Augustus CHO for Mayor

Fiscal Conservative... Social Moderate... Building Strong Communities...

UNC - TV NC Voter Education

The Candidate of Change: Augustus Cho

November 1, 2009

A Quick Summary:

I provide solutions to the problems created by the two incumbent candidates.

I represent the candidate of change as I am the only non-incumbent.

I have served Chapel Hill for over four years: Chair of Transportation Board; Commissioner on Community Design Commission; Northern Area Task Force, Downtown Parking Citizen Task Force.

I have funded my own campaign and declined to participate in the Voter-Owned Elections program for philosophical & practical reasons--[tax payers, without having a choice, have already contributed to my campaign through the VOE program even though I declined to participate]

I have a child in the public school system; the other candidate with children sends them to a private school in Durham.

I am a UNC-CH alum; the other went to school in Mass.

I support Carolina North and the positive economic impact it will bring to northern Chapel Hill.

I support the Executive Director of the Community Home Trust, Robert Dowling, and the great job of creating a model program on behalf of the affordable housing challenges the town faces.

I have run as green a campaign possible, being sensitive to our environment by limiting the number of signs I have placed in the right-of-ways and being respectful of the size in sensitive locations. One of my opponents, Matt Czajkowski, is on the record for using at least whopping 750 yard-signs.

I have respected the privacy of my supporters by not publishing their names in print media or in the internet. My opponents have published the names which is now on the internet, susceptible to identity theft, etc.

I have proven experience in team building and leadership, instead of clashing or making a mockery of the governance system.

Please remember to vote for Augustus Cho for Mayor on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Thank you!.

-Augustus

____________________

"Investing in Chapel Hill..."

Chapel Hill is a wonderful place to live and raise a family - and our best is yet to come!

We live in a community with a great school system, pleasant weather with four distinct seasons, a diverse economic base in a culturally enlightening enviroment...all ideal attributes that draw people to our close-knit community. It reminds me of NPR's fictional town of Lake Wobegon "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average" - with a good dose of humor to boot :)

I grew up in the area: attended junior high in Durham, high school in Raleigh, and lived in Chapel Hill both as a resident and a student living off-campus, utilizing the Chapel Hill Transit back when we actually had to pay for the ride! There are those who drove buses back when who are still driving...

(More bio can be found on the home page under "Biography").

After graduating from Carolina in 1982, I lived in various cities on the east & the west coast of United States - and overseas. Twenty-three years later, I return to Chapel Hill to raise my family.

Like many of you, our children are/or have been students of our school district: the oldest child, Alasdair, just graduated from East Chapel Hill High School - class of 2009* - after enjoying four years of comprehensive curriculum and many extracurricular activities. He will be attending college in the Fall.

*A personal "Thank you" to all of the sponsors and contributors to the 2009 Project Graduation! As a parent of a graduating senior, I appreciated all the activities, the supervision and the gifts for the graduates! Very well done.

Courtney is an eighth grader at Smith Middle School. She is a Lacrosse girl: played LAX for Phillips Middle School this past Spring because Smith did not have a team and currently plays for the Carolina Fever 2014 team. Courtney is a violinist for the school orchestra.

Our Town has arrived at a significant turning point:

Chapel Hill has grown from a small town (with a “Village” atmosphere) to a large town that's about to become a small city.

A good way to analyze who we really are at this point is to reflect on the state of the school district - which is an accurate barometer of community growth:

There was a time when the Town of Chapel Hill had one high school: Chapel Hill High. When a community has one high school, that is undeniably a small town. Most of my "local" friends when I was at Carolina were all CHS grads back then.

By the time a second high school (East Chapel Hill HS) is needed based on demographical growth, then you've become a large town. When a third high school becomes necessary, we're now a small city; we're no longer a town.

Compounding the situation is the impact of the University: when I was at Carolina, the combined student/local population of Chapel Hill was roughly 30,000 (15,000 each). When the students left town, the village atmosphere was evident again and the locals reclaimed it. Unfortunately, this is no longer viable: there were 28,136 students alone in 2007 - US News & World Report College Ranking, 2009.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Town of Chapel Hill had 49,919 residents in 2006.

The upsurge in both the student and the general population has increased the overall number to approximately 78,055, presently. It is difficult to maintain the "Chapel Hill Village” atmosphere under these circumstances. What we can do is to capture the essence of the village as we once knew it and maintain it like Charleston, SC, Georgetown in DC, the historical sections of Philadelphia have successfully done (see "Visions" tab for my proposal on Franklin Street Square).

No question about it: the world has become a smaller place through advancement of technology - and getting smaller. Historians consider the 19th Century as the "British century" and the 20th Century as the "American century." All signs point to the 21st Century as the Asian century. Accordingly, what happens half way across the world in Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, or Vietnam via IT, finance, investments, trade, partnerships, education, political conditions, etc. impacts us in Chapel Hill – sooner or later; directly or indirectly. A scenario difficult to imagine twenty years ago is the world we presently live in. As a result, humanity is now moving at nano-seconds. What is incredible is that there are nations, cities and towns that are actually keeping up with it.

Some communities speak of "being progressive"; others actually practice it. Part of the progressive mentality is to be cognizant of how other communities and nation-states impact us - or how they can benefit us by working together. Our long-term success as a community is not only determined by what happens on Franklin Street but also what takes place in Frankfurt, Germany as well.

(*7/28/09 Update**: According to 7/28/09 Chapel Hill News's blog* Orange Chat, the Entrepreneur magazine selected our town as one of the "Top 10 start-up friendly" cities. This is an example of what I am referring in the paragraph above. As mayor, I will build on this and increase our Town's positive influence around the globe even more.)

My leadership offers a broad, mature, balanced and global perspective needed to overcome the challenges that we will face together.

Also, as one born, raised and worked in the part of the world that is expected to greatly impact humanity, I provide global perspective, experience and skills needed on behalf of Chapel Hill as Mayor.

I Will Focus On:

COMMERCE

Support small & large Businesses -- the foundation of our town
Encourage entrepreneurship & economic development
Fill existing business/office spaces
Focus on recruit & retention of workers
Streamline the bureaucratic process for permits & developments
Address panhandling: SAFETY issue -
- Increase panhandling distance for ATMs, pay stations & the children's museum
- Require privilege/business license to panhandle
- Require tax ID or SSN for IRS purpose
- Require report of earnings as income, which it is

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Maintain Green Space
Affordable & Workforce Housing: Work here, live here, & support our community and economy
Walkable Communities: Let's complete the sidewalks and also carryout connectivity as planned
Strive for Sustainable Urbanism: Let's go green as much as possible; invest in solar energy, bio-fuel, recycle, etc.
Focus on Smart Growth & redeveloping properties when possible
Mixed-Use Development
Transit Choices for residents
Protection of Crucial Environments
Support & Maintain Our Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System as the Best in the State

LEADERSHIP

Clear & effective leadership: Addressing causes and not the symptoms
Accountability to citizens: Governments exist to serve the people by solving problems; not enslave them with bureaucratic mandate after mandate
Transparency in government: Open and accessible to public & media concerns and inquiries - we should have nothing to hide
Be an Ambassador for Chapel Hill: Be an advocate for Chapel Hill, Invite new businesses to our wonderful community; let the world know who we are!

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AUGUSTUS CHO