Superior Court District 15B candidate Chuck Anderson. Fright-night, referendum style, came a day late as Moses Carey pretty much reprized his earlier […]

  • Judge Calabria, FairJudges.net and the problem of 527 monies

    From todays New & Record (11/01/06): An independent political organization called FairJudges.Net began airing the ad this week. By promoting four Supreme Court candidates, it upsets a system meant to create a level playing field in judicial contests. Watchdog groups are up in arms. “Democracy North Carolina believes the activities of FairJudges.Net are a disturbing […]

  • Fool me once, shame on you…: Judge Calabria responds.

    Nice and quick response from Judge Calabria: Mr. Raymond, I will look into this as soon as I finish sending a letter to the State Board of Elections about the violations that are occurring on TV. I have already requested rescue funds. I will be happy to provide a copy of my new letter to […]

  • Fool me once, shame on you…: Possible Republican Judge Election Trickery

    According to WCHL1360 some kind of organized tomfoolery is going on at the Morehead Planetarium polling place Some students from UNC Chapel Hill are working to get votes for Conservative judges, but are not always transparent in their efforts. Chapel Hill attorney Bob Epting says a young woman approached him outside the polling place and […]

  • Soundbite: Carey, CitizenWill and the 2006 Redistricting Referendum

    WCHL1360 caught a small taste [MP3] of Wednesday’s “debate”. I’ve since heard the radio ad promoting,to some small extent (and, hopefully, unintentionally), the referendum. Besides surmounting all the advertising – radio, print – the layout of the ballot will probably prove to be the hardest obstacle to overcome. As someone (thanks) pointed out to me, […]

  • WCHL Commentary: Oct. 24th Superior Court and BOCC Voluntary Campaign Finance Disclosure

    More on this issue later. Here’s the text of my Oct. 19th WCHL1360 commentary: This week, I am asking candidates for this years Superior Court and Board of Commissioner races to voluntarily report their campaign finances by Wednesday, October 24th. The last we heard about campaign fund-raising was June 30th. At that time we discovered […]