I’m excited for Matt, who is a co-member with me on the LPNC Executive Committee. A runoff is likely with voting this close, something that could easily be resolved with instant run-off voting.

Congrats to Larry Hudson in Raleigh who made an impressive showing in the mayoral race. Meeker was held to 62% of the vote. Unlike reports that state Meeker had no trouble getting elected for a fifth term, a few facts should be noted for that race:
* Only about 28,363 votes were cast, far less than 10% of registered voters in Raleigh
* A combined 38% of voters did not want Meeker to continue as mayor
* 115 voters made the effort to write in someone not already on the ballot

A better showing in local elections could be the answer to bringing more Liberty to the table. I think that Matt’s upcoming run-off and Meeker’s mere 62% in a poor voter turnout are both proof that more voices in local elections can make a difference.

Durham, be sure to get out and vote if there’s a runoff in the Ward 2 primary!

Endorsements? GoLiberty is not going to endorse anyone at this time. Had I been able to ask questions more directly related to Liberty, I think I could have done so with more confidence. Instead, I encourage readers to look at the candidates’ websites, think about the issues that are most important for you, and vote for the best person to represent your views. That’s what I will be doing.

So… who am I voting for? Well, I have taken some time this morning to read a couple of interviews and websites from candidates on the unofficial election results page that line up with my ballot. I’m in municipal (Raleigh) District C, and I am not in one of the school board districts with candidates running.

My first thought was to vote against anyone endorsed by New Raleigh. Why? Well, they clearly think “we all love” Meeker for his discriminatory actions to concentrate on new development and gentrification at the cost of the majority of citizens who live outside of the designated growth areas. As much as I like some of the articles in New Raleigh, I really cannot trust any endorsements from a group who makes such broad and assuming claims about its readership, or judging that he has "no real opponent" when three men have stepped up and done what they could (or could afford) to make their voices heard.

For Raleigh mayor, I’m voting for Larry Hudson. No, not just because he replied to my early blog post. He most represents me and my friends here in Raleigh, and he is removed enough from the downtown scene to see the needs of Raleigh at large. Kunz was my close second, and it sounds like he is in close touch with what’s going on in Raleigh government; he came in second only because he may be socially out of touch with those of us who live at lower incomes (most of Raleigh, actually). Enloe also has a few good ideas, but I think we need to steer away from the light rail dream.

For District C, my choice is between Charles Reisinger, James West (incumbent), or a write-in candidate.

I read this IndyWeek interview with Reisinger and really liked some of his responses. Certainly anyone who admits he does not want big government is at least on the right track. I also like his desire to make the council stronger and more accessible to Raleigh citizens. Reisinger’s one weak point, though, is his responses of “whatever the district wants me to do.” While it does sound like he wants to be a true public servant on the council (which I think was his intent), it comes across as a weak and unprepared response. For a stronger campaign, he would have been better to say “my district needs me to…” and fill in the blank with some well-researched response about District C.

have skimmed through this Southeast Raleigh Assembly information, a community organization effort by Dr. West. He definitely conveys awareness of his District, and he wants people in the community to be directly active in improving it. On the surface this sounds like a good thing. However, in my opinion, gathering a group of people who do some stuff and call it a success for the District may be little more than a “feel-good” strategy to win accolades for being the organizer. The true assurance of Liberty is not to organize some group to force change on individuals, but to take actions that might inspire individuals to make changes for themselves. I sincerely hope that’s the true goal of this organization, not just to get city money and continue to extend the bureaucracy sprawling forth from the Upchurch building.

For City Council District C, I will be voting for Resigner. It is time for the old bureaucracy to step aside.

The At-Large positions make me cringe for Liberty, but the fresh faces do have some sense of hope for Raleigh. For the sake of getting fresh faces in the fight against Meeker (who is likely to win because his sheeple will come out in flocks to vote for him), I will not be voting for Mary-Ann Baldwin or Russ Stephenson.

Lee Sartain’s website really conveys his vision for Raleigh. Though I think some of his ideas are not on par with Liberty and smaller government, he does want strong neighborhoods across the city. Candidates who will not leave behind certain neighborhoods in the overall vision are inclined to win my heart, whether or not they win my vote.

