- Please tell us about your background and explain why you are running for Orange County Commissioner. What experience, skills, and values do you bring to the board? Why should voters elect/re-elect you?
I am a native North Carolinian and moved to Orange County 30 years ago. I have an undergraduate degree in engineering and a medical degree and masters in public health from UNC. I am a pediatrician at Chapel Hill Children’s Clinic where I provide primary care for kids in Orange County. My husband and I have three young adult children, one of whom has autism. I have been a board member and leader of the local chapter of the Autism Society of North Carolina and the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Special Needs Advisory Council for many years. Currently, I serve as vice chair of the CHCCS Board of Education.
My decision to run for County Commissioner came after my opponent raised taxes for a climate tax at the same time he did not fully fund the school operational budget. Furthermore, he did not raise the taxes to meet a specific county need; instead he later developed a climate council to decide how to spend the money. And while the final plans approved may have some merit, the projects (solar on schools) were chosen without actually consulting the responsible parties (school administration) to determine the viability and best timing of the project.
Orange County taxes are among the highest in the state and are supposed to rise again over the next several years which will continue to make our county unaffordable for low-income residents and small businesses.
We simply cannot continue making financial decisions in such a haphazard way and we must do a better job of maintaining our schools.
I am skilled and experienced in both individual and community level planning and problem solving. When wearing my doctor hat, I always search for the best outcome for my patients through careful examination of the patient and data, reading the scientific literature, and valuing parent and patient input. And while serving on the school board, I carefully consider the evidence, community input, and my fellow board members’ opinions. I value education, equity, and good governance. I have a proven track record of working well with others for the greater good of the community. I am ready to expand my public service to the Orange County Commission.
2. Historically, one of Orange County’s greatest assets has been the excellent quality of our K-12 public schools. However, many parents are becoming concerned that our public school buildings are aging and in need of repair and renovation. The Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) is fully responsible for funding the maintenance for school buildings. How do you propose to address the backlog of deferred school maintenance projects?
Together the two school districts have over $260 million dollars in unfunded major renovation needs. Several schools are in a state of disrepair. Each school district presents a 10 year capital investment plan and a 5 year maintenance plan on a yearly basis. Thanks to a bond in 2016, each school district was able to address their top priorities. Yet a large list remains; we need a plan. We will need another bond in 2024 to fund these major renovations. In the meantime the BOCC should increase the allocation of funds for ongoing maintenance to prevent further disrepair.
3. GoTriangle recently released an outside evaluation by a national transit organization which described management problems related to the now defunct Durham-Orange light rail project. This report said that the Orange and Durham County Boards of Commissioners and GoTriangle failed to recognize the numerous warning signs that the project could not be completed and continued to spend public money on this dead end project. Throughout the DOLRT planning process the lack of transparency, accountability and local (county and town) control over funding decisions subordinated Orange County’s interests to those of Durham and GoTriangle. What changes to the decision-making process would you urge to address these problems? Link to the report.
The GoTriangle autopsy report revealed that GoTriangle,lacked the necessary expertise and risk analysis which led to the demise of the DOLRT project. The report also points out that the board did not embody the “healtny skepticism and dispassion…to ask the hard questions and, where warranted, to hit the stop button.”
Everyone can see the value in public transportation for a more sustainable future. Given the high cost and long-term implications of projects like the DOLRT, our county government must do a better job of working collaboratively with our local municipal partners and providing critical oversight at every step of the way.
As the Orange County representative on the GoTriangle board, my opponent failed to provide critical oversight and transparency on our behalf, even as red flags arose.
Looking to the future, I will advocate for several changes: First, I would like to revisit the governance and financial structure for the use of the ½ cent transit tax and updates to the county transit plan. Specifically, I am concerned about the fact that GoTriangle and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO can vote to recommend a county plan to the BOCC while the towns cannot. Also, I am interested in making sure that Orange County has sufficient control over how our monies are spent so that we are providing strong county-wide transportation with regional connections.
Second, I will ask for GoTriangle to share with the BOCC and our community partners what changes are being made to their organization in response to the autopsy report. Following the recommendations of the evaluation would be an excellent first step.
