Students look to impact council

A UNC student and a recent graduate who both plan to run for the Chapel Hill Town Council cited transportation and housing as major student issues in the upcoming elections.

Jason Baker, a junior political science and mathematics major, filed for candidacy Monday. Walker Rutherfurd, who graduated in May, confirmed that he will file this week to run in the Nov. 8 elections.

The two likely will bring student issues to the forefront of the town council race.

Baker said he wants to make the town more pedestrian-friendly.

“A lot of students don’t have the ability to go places without a vehicle, and not all of Franklin Street is really bikeable.”

He suggested bringing in more diverse businesses downtown within walking distance of students, such as grocery or hardware stores — but not a giant Kroger or Lowe’s, he said.

Rutherfurd wants to build upon the current public-transit system, by initiatives such as adding smaller buses to the fleet.

He also pointed to the need for adequate parking for downtown commerce and supports the installment of wireless Internet access.

Rutherfurd said that another important issue to students is housing and that he wants to improve relations between students and residents by encouraging dialogue.

“I feel there should be nothing wrong with being a student living (off-campus),” he said, “But I’m not trying to say students should inhabit all the neighborhoods and cause a ruckus.”

Baker said there should be enough affordable housing in town for both students and residents. He also hopes to facilitate talks with the University to increase residence hall space.

“As a student I hope to be able to look at both sides of the issue,” Baker said.

Though no longer technically a student, Rutherfurd also said he expects to fill such a role and plans to keep up an active communication with student government.

Student Body President Seth Dearmin said he has communicated with both candidates. He said students might take more interest in local elections with their peers in the race.

“I’ll be working to ensure that students know who the candidates are and what the broader issues are.”

Another of his jobs will be registering students to vote — “and making sure they actually turn out to vote.”

Both Baker and Rutherfurd said they will promote awareness and voting among students. At the same time, they plan to address residents’ issues and to assure those voters of their commitment to working on the council.

Both said they’re ready to serve a full four-year term, as they plan to remain in town for the foreseeable future.

Students on Town Council have been few and far between. The first was law student Gerry Cohen in 1973; the next was undergrad Mark Chilton in 1991.

Chilton, a Carrboro alderman currently running for mayor, said serving on the council taught him how to get things done in government.

“It didn’t work out all that well for my grade in my cartography class,” he said with a laugh.

Chilton attributed his victory in part to timing, as only two of four incumbents were seeking re-election — similar to this year’s race.

He advised students in the contest to broaden their scope.

“It’s unrealistic to think that you can get elected just on the strength of students,” he said. “Experience shows that candidates have to be more sophisticated than that.”

Talking and listening to people is essential, Chilton said. He fine-combed both neighborhoods and residence halls for support.

A few days after Chilton got elected, a friend told him of a conversation overheard between two local businessmen.

One asked how Chilton fooled 3,000 people into voting for him. The other replied that he was “fooled” because Chilton knocked on his door and asked him.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.