Showing posts tagged “Kevin Foy”
Joe Schwartz ·
8 Feb 2010, 11:55 AM ·
2 Comments
Carlo Robustelli, former aide to Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, has been named director of Orange County operations for Durham Technical Community College.
We profiled a Robustelli in December, when he concluded two and a half years in the Chapel Hill mayor’s office as Foy opted against running for re-election.
Robustelli, who took classes at Durham Tech and transferred the credits to UNC, now is charged with running student services, recruitment and overseeing daily operations for the Orange County campus.
“I am delighted that Carlo Robustelli has joined us,” Durham Tech President Bill Ingram said in a press release. “He is uniquely qualified to help us strengthen and sustain Durham Tech’s programs and services in Orange County.”
Chapel Hill, Durham, Orange County, education Bill Ingram, Carlo Robustelli, Durham Technical Community College, Kevin Foy
Joe Schwartz ·
9 Dec 2009, 11:16 AM ·
Comment
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt says he sees a lot of Carlo Robustelli in Mark McCurry, the man he’s chosen to serve as his aide.
The two had the same double major, political science and philosophy, at UNC. McCurry is 27. Robustelli was 25 when he started as former Mayor Kevin Foy’s aide in July 2007.
“I want him to do what Carlo did, which is be the mayor’s assistant, but also be available to the to the council,” Kleinschmidt said. “I want to be reminded of Carlo through Mark in those other ways, too.”
McCurry is learning how to do that, shadowing Robustelli for a couple days a week until he takes the reins on New Year’s Day and puts his own stamp on the office.
“(Carlo) has been incredibly gracious and seems like a great asset,” said McCurry, who worked with Kleinschmidt as a legal assistant at the Center for Death Penalty litigation before running his election campaign.
Robustelli said he’s sharing mechanics, but not specifics.
“He’s going to have to manage his own path, create his own way,” he said. “He and Mark (Kleinschimdt) will come to figure out how you fit in with the style of boss.”
Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Carlo Robustelli, Kevin Foy, Mark Kleinschmidt, Mark McCurry
Joe Schwartz ·
7 Dec 2009, 10:42 PM ·
Comment
Chapel Hill made it official tonight, swearing in a new mayor and two new council members and adding another term for two more.
Mark Kleinschmidt, Gene Pease, Penny Rich, Laurin Easthom and Ed Harrison took their seats at Town Hall amid a room of community activists, allies, campaigners, funders, family, friends, neighboring politicians, the police chief, the fire chief and Mama Dip (Mildred Council).
The ceremony even had an intermission, with the first part of the meeting run by the 2007-09 council during which those leaving office offered a farewell. Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward presided for that portion as now former Mayor Kevin Foy was ill at home.
“Mayor, I hope you’re doing well. We miss you,” he said.
Carlo Robustelli, the mayoral aide, read a speech in Foy’s stead.
“I am honored to have been given the chance to serve as Chapel Hill’s mayor,” the statement read. “Together with the fine elected people and staff and with the ideas of participation of citizen, we have achieved a lot.”
Councilman Jim Merritt, who was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the late Bill Thorpe and who did not win re-election, said he’d continue to serve as a advocate for the town.
After a few kind words were exchanged, the elected played musical chairs, Kleinschmidt moving to the center, Sally Greene and Ed Harrison moving two seats to the left (from the audience). New council members Gene Pease and Penny Rich slotted in on the far right. Merritt’s physical seat now is empty, though it soon will be filled by whomever is appointed to fulfill Bill Strom’s term.
Those elected put their hands on the Bible, flanked by spouses, children and parents, swore to uphold the laws of the nation and state and offered thanks to all. Continue reading »
Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Carlo Robustelli, Chapel Hill Town Council, Ed Harrison, Gene Pease, Jim Merritt, Kevin Foy, Laurin Easthom, Mark Kleinschmidt, Penny Rich
Joe Schwartz ·
4 Dec 2009, 2:56 PM ·
Comment
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy won’t join the race for U.S. Senate, he announced today.
“The real decisive factor for me was the more I thought about it I realized I’ve been in elected office now for 12 years, and the reason I decided not to run again for mayor was I feel like I’d done a lot and accomplished what’d I’d set out to do, and I wanted to do something else,” he said. “When I thought about the Senate I realized that’s not the something else I want to do.”
Namely, the stress of campaigning and fundraising for a statewide office did not appeal to the mayor.
Foy, whose eight-year run as Chapel Hill’s chief executive ends Monday, had long been considered a potential candidate. He told the Indy in August that he was consulting national and local leaders about running for Sen. Richard Burr’s seat.
“I think that I need to make sure at this point that there are a lot of other people besides me who think that I’m a good candidate, and so that’s the phase that I’m in now,” he said then.
Continue reading »
Chapel Hill, Orange County, national, politics Cal Cunningham, Elaine Marshall, Ken Lewis, Kevin Foy, Richard Burr, U.S. Senate
Joe Schwartz ·
4 Nov 2009, 3:31 AM ·
Comment
*Reporter’s note: Scroll to the bottom if you want the quickie results from Election Day (no suprises in Carrboro or Hillsborough. CHCCS followed the Indy endorsement. Chapel Hill Town Council went to Penny Rich, Ed Harrison, Laurin Easthom and Gene Pease). If you’d like to read a scene-setting piece from Chapel Hill Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt’s victory party, then read on.
Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt celebrates his mayoral victory as his twin sister clutches his shoulder and his mom bursts into tears.
Supporters erupted. His mother burst into tears. His sister shouted. Mark Kleinschmidt just smiled contently, arms crossed but giving the kind of ear-to-ear grin you could feel across the room, satisfaction and disbelief merging together on his face. The campaign had just received word that rival Matt Czajkowski had made his concession speech at the Franklin Hotel.
The progressive bloc had won. They’d just escaped a new, moderate business-centered group gaining traction and council seats. Not so fast.
Word came back that one precint, Patterson, was yet to report. Kleinschmidt was up a scant 168 votes. The jubiliation turned to shocked concern. It was too close to call.
“I don’t want a Dewey defeats Truman headline,” Kleinschmidt warned reporters at his R&R Grill party. The pack of local politicos returned to the laptop, clicking refresh again and again.
Moments later, the candidate’s ever-buzzing cell phone went off once more. It was Mayor Kevin Foy calling to congratulate him.
Kleinschmidt cautioned him, but thanked him for his support. Then the results flashed on the TV screens. It was final — Kleinschmidt had won.
Continue reading »
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Amanda Ashley, Augustus Cho, Brian Voyce, Bryant Warren, Christine Lee, Ed Harrison, Frances Dancy, Gene Pease, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Jon Dehart, Kevin Foy, Kevin Wolff, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, MaryAnne Gucciardi, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sharon Cook, Shell Brownstein, Susana Dancy, Tim Peck, Tom Stevens, Will Raymond
Joe Schwartz ·
30 Oct 2009, 5:17 PM ·
1 Comment
Mayoral hopeful Mark Kleinschmidt has touted himself as the best candidate to continue the work of Mayor Kevin Foy. Today, Foy made public his agreement with that statement, issuing an endorsement for Kleinschmidt’s candidacy.
Kleinschmidt said he is “humbled” and “very appreciative.”
“I’m very excited that Kevin shared his endorsement with the people of Chapel Hill,” he said. “He’s been very supportive.”
Foy’s full endorsement is below:
I hope the voters in Chapel Hill will join me in voting for Mark Kleinschmidt for Mayor. I’ve served as mayor for the past eight years, and I’m proud of our town – we’ve adhered to our values as a place that protects the natural environment, works closely with our university, and respects all our neighbors without regard for their economic status. Over the past eight years, with Mark Kleinschmidt helping to lead the way, Chapel Hill has invested in a safe, vibrant downtown, new greenways, the arts, a major new park, a transit center, a new public works facility, and an aquatics center. We’ve done all this with an eye to prudent money management (we have the highest bond rating) and diversifying our tax base.
And it has paid off – just this year Chapel Hill was named both America’s Most Livable City and Best Place in the Country to Start a Business. We’re doing a lot of things right!
We have a bright future. A vote for Mark for Mayor will keep Chapel Hill on the right track.
Kevin Foy
Chapel Hill, politics Kevin Foy, Mark Kleinschmidt
Joe Schwartz ·
29 Oct 2009, 10:20 AM ·
Comment
Chapel Hill leaders will wait until after the next Town Council is sworn in to appoint a person to fill Bill Strom’s vacant seat. After being prodded by a petition, six members of the current council, four of whom are up for election, stated their support for waiting until after Dec. 7, when the new group takes office. Councilwoman Sally Greene was the only one not to weigh in, though she has stated her support on the local blog, Orangepolitics.org.
Mayor Kevin Foy was the only one adamant in targeting Nov. 9 at the date to make an appointment, though realizing he was in the minority, he encouraged the group to cancel the applicant’s presentations for that date.
Under town ordinance, the vacancy must be considered at every meeting until an appointment is made, but there is not a deadline. The group of six, Matt Czajkowski, Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrison, Mark Kleinschmidt, Jim Merritt (who voiced his support later in the meeting, during the consent agenda section) and Jim Ward, intends to delay the appointment each time until December.
Continue reading »
Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Bill Strom, Ed Harrison, Jim Merritt, Jim Ward, Kevin Foy, Laurin Easthom, Mark Kleinschmidt, Matt Czajkowski, Sally Greene
Joe Schwartz ·
9 Oct 2009, 9:03 PM ·
Comment
The Chapel Hill Town Council will treat the NAACP’s call for review of the Charles Brown case as a petition Monday night, according to an e-mail sent today by Mayor Kevin Foy.
Chapel Hill, Orange County Charles Brown, Kevin Foy
Joe Schwartz ·
6 Oct 2009, 2:58 PM ·
1 Comment
The Town of Chapel Hill and its police department hoped an internal investigation clearing officers of racial profiling accusations would be enough to end the Charles Brown controversy.
Then state NAACP President the Rev. William Barber came to town and along with local leaders demanded a chance to tell their side of the story, a full report on the status of creating a civilian review board and a five-year review of all police activity including arrests, stops and their location and race.
The requests were delivered this morning to Mayor Kevin Foy, and the NAACP is giving him until the week’s end to respond.
Continue reading »
Chapel Hill, Orange County Al McSurely, Barry Freeman, Charles Brown, civilian review board, Kevin Foy, Protester's Defense Committee, Tom Tancredo, william barber
Joe Schwartz ·
2 Sep 2009, 12:27 PM ·
1 Comment
The Chapel Hill Town Council will hold a special closed meeting Friday to discuss acquiring a 70,000 square foot property along Weaver Dairy Road. There’s also the matter of filling the council seat vacated by Bill Strom.
The council wasn’t scheduled to meet until Sept. 14, and because Friday’s special meeting is the first since Strom resigned abruptly Aug 1., the mayor will make a formal announcement of the vacancy, setting the process in motion.
In a memo to the council, Foy proposes the following timeline:
September 4: vacancy announced and applications accepted
October 2: deadline for applications to be filed
October 12: Council Business Meeting to review applications and make nominations.
November 9: Applicants will have an opportunity to make brief remarks regarding their interests in serving on the Town Council and Council may make an appointment that evening.
There are still two-and-a-half years left in Strom’s term, and the issue of how to fill his seat is sticky given that the town is in the midst of an election cycle. Four seats, those of Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrison, Mark Kleinschimdt and Jim Merrittt are up for grabs. Harrison, Easthom and Merritt are vying for re-election while Kleinschmidt is running for mayor. Residents Jon Dehart, Gene Pease, Matt Pohlman, Will Raymond and Penny Rich are challenging for the seats.
The process outlined by the mayor seems to exclude the possibility of appointing a fifth place finisher to fill Strom’s term. Election Day is Nov. 3 and results won’t be certified until Nov. 16. That means the candidates would have to apply for the seat before the results are in, and many are reluctant to do so, worrying about what message it may send to voters.
Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Chapel Hill, Kevin Foy, Strom
