Keep Matt on the town council

There seems to be some confusion regarding my candidacy and why I am a better choice than Matt Czajkowski, so I have summarized some of my responses to these and related questions.

Please consider and keep in mind the following:

• I received 30 percent of the vote for mayor two years ago against long-term incumbent, Mayor Kevin Foy.
• There are four candidates running this year, so I believe I will need only five percent more than last time, or 35 percent, to win.
• With degrees and years of experience in law, business and engineering, I have the best and broadest background of any candidate for mayor.
• I am the only candidate for mayor who has worked on the kind of cost cutting that will help us hold the line on taxes, or reduce them, without sacrificing the types and quality of services our town provides.
• I will respect and listen to the views of ALL of our citizens.

Contrast these points with the following:

Matt Czajkowski has two years left in his town council term! Even if he withdraws or does not win the mayoral seat, he still remains a council member. Moving him to mayor does not change a thing--he still has only one vote against a council that does not support him.

Matt will remain ineffective, even as mayor! In the past two years, Matt has failed to make allies on the town council. No one will second any motion he makes for his agenda. He has admitted this in one of his campaign letters, at least three times. For example, when discussing a lack of improvements downtown, Matt has stated, "We have made some progress in the last eight years – but most people ask why we could not have done so much more. I have proposed initiatives that have been ignored by the council." [letter dated August 24, 2009] His fellow town council members have generally ignored Matt. Don't believe me, watch the videos of past town council meetings for the 18 months since Matt was elected.

Remember this:

Matt had no experience in government before winning his council seat two years ago and did not even vote in a municipal election until that time! On the other hand, I have been engaged in local politics and community service in Chapel Hill for over four years. Because I strongly believe in my civic duty and in the power of local government to benefit the community, I have voted in every election since I was 18 years old. I care deeply about my community and my country, as proven by my voting record and involvement. As mayor, I will build on this commitment.

If he is not elected mayor, then Matt will remain in his current council seat, which expires in 2011. As mayor, he still has only one vote and two years left in his term. Further, the make-up of the town council is unlikely to change this year. Without me as mayor, Matt will not have any allies. In fact, given his lack of progress over the past two years, without me to help bridge the gap between him and the other town council members, Matt will continue to be ignored and unable to gain support for his initiatives.

With Matt on the town council and me as mayor, our community will have a strong voice for sustainable growth, lower taxes and prudent spending.