4. What actions and/or policy changes should the BOCC take to improve public transit service for Orange County residents and reduce congestion on our roadways?
Public transportation is clearly a public good that can ease congestion, provide access to work, necessary services, and amenities, and lower our community’s environmental impact. We need to direct our transit dollars to projects that serve the needs of Orange County.
First, we need to focus on the North South bus rapid transit project with future extension to Hillsborough and Chatham County and expanding routes in northern Orange County. We should also make efforts toward greening our fleet by converting to electric and solar powered buses.
As a region, we must also find solutions to the congestion between Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh as well as with Alamance and Chatham counties. Currently, regional planners are focusing on commuter rail between Garner and Durham with future extension to Hillsborough; however, the study revealed it was not cost effective to extend to Hillsborough at present. We must address congestion along 15-501. However, since Orange County takes the lead on regional transit, any such projects require more oversight and input from Chapel Hill and Carrboro governments than they receive now. The greatest challenges and need will always reside in the urbanized areas of the county.
Finally, we need to be working to plan for new technologies and be ready to implement them quickly. This includes adding EV charging stations (including ones that are charged by solar) to support the transition to electric vehicles and electrifying the county vehicle fleet.
5. The 1986 Joint Comprehensive Land Use Plan established urban service boundaries for the largest Orange County towns and a rural buffer. In your view, how does the existence of the rural buffer benefit Orange County? What costs does it impose? What changes, if any, would you support making to the 1986 Joint Comprehensive Land Use Plan?
The rural buffer protects our watershed, provides areas for recreation, and protects farmland and forests which provide important environmental benefits to our county, including carbon sequestration. It also limits urban sprawl. These are all immensely valuable functions. As a cost, it limits the amount of land available for development within towns which increases property value or expense depending on your perspective and forces denser development. I would aim to preserve the rural buffer, as well as the urban services boundaries that determine the edges of the cities and keeps the character of our land in the county.
6. What actions and/or policy changes should the BOCC take to preserve and increase housing that is affordable for less affluent OC households, especially those earning below 60% of AMI?
For residents already living in Orange County, the BOCC should strive to keep taxes affordable so people can remain in their home. I would also continue tax mitigation and support for weatherization and home repairs for seniors and lower income households.
Opportunities to expand the stock of affordable housing in Orange County that I will support include continuing to collaborate with non-profits, town governments and other partners, using appropriate county land for affordable housing projects and working with employers to create workforce housing.
As we know, affordable housing projects are best located where groceries, transportation and other services are available, especially if we wish to qualify for tax credits. As a result, we must work to make sure we are looking closely at where we locate housing as well as how we can support it with transportation infrastructure (bike, pedestrian, bus).
Specific to The Greene Tract, I believe the BOCC and its partners should value the input of the local neighbors group in the Rogers Road area, honor previous planning efforts (such as Mapping Our Future and the Rogers Road Master Plan), look carefully at the results of the environmental studies, work to establish strong connectivity and continue the dialogue with community members.
7. What actions and/or policy changes should the BOCC undertake to reduce carbon emissions in Orange County? What do you think is achievable within the next 3-5 years?
Reducing our carbon impact is extremely important as we only have one earth. The county cannot do this alone so a top priority is to engage our entire community in making important changes.
To reduce carbon emissions we should ensure all future school and county buildings aim for AIA 2030 standards (minimizing carbon impact). We should also work to green both school buses and county and town buses by replacing aging buses with electric. We can also consider adding solar to school and county buildings and incentivize new businesses to do so as well. We can also make an impact on individual behavior through education campaigns. Finally, we should try to preserve and or increase forest land to help sequester carbon dioxide. These are all actions we could begin implementing in the next 3-5 years.
8. What actions and/or policy changes should the BOCC take to conserve agricultural, forest and park land in Orange County?
We should collaborate with nonprofits such as Triangle Land Conservancy to preserve forests and farmland in Orange County. Our own Orange County Lands Legacy Program can help. Orange County already has a program that keeps taxes manageable for farm owners, something we are all happy to support in order to prevent their loss to development. We could also explore the possibility of local forest landowners participating in carbon offset exchanges