In this IndyWeek interview, Champ Claris conveys fiscal conservatism, which I think is important for Raleigh in our current economic climate. Though he does frighten me a bit with talk about providing incentives for private development, I think his response about ensuring the budget covers services first is an important statement about how he will contribute on the council.

Though on the ballot, candidate Bill Shakespeare did say he was pulling out of the race back in August. Be sure to reserve your two at-large votes for the other candidates.

For City Council At-large, I will be voting for Sartain and Claris.

Now… get out there and vote, people!

Now, if I wanted to go somewhere within a one-to-two-hour drive, why would I take a Cessna? The last two flights logged from state-owned N122NC were trips I would have taken in a car. (Raleigh to Oxford? In a plane? Really?) Who is doing this? Are they just too lazy to drive and/or ride? I have contemplated a manifest to see who is wasting the state’s money taking a plane over taking a car, just to trim off an hour or two:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N122NC

UPDATE: Apparently Oxford is one place that small planes can go for their regular maintenance. I’ve learned a lot of interesting things about planes lately having friends who are small-craft pilots.

So here’s my early take on Meeker and on his three contestants for October:

Charles Meeker, incumbent
324 S. Boylan, Raleigh, NC 27603 – Meeker has been on the deed as owner of the 2,831-sqft single-family home since 1980, with a total current tax assessment value of $536,251, and a 2009 tax bill of $4,886.48.

Meeker currently lives in Boylan Heights, one of Raleigh’s oldest neighborhoods just southwest of downtown. Boylan Heights has continued rising in value since Meeker took office, with home renovations, new business like the Boylan Bridge Brewpub, and skyline view enhancements like the new convention center and RBC building. Boylan Heights is also across Western Blvd from Dix Hill, on which Meeker supports plans for Raleigh to purchase the mental-health land grant from the state and develop what he and the Friends of Dorothea Dix Park (FDDP) call a “world-class park.”

A look at Meeker’s accomplishments and goals for the City of Raleigh screams out one word: gentrification.

For example, if Meeker supports the FDDP plan (Dix 306) outlined in their whitepaper written by developers from Chicago and St. Louis, then Meeker seeks to apply tax-increment financing (TIF) to fund the initial project, which would surely pressure out the low-income residents around Dix Hill. The plan has no mention of ongoing expenses for maintaining a 306-acre park, and no suggestion of how developing a big new park is better than revitalizing the many community parks with walking distance of homes all around Raleigh.

In recent months, Meeker and the council have expressed a desire to redo Moore Square. Another downtown gentrification project? I think so: after all, it is well known that when there aren’t major events going on at Moore Square, it is a place where a dozen or so of Raleigh’s homeless often find some solace under the shady oaks. There is nothing wrong with Moore Square as it is now without hundreds of thousands spent in renovation… well, unless you are just trying to kick out the homeless.

It appears that the “Meeker Majority” in the City Council may be fast approaching an end. Residents outside of Meeker’s narrow vision of what “improvement” means for Raleigh are ready for the mayor and council to recognize and address their needs, too. Though I had hoped a libertarian candidate would step forward boldly to challenge Meeker this year, the fact that the mayoral race is non-partisan should make me feel better about supporting “the right person for the job” if any of Meeker’s challengers can present a better plan for Raleigh.

Mark Enloe, challenger
709 Daniels St, Unit C, Raleigh, NC 27605 – Mark Enloe has been on the deed as owner of the 566-sqft condominium since February 2008, with a total current tax assessment value of $100,450, and a 2009 tax bill of $931.58.

If you read through Mark Enloe’s site, it appears he has a vision not unlike Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. Mike Munger, McCrory’s Libertarian opponent in the 2008 gubernatorial race, once described McCrory as having an “edifice complex,” a pun poking fun at his pride in building things and taking credit (like Charlotte’s light rail). I’m not sure Enloe is aiming to be McCrory, but he does reference Charlotte’s light rail as a better development option than Meeker’s push for the new convention center in Raleigh. Personally, it is debatable on whether either project should have come at a cost to city taxpayers.

Currently living in the community north of Cameron Village, Enloe speaks about tightening spending and balancing the city budget while starting to make headway on our city’s debt. This includes eliminating useless high-paying “assistant” positions in the City Manager’s office and shifting resources and responsibilities to those who are experts in their field. However, some of Enloe’s other suggested changes, such as eliminating the free R-Line bus route, could mislead people to think he’s looking to stunt Raleigh’s growth.

