Democracy ignored

The Chapel Hill Town Council’s decision to appoint Donna Bell to fill Bill Strom’s vacated seat is undemocratic and wrong.

Bell, who is black, was not a candidate in this fall’s election and was appointed for the purpose of easing the concerns of some residents who were worried about maintaining a voice for the black community.

Diverse representation in local government is certainly important.

However, the top priorities should be upholding the principles of democracy and the right of Chapel Hill’s citizens to choose the people who represent them.

Appointing an individual to an elected position weakens the power of the electorate and cheapens the right to vote.

The council instead should have appointed the November election’s fifth-place finisher, Matt Pohlman. This move would have kept the process as democratic as possible.

Strom resigned his council seat just after the deadline to file for the November election. This meant that his replacement would have to be appointed by the Town Council, not decided by the voters.

Members of Citizens for Responsible Government had supported Pohlman, who also applied for the appointment.
Pohlman ran a campaign in November and made his views known to the electorate. The same cannot be said for Bell.

Pohlman might not necessarily have been the fifth place finisher if there were five seats open (he came in fifth in a race for four seats). But appointing Pohlman would have been the most democratic solution.

When asked, Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt gave no compelling reason why Bell was appointed instead of Pohlman.

Kleinschmidt noted that Bell was not the only black candidate who applied for the appointment and suggested that Bell’s ability to collaborate with the current Town Council was a reason for her appointment.

By no means is Bell unqualified to fulfill the duties of a Town Council member.

She has served on the town’s planning board, the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force and the board of directors for Empowerment. However, the simple fact remains that she was not selected by the voters of Chapel Hill.

Appointing an individual to a position that is supposed to be held by an elected official sets a dangerous precedent that the voice of the electorate holds little weight.