Kurt Stolka: Candidate for Carrboro Board of Aldermen

With less than a week until Election Day, The Daily Tar Heel spoke with the Carrboro Board of Aldermen candidates to discuss major issues facing the board. Election day is Nov. 5.

Candidate name: Kurt Stolka

Age: 32

Daily Tar Heel: What do you think are the biggest issues in this election?

Kurt Stolka: The first issue is the lack of affordable housing. The second is the lack of quality local jobs for the educated populous, which effects how many university graduates we can keep in town and let set their roots here.

There’s a bit of brain drain — companies don’t want to look to hire here because recent, educated graduates aren’t looking to stay in town.

The final issue is street safety for kids and seniors. They need to be able to safely walk and bike around town without having to use or buy a car.

DTH: You have said you want to be a voice for young families on the board. How will you best represent people over the age of 65, a group that makes up five percent of Carrboro’s population?

Stolka: I think for our seniors, the lack of commercial development deprives us of tax revenue that we need to lower property tax — that’s what people with fixed income epitomize.

We need to form stronger bonds with university departments as well as the town of Chapel Hill and work on getting more local businesses so that people don’t have to drive as much.

DTH: Why are you the best candidate for the job?

Stolka: Urban and economic development graduate certificate from UNC-G, so I’m equipped to handle those issues. The current incumbents don’t have as much of an idea of what young millennials want.

I want to provide more local commercial development. This town is the most walkable and bikeable town in the state, but there is room for improvement. People don’t want to buy a car, pay for gas, insurance and maintenance and fees. This will be a more sustainable town if we can free up that money and invest in the local economy.

city@dailytarheel.com