Pam Adams
Political Party: Libertarian
Political Experience: Chair, Libertarian Party of Durham County
Education: Not given
Pam Adams could not be reached for comment.
Robert Appleby
Political Party: Republican
Political Experience: Vice Chair, 4th Cong. District Republican Party; past chair, Durham Republican Party
Education: B.S. in Mathematics, Washington College; M.S. in Statistics, Virginia Technical Institute
Robert Appleby thinks a city/county merger, which failed to pass the county commissioners and the City Council in August, is still worth pursuing.
"It was my experience that the current county commissioners did not support [the merger] even though they gave lip service to it," he said. "I think the people of Durham County, the majority of them, are for it, because they realize that we're too small to have two governments."
Appleby also proposes replacing school buses with city buses and expanding city bus service to prevent children from being unsupervised on the bus; developing charter school districts as well as individual charter schools in North Carolina; and encouraging a grassroots-level movement to repeal the state and federal income tax.
MaryAnn Black
Political Party: Democrat
Political Experience: County commissioner, 1990-2000; chair, Durham County Commission
Education: B.A. in English, Benedict College; M.S.W., Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MaryAnn Black stresses the importance of passing the Capital Improvement Program.
"[We need] to help get the bond referendum passed so we can fund some additional schools," she said.
Black recommends improving transportation, preserving open space, smart growth and improving health care. She also proposes helping children with emotional or behavioral problems to learn.
"If we can identify [and] address those children and their parents... early on, we can... free up the learning process for them," she said.
She also advocates attracting businesses to provide better jobs.
"When you move someone from welfare to work, but they're working in fast food with minimum wage, they can't support a family."
Joe Bowser
Political Party: Democrat
Political Experience: Durham County Commissioner, 1996-2000; Chair of the Durham Human Relations Commission
Education: B.A. in Public Administration, NCCU; Assoc. Degree in Business Administration, Durham College
"Education, economic development, crime control, transportation"-those are Joe Bowser's top priorities.
"[We need a] reduction in the poverty rate in Durham County," he said. "I equate that with
Bowser said attracting businesses would balance the county's residential growth, and reduce crime along with poverty.
He also proposed improving the county's existing roads to reduce gridlock and cited his fiscal responsibility.
"Since I've been on the board, we've been able