Student group names favorites

A progressive student organization will throw its support behind five candidates in the Chapel Hill town elections.

Students for a Progressive Chapel Hill will endorse Mayor Kevin Foy and Town Council candidates Jason Baker, Laurin Easthom, Will Raymond and incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt, the group said Monday.

"We expect candidates to have a record of service to Chapel Hill, a record of progressive leadership ... and a record of reaching out to students," the organization said in a statement.

The meaning of "progressive" includes standing up for the underprivileged and supporting civil liberties, said Tom Jensen, chair of the group.

The decision was based on questionnaires and position papers submitted by the candidates. Only mayoral candidate Kevin Wolff did not respond, acknowledging that he had not lived in town long enough to meet the criteria.

Jensen said that about 30 members of the group were ready to volunteer in the campaigns.

"We'll be knocking on a pretty good percentage of doors in the city," he said. "And we'll be trying to get out the student vote for the candidates we endorsed."

The group had backed council members Sally Greene and Bill Strom in the 2003 elections, an experience that showed Jensen how important students' legwork can be.

"There aren't really many adults who go out and campaign," he said. "They have families and jobs and don't have time to go out at five o'clock on a weekday night."

The endorsed candidates welcomed both the support and the students' interest in town affairs.

Raymond said he hoped the endorsement would help him tap the student vote.

"There's a large pool of already-registered student voters," he said, calling it a side effect of last year's national elections.

"The missing piece is to get their interest in local politics," he said.

To awaken students - "the sleeping giant" - Raymond said he will hold weekly Pit-sits starting next week.

Easthom also plans to Pit sit beginning next week or shortly thereafter.

With the support of students, she hopes to spread word about her ideas for improving town-gown relations, she said.

Easthom said candidates appreciate student endorsement, including that of The Daily Tar Heel.

Yet the involvement of a few doesn't necessarily lead to the votes of many. Despite voter registration efforts in 2003, only 329 people aged 18 to 22 actually cast a ballot.

But student votes are as valuable as any, said Strom, whose seat is not up for election this year.

"More than a handful of races (in Chapel Hill) have been determined by less than a hundred votes," he said.

Strom said he appreciated the student group's support of him two years ago.

"I felt like it upped my profile on campus," he said. "It also showed that I had broad appeal in the community."

 

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.