It’s human nature to be most vocal when we don’t like something, especially when it comes to our local elected officials.  Freely expressing dissatisfaction about the decisions our leaders make is the bedrock of democracy.

As we express our disapproval of decisions we personally don’t like, however, it’s all too easy to sit back and remain silent about everything else town leaders do of which we approve.  As Election Day nears, here are five things Chapel Hill’s Mayor and town council members have accomplished in recent years that are worthy of our praise:

1) After years of talking about affordable housing, we finally put our money where our mouth is.  Chapel Hillians advocated allocating a penny of every dollar of revenue to affordable housing and the Town Council responded to our citizens’ call.  Additionally, Chapel Hill donated two million dollars’ worth of town-owned land on Legion Road where the non-profit group DHIC will build Greenfield Village, a community of quality permanent homes for working low income residents and seniors.

2) We finally got serious about our lack of office space so home grown businesses won’t have to leave town when they grow.  The town council has approved over 900,000 square feet of future office space for commercial tax-paying businesses, including at Carolina Square on Franklin Street and in the highly praised Glenn Lennox redevelopment plan.  Recruiting, growing and keeping commercial businesses in Chapel Hill is an essential component of reducing our dangerous dependency on homeowners’ property taxes and we can’t accomplish this goal without suitable office space for those businesses.

3) We’ve given students places they actually want to live.  For years, residents in many different neighborhoods throughout Chapel Hill have griped about groups of unrelated students stuffing themselves in rented houses intended for families.  The truth is, most students don’t want to live far away from campus out in subdivisions with us boring, middle aged married folks any more than long-time residents want their peace disturbed by students’ youthful lifestyles.  When students can live close to campus in apartments designed specifically for them, such as Lux and Shortbread Lofts, they won’t be forced to live in neighborhoods better suited for their parents.

4) We worked to end the digital divide for our schoolchildren. Thanks to a well-negotiated agreement with AT&T and a partnership with the Kramden Institute, public housing residents now have free high speed internet, a laptop computer and training to make sure their kids aren’t falling behind in today’s connected world.

5) We finally started making good on our promises to the Rogers Road neighborhood.  After forty years of dumping our trash there and skipping out on our end of the bargain, the Chapel Hill Town Council is finally working with Carrboro and Orange County to offer the water and sewer service and community amenities we promised decades ago. We’ve just getting started, but it’s been well past time for those old inexcusable excuses to stop.

Listen to Matt Bailey’s Commentary Here

Many of these issues have been goals in Chapel Hill for years, but it seems we never quite got around to acting on them until our current mayor and council members took charge.  We’ve heard plenty of platforms and platitudes from candidates seeking our votes this election season.  In the end, however, it’s what you actually do that matters.

Our mayor and current town council members deserve our gratitude for these five accomplishments.   Their track record proves they have what it takes to turn campaign promises into positive progress for Chapel Hill.

It’s important you make your voice heard when you don’t approve of town leaders’ actions.  However, we should all be equally vocal when we do approve of their actions.  After all, no matter who gets our votes on November 3rd, we can’t expect town leaders to have the courage to take action on the biggest issues Chapel Hill faces if the only voices they ever hear are the angry ones.

 

— Matt Bailey