Election polarizes voters

Strong support for two distinct candidates has polarized a local election, with candidates clumped into pro-business and pro-environment camps.

If a group of business-oriented candidates is selected next Tuesday, Chapel Hill could see a shift in the way town politics are perceived.

“Typically, for the last 20 years, a certain group in Chapel Hill, of which Mark Kleinschmidt is a member, has been running the town,” said resident Carol Ann Zinn, who donated to both mayoral candidates Mark Kleinschmidt’s and Matt Czajkowski’s campaigns.

“This time it’s different. This is the most energized political campaign that I have seen since I moved here in 1972.”

As the business versus environment labels leave strong impressions, candidates are frustrated by assumptions that they won’t meet other expectations.

Two clear support systems

In the mayoral race, Town Council members Czajkowski and Kleinschmidt have emerged as front-runners.

As for the other candidates, Augustus Cho has not garnered the same support and Kevin Wolff announced he would quit the race.

While Kleinschmidt is backed by members of Chapel Hill’s political mainframe — the Sierra Club, the local NAACP and some in the Town Council — Czajkowski is tapping into a stronger-than-ever network of financially concerned residents.

Czajkowski, a retired corporate executive, squeaked by with 60 more votes than incumbent Cam Hill for the last council seat in 2007.

Donors to this year’s campaign ­— which has raised a staggering $23,629 according to recent finance reports — include wealthy members of the local business community.

Meanwhile, Kleinschmidt, a criminal defense lawyer, has campaign donations from several members of government, like current council members Laurin Easthom, Sally Greene and Jim Merritt.

The eight-year council veteran also received money from former council members Hill, Joe Capowski and Alan Rimer.

Kleinschmidt and incumbents Easthom, Merritt, Ed Harrison and candidate Penny Rich were recently endorsed by the local Sierra Club.

The endorsements have linked Kleinschmidt to typical Chapel Hill politics, centering on social and environmental issues.

Easthom, Kleinschmidt and Harrison earned the most votes for council seats in the 2005 election.

“The strength of voices behind Mark show the progressive community has found their candidate,” Capowski said.

Taking a new turn

A growing number of residents are frustrated with empty Franklin Street storefronts and stalled development projects.

“It has to do with the economy, the tax bills that we’ve received, the fact that people are getting kind of tired of it,” said Bruce Ballentine, president of the local Citizens for Responsible Government chapter. “They want local government to be concerned about spending.”

Aiming to shed the town’s reputation of being unfriendly to businesses, Czajkowski and council candidates Jon DeHart, Gene Pease and Matt Pohlman are running with business-oriented platforms.

DeHart is a banker, while Pease is CEO of a software company and Pohlman is a financial consultant.

Eighty-one people signed a petition to cast a bloc vote for the quartet. Some also throw software engineer Will Raymond into the bunch.

Labels not inclusive

Graduate student Brooks Pearson, campaign manager for Rich, said lumping candidates as “pro-business” or “pro-environment” is unfair.

“All eight of them want to revitalize downtown. Every citizen in Chapel Hill wants to see Chapel Hill revitalized,” she said. “Their platforms aren’t all that different.”

Pearson added that Rich, a chef, is a business owner, making the anti-business label ironic.

The opposite is also true, Pease said.

“I’ve been an entrepreneur and businessperson,” he said. “That doesn’t mean a pro-business person can’t be pro-environment.”

Pease said candidates mainly differ in how aggressively they would pursue solutions like anti-panhandling ordinances and more parking when it comes to downtown.

Zinn donated to both candidates but switched to Czajkowski when she recognized financial issues to be most important this election.

She said the town is becoming less liberal in its politics.

“Chapel Hill has attracted a different group of people, people who believe in Chapel Hill’s history of social liberalism, but who say, ‘At what cost?’” Zinn said.



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.