scrutiny hooligans

In case anyone needs reminding why the NCGOP wants to spend tax dollars during a budget crisis to solve a non-problem.

This past week Scrutiny Hooligans highlighted the North Carolina Democratic Party Chair race between Bill Faison, David Parker, and Dannie Montgomery. The same questions were asked of each of the candidates, and their responses are republished there without changes. They are posted in the order they were received.

Bill Faison

David Parker

This is a speech I delivered on August 20, 2009 at the Flood Gallery in Asheville's River Arts District. The first half of the video is full of thanks for those who have made this grassroots candidate a real contender. The second half outlines a comprehensive vision for the city of Asheville.

If you like what you see, please consider getting involved with my campaign by either volunteering or donating at Gordon For Asheville.

Enjoy.

The city of Asheville, North Carolina is a blue oasis in west of North Carolina. Seated in Buncombe County, Asheville has a population of 73,875 (per 2007 Census calculations) and is made up of 41.3 square miles of neighborhoods, industrial areas, forest, and rivers. Famous for its vibrant arts, openmindedness, architecture, environment, and various tourist attractions, Asheville winds up on several top ten lists a year.

This charming, bustling mountain mecca stands at a crossroads in its history. Property value spikes have made purchasing a home all but impossible for many citizens, and finding affordable rentals is also very expensive. Rapid growth and development have threatened our slopes and our public square. Industry after industry has closed up shop, leaving a service-based economy subject to the fluctuations in tourism. An influx of new residents has raised our energy demands to the point that some considered building a diesel-fueled power plant upwind from west Asheville. Cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders have sought infrastructure improvements for years. City employees have been denied domestic partnership benefits in what's considered one of the gay-friendliest towns in the southeast. The DOT threatens to raze a historic neighborhood that only recently began winning its fight against drugs and violence.

I'm running for Asheville City Council because I want to help create more affordable housing and a more sustainable economy, environment, and community. I'm writing this post at BlueNC because I need your help.

Doug Gibson at Scrutiny Hooligans has posted an excellent primer about NC tax structure in ten easy bullets. Here's a fun excerpt:

5. Our state government has refused to include services among the items included in the sales tax. This reduces revenues and means that we pay taxes when we buy necessities like clothing, but not when we buy luxuries like pedicures and bikini waxes.

{c/p @ Scrutiny Hooligans}

The NC House budget proposes a 40% cut in mental health services including the dissolution of Community Support Services, a vital tool to maintain people in their communities rather than relying on emergency rooms, hospitals, and jails. If you make three calls today, you can help our legislators understand that cutting education and mental health services will have extraordinary costs to future generations. The ARC of North Carolina sent this Action Alert:

Our service system will be set back 40 years. The House’s proposed budget cuts to Health and Human Services and Medicaid will have a total impact of close to $3.5 billion.

{Cross posted from Scrutiny Hooligans}

[This is the second of several posts examining the proposed Downtown Master Plan (DTMP). You can see a brief overview of the plan here. Click here for the entire plan. Click here for the appendices. Click here for my post on Section One. A public hearing on the DTMP will be held May 26th at the City Council meeting that night.]

I've got three favorite parking places downtown. One of them remains unmetered. Each requires an extra block of walking to city center. You all have your favorite spots as well, even the cyclists and the scooterati. Anecdotes suggest that some folks have a terrible time finding a place to park whenever they come downtown. Downtown business owners want it to be easy for people to get out of their cars and move all over the city.

The Downtown Master Plan (DTMP), utilizing an inventory of parking spaces at various hours, takes a look at how to get people downtown and how to keep them there. I'm in agreement with a lot of the points made in this section, but there is one area that we can do without.

As was true in the Arts and Culture portion of DTMP Section One, "meeting our own needs and following our own vision, the people of Asheville have garnered world-class attention. This has been the key to our success, and it’s part of what makes us unique." Changing the culture of downtown to cater exclusively to tourists would be a mistake. The Tourism Development Authority's Wayfinding system, which will cost $75,000 up front then over $50,000 per year to maintain, is a portion of the plan we could cut to save money without any negative impact on city residents. More about that after the jump.

A proposed traffic and parking management system in the DTMP has real potential to freeze the need to build more parking spaces/garages. As the city prepares to spend $900,000 to build a parking garage under a luxury hotel, it's time to recognize that by shifting our strategy, we can save a lot of taxpayer money while reducing traffic. I'll list the exciting parts of this plan after the jump.

This is cross-posted from Scrutiny Hooligans and will soon appear at my City Council campaign website, GordonforAsheville.com

[This is the first of several posts examining the proposed Downtown Master Plan (DTMP). You can see a brief overview of the plan here. Click here for the entire plan. Click here for the appendices. A public hearing on the DTMP will be held May 26th at the City Council meeting that night.]

In working towards a more affordable, more sustainable Asheville, it's vital we attend to the arts. Arts, culture and history give equally to all of us who live and work here. Every day we're informed, intrigued, or inspired by our artistic, cultural, and historical environment. Art and culture engender civic pride in all of us, and we can prioritize affordable living and working space so our artists can continue providing us with a beating heart. We can reaffirm our commitment to showcasing our history through preservation and cultural events. We can create an Artists' Resource Center to serve as a hub for business, art, and tourism.

Section One of the DTMP is focused on arts, culture, and history in downtown Asheville. Folks all have their favorite and least favorite things about going downtown. I love hearing music in the streets, seeing art wherever I look, running into friends, and the abounding culture of creativity. A combination of low property values a generation ago, relentless entrepreneurship, city planning, and a most excellent populace has created a downtown full of life, where it feels like anything could happen. It's impossible to quantify the creative energy of Asheville's downtown creative arts communities, but the DTMP throws out a few stats to provide context:

- Asheville is now recognized as the number-two arts destination among smaller United States cities (following Santa Fe, New Mexico).

- The arts and artists contribute sixy-five-million dollars annually to Western North Carolina‘s economy.

- WNC‘s artists comprise the largest percentage of self-employed workers in the state.

As unique as our arts community is Asheville's architectural and historical legacy. Section One of the DTMP addresses this facet. Here are a few DTMP bullets to give you an idea of how historical preservation has been valued and to what benefits:

- Since 1976, there have been 82 rehabilitation projects in Downtown Asheville‘s National Register Historic District (NRHD). All of these benefitted from a 20-percent federal rehabilitation tax credit (for income-producing structures). These projects represent over eighy-nine-million dollars in Downtown re-investment—beginning at a time when Downtown was neglected and deteriorating. In large measure, historic rehabilitation saved Downtown Asheville.

- Since 1998, project sponsors and owners have been able to double that tax credit (to 40-percent) by using North Carolina‘s matching tax credit for certified historic
rehabilitation.

- The dramatic impact of historic preservation is well demonstrated by Pack Place--a public/private partnership begun in mid-1980‘s and opened in 1992.

Follow me into ReadMoreLand for a look at how our arts and history can be strengthened, encouraged, and protected.

{cross-posted from ScruHoo and DWT!}

For sixteen long years, the citizens of North Carolina's mountainous 11th District were represented in Congress by Charles H. Taylor. No matter the clouds of corruption allegations swirling around him, conservative voters returned Taylor to the House cycle after cycle. He had his Russian bank ties, his Jack Abramoff ties, his Savings and Loan scandal, and a remarkable antipathy towards the press and his progressive constituents. It was like an ill-considered, abusive relationship, and NC-11 voters couldn't tear themselves away.

Then along came Heath Shuler. Big, handsome, and aw-shucks honest, he had pretty words about labor unions, education, and the environment. He looked like our dragon-slayer. We knew about his social conservatism and Tennessee Republican registration, but we looked past those differences, ready for him to free us from the muck pond of Charles Taylor's reign.

Next Thursday, March 27th, I'll be one of the panelists asking questions of the three Republican candidates for NC-11's Congressional seat. The debate will take place at Asheville's URTV studios. There will be two other panelists, both, I assume of the Republican persuasion. The 90 minute debate duration means I'll get to ask three, maybe four, questions. I've got a couple cooked up already, and I'm looking for more good ideas.

That's where you come in.