Thank you to the people of Durham who voted for me and supported me in so many ways throughout my campaign! I look forward to working hard to help make Durham a great place to live and work for EVERYONE!

Wendy on the Issues Facing Durham

You can read about Wendy's stand on the issues in her questionaire response to the People's Alliance, reproduced below and available on the PA website.

1. Durham is about to embark on a new comprehensive plan. How often do you think amendments should be made to the adopted comprehensive plan?
Ideally amendments to the Comprehensive Plan should be done on a yearly basis but because of the how this process currently works amendments are occurring continually in a piecemeal way and the Future Land Use Map is always in flux.
Who should initiate those changes, the Planning Department, the Planning Commission or developers?
The issue of who should initiate Plan Amendments should be part of a complete review of how the process currently functions. Planning staff, elected bodies, citizens and developers can all currently initiate changes.
2. How did you vote (would you have voted) on the 751 zoning case and why?
I voted on the 751 zoning case as a member of the Durham Planning Commission. I voted against the rezoning because it did not comply with our adopted land use plan, transportation plans and Greenhouse Gas plan which specify that high density mixed use projects should be near major transportation corridors, close to existing developed areas, and away from watersheds. The impact costs in terms of traffic, infrastructure, required community services, schools, stormwater run off into Jordan Lake that would impact Durham taxpayers and existing south Durham residents outweighed possible benefits. The proposed Development Plan was also lacking in committed elements to implement the neo-urbanist design proposed by the applicant.
What should be done about the project going forward?
The property can be developed with its current zoning, collective wells and county sewage services using our Conservation Subdivision Ordinance.
What was right/wrong about the process?
There were many issues related to transparency, process and fairness. The County Government should have conducted an independent, publically funded survey of the Jordan Lake area in question as the basis for decision making because of the significant discrepancy between the applicant submitted lake survey and the citizen group submitted survey. The County Government also chose not accept the validity of the citizen protest petition even though the basis for this invalidation was donation of land to NCDOT which was conducted in a controversial manner.
3. Give an example of the effective use of a "committed element" Development Plans are only required to show the building envelope and ingress and egress.
Committed elements are effective ways to address concerns, improve projects beyond minimum ordinance requirements and give more detail to the development plan. For example, if neighbors have concerns about the impact of an adjacent development on their property this might be addressed directly through a committed element which specifies additional buffer areas, fencing, landscaping etc
4. What's your position on the firing of the director of Social Services?
It appears there were legitimate issues of concern related to how the department was being managed and how services were being met. The problem is how this came to light, how it was addressed and how decisions were made.
What should have been done differently (if anything) and what should happen now?
There seems to have been a breakdown in communication and oversight between the BOCC and the Social Service Board and how to effectively address problems taking place within Social Services. Since Social Services is directly controlled by its Board and the BOCC appoints two of the board members and approves the director position, moving forward regular communication between the Social Service Board, the director and the BOCC needs to be clarified and strengthened.
5. Now that the Legislature has removed the cap on charter schools, what can the BOCC do to ensure that these schools are innovative, of sufficient quality, and provide equal access for ALL of Durham’s students?
The BOCC can improve collaboration, communication and accountability with Charter Schools. The BOCC can improve oversight and request annual information regarding their student population, programs and student achievement. Since Charter Schools receive public funds we need to make sure that any barriers - breakfast/lunch, transportation, academic prerequisites – are removed so that all Durham children have equal access. We also need to improve the relationship between Durham Public Schools and Charters so that we are all working together in the best interests of our children in Durham.
6. In which areas of county government have you been involved, and to what extent?
Extensive experience working with Planning, Transportation, Engineering, Stormwater, Soil and Water Conservation and Open Space and Real Estate Departments as a County Appointee to Durham Planning Commission, 2005-2011, and as member of Durham-Orange-Chapel Hill Work Group 2005-2011, Environmental Enhancements to Unified Development Ordinance Committee, Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, Piedmont Conservation Council, New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee, Chair of Durham- OrangeDurham City-Chapel Hill Hollow Rock Park Master Plan Committee and through my work with real estate/development at Unique Places. Also extensive experience with Education as former Durham Public Schools teacher, active parent of three DPS educated parent for more than 14 years, serving on site base committees, PTA Boards, etc. Also gaining skills with budget and finance in my second year on Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee dealing with federal, state and local education funding issues and developing budget to present to BOCC.
7. What are your top two priorities if you are (re-)elected?
I have three top priorities. Job creation, Education and Land Use/Transportation. We have tremendous educational and economic resources in Durham but in order to continue moving forward we must address the poverty that still plagues our community and affects crime, low student achievement, housing, and public health needs. I want to focus on high quality job creation for Durham residents and making sure people have the skills to access these jobs. Having a successful public education system is critical to the success of our community – our prospects for attracting new business and residents and ensuring that our citizens have the opportunity for a good job and a good quality of life. Our region is expected to have more than 1 million new residents by 2030. We can manage this growth so that Durham becomes an even more attractive place to work and live by coordinating our land use and transportation plans.
8. On which committees do you want to serve?
I am interested in serving on a broad range of committees. I participated on many committees as a member of the Planning Commission. Some of the possibilities include Workforce Development, the Chamber of Commerce, Durham’s Partnership for Children, the Joint City County Planning Committee, the Transit Advisory Committee, the Senior Center, the Stadium Authority and the Crime Cabinet.
9. Would you use sales taxes to raise revenue and why or why not?
I would avoid use of he sales tax increases to raise revenue because it disproportionately affects the poorer members of our community relative to their income.
10. If the County Manager proposes a budget in which expenses are greater than revenues, should you vote to raise taxes or cut expenses?
My first plan of action would be to try to cut expenses. This is the process I have been using with the Durham Public Schools Budget. How will you decide? I would request that the BOCC work in partnership with all departments and the county manager to look at all programs and expenditures to see where voluntary budget cuts can be made and efficiencies/cost savings gained. I would also use my three campaign priorities and our adopted Strategic Plan as a guide to decide where we want to focus spending outside of fixed costs/non discretionary spending, trying to be most effective with the tax dollars that we have while still delivering high quality county services.
11. What's the single greatest challenge facing the county today?
Poverty and unemployment and underemployment in our community. 17.9 % of Durham residents are currently living in poverty. That is higher than the state average. There is about 8% overall unemployment in our community but in some sectors this rate is nearly 30 %. For every 5 jobs created in Durham only 2 go to Durham residents. I believe that our high poverty and unemployment rate affects low academic achievement in school, homelessness, crime and gang activity, social service and public/mental health issues. Our first step to getting at the root of these problems is impacting poverty and unemployment.