I think Enloe needs to shape his message to talk about replacement efforts, not just cuts in targeted areas. He needs to present what he would elminate against what he would replace as an alternate way to address the need filled by that eliminated position or service. If the “need” is not actually something the city needs, but is just “nice to have,” Enloe should include in his message phrases that acknowledge the “nice to have” role, followed by reframing statements that remove the “need” label from the position or service. For example, instead of saying he wants to get ride of the R-Line, perhaps he should say, “Downtown residents have expressed appreciation for the R-Line, but ridership has been limited, and at a cost of [X] dollars to staff and maintain the route, Raleigh has bigger needs, like [Y], where those dollars could provide a larger benefit.”

So, does Enloe have my vote? Well, you know that hints of fiscal responsibility are music to a libertarian ear. Plus, if you follow my blog, you also know I am glad to hear him step forth and suggest that the Dix 306 project may not actually be the best option for Dix Hill, and that we should “hear from the people on what should be done with the Dorothea Dix Hospital property.” As for my vote, though? It’s still to early to say.

Gregg S. Kunz, challenger
800 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh NC 27605 – Gregg and Tracy Kunz have been on the deed as owner of the 3,378-sqft single-family home since June 2006, with a total current tax assessment value of $739,678, and a 2009 tax bill of $6,732.58.

I could not yet find a campaign Web site for mayoral candidate Gregg Kunz, but I did spot his Plaxo page. Kunz is a business executive who lives in one of the gorgeous houses on that stretch of Glenwood between Five Points and Peace Street. Between Plaxo and Spoke I can tell he’s a hockey enthusiast and supporter of getting kids into hockey. As I cannot find any Web sites indicating his political efforts or his plans for Raleigh, I will postpone any opinions about his run for mayor and plan for a future post when more resources are available.

Larry D. Hudson, II, challenger
5537 Roan Mountain Pl, Raleigh, NC 27613 – I could not find Wake County property information for this address, though Google will happily show you where it is on the map. Hudson’s voter registration actually indicates another address, so he may have only recently moved to the new address.

Filing on the last day (July 17), Hudson has not yet had any press as a mayoral hopeful. Personally, I am pleased to see a candidate who isn’t within the 2-mile radius of the Avery C. Upchurch Building downtown, and who will be familiar with interests of Raleigh’s residents outside the Beltline. Unfortunately, as with Kunz, there are no Web sites yet about Hudson’s politics or plans for Raleigh. I did find a Larry Hudson from Raleigh on MySpace who is most clearly a Mets fan, but I can’t yet confirm if that’s the same guy.

So far, this guy is my front-runner because he’s not in the public tax records. Okay, just kidding… it’s really because he’s not in the Beltline cloister and might see the bigger picture for Raleigh. However, as with Kunz and Enloe, I have to reserve my opinions for later posts.

With that in mind, one of the things that has concerned me about the “Dix 306″ movement is the possible misrepresentation of the goals and potential value of their so-called “world-class park” to the citizens of Raleigh. This prompted me to dive into Dix306.org and the public records for the non-profit organization Friends of Dorothea Dix Park (FDDP) to learn more about the organization and compare that against what we know and don’t know about the people who stand to gain from this park development project.

If you have one of those “DIX 306″ signs in your yard, and you have not taken the time to consider all of the facts behind the Friends of Dorothea Dix Park, I encourage you to read my series of posts on this topic:

What Would Dorothea Do?

In other upcoming posts, I will…
* Summarize the details of the Friends of Dix Park White Paper, including the projected costs, the use of tax-increment financing to fund the project, and the entities who stand to profit from this plan
* Review the 2006 and 2007 tax forms for the FDDP to see how the organization is running itself and who is getting paid
* Examine the list of executive director, officers, and board members to see how many would be impacted by the proposed TIF
* Study the property values of the individuals affected by the proposed TIF and compare those to the income levels of those who live on those properties
* Interview various individuals involved in, supporting, and opposing the Dix 306 plan, and post some of the transcripts of those interviews
* Compare other proposed plans’ projected costs and claimed benefits against those proposed by the FDDP

If you have any information or tips that you think may help, feel free to post a comment here and I will follow up. (My email is not working properly at the moment, and I’m still investigating that issue.)