Heron, petitioners want answers; answers still not made public
Durham County Commissioner Becky Heron attempted to get some answers about a controversial petition aired at last night’s commissioners meeting. But her attempt was unsuccessful. County Attorney Lowell Siler recommended that the board talk about the petition in closed session, in large part due to the fact that petitioners could sue the county over the results.
“I wanted us to have an open session and just be very transparent and open to the people,” Heron said.
Through the county’s channels, Siler announced last week that the petition was invalid, in part because of problems with signatures. The petition was filed last month by the Haw River Assembly, with the help of the Southern Environmental Law Center, to make it more difficult for commissioners to rezone the protected area around Jordan Lake. If the petition were valid, it would have required four commissioners to vote to rezone the area, instead of the simple majority of a 3-to-2 vote. That simple majority led to the rezoning on Oct. 12.
But the planning department said the petition didn’t present enough signatures. Since then, the planning department and county have been in a back-and-forth disagreement regarding whether the petition was valid, arguing on points of the land that was counted and whether the signatures were valid.
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To quote a dear friend and long term Durham resident:
“W.H.Auden had it right: ‘When the heads of state prefer to work at night, let the citizens beware.’
Or, in this case, ‘When Durham government prefers to work behind closed doors, let the southern part of the County beware.’”
Seems the county is back to their old tactics — remember the closed session meetings late last year and early this year regarding Frank Duke’s illegal change of the watershed and the county’s backing down on their initial show of support for an independent survey?
Wish there was a log of all those who enter City Hall — I bet that K&L gates attorneys (representing the developers) have been a regular feature there lately…
— Melissa Rooney 10 November 2009
Why does the County want to keep this secret? Who benefits?
If the County’s analysis and invalidation of the protest petition is as compelling as they imply, wouldn’t it discourage litigation?
County Attorney Lowell Siler and Planning Director Steve Medlin would serve their employers—the taxpayers of Durham—far better if they would abandon their secrecy and tell the truth.
Why do the County and City Managers (who both oversee the Planning Department) stand by impotently as the rights of the citizens who signed the protest petition are abrogated without explanation? An expeditious public airing of this issue is in everyone’s interest.
— Steve Bocckino 10 November 2009
The N&O recently reported how much money Commissioner Howerton got from the developers during her campaign. Who else got money from them? Why are elected and unelected officials working so hard against established rules and ordinances, not to mention the clear wishes of citizens? I’m particularly distressed by the behavior of several people I thought were acting for the public good; I’m afraid a bunch of good, hardworking people will be stained by others actions. It’s a long way off, but we clearly need to elect several new county commissioners in 2012! It might be too late for this issue (keep going SELC/Haw!!), but Durham needs people who understand water quality issues and the concept of sustainability.
— Will Wilson 10 November 2009
@Will Wilson - Yes - The N&O reported recently that Howerton received money from these developers after her election was already secured. The Indy reported this in January, and also noted that Joe Bowser received money from the same names in 2004. The next campaign finance deadline is in January, when fourth-quarter reports are due to the county. Thanks for reading.
— Samiha Khanna 13 November 2009