I have always run for office using classic grassroots campaigning techniques like door-to-door canvassing of neighborhoods. It is a great way to meet people and to learn about how varied a town can be. But one of the benefits of grassroots work is that you get to hear from the people directly. [...]

Mark Barosso has been pulling together some people to resist the establishment of a Wal-Mart at Starpoint on our southern border.

I stopped by the Family Violence Prevention Center (FVPC) this morning for their Fourth Anniversary Open House. It was a nice informal event and I got to meet a number of the members of the board and the staff. I spoke with Jenn Barr (staff) and Ann Frey (board). We discussed the Town of Carrboro’s Human Services Grant Funds which help to pay for the FVPC. We had an interesting discussion of the dilemma that on the one hand, making lots of very small grants seems to dilute the effectiveness of the grant program, while on the other hand . . .

I spent part of yesterday afternoon at a meeting of the Community Initiative to End Homelessness (CIEH), where I saw Billie Guthrie, Jefferson Parker, Natalie Larsen, Terri Buckner, James Carnahan, CHPD Officer Matt Sullivan, Emliy Dickens, Loryn Barnes, Gary Gaddy and many others. It was really impressive to see such an array of people [...]

I spent about an hour yesterday at the Chatham County Planning Department learning about the proposed Wal-Mart site on the Orange/Chatham line at Starpoint. Here is what I learned . . .

Friday I went to Hillsborough to file the official paperwork with the Orange County Board of Elections. Carrboro Alderman Jacquie Gist was already there and Chapel Hill Town Council Member Mark Kleinschmidt came in right behind us. Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Laurin Easthom also came to file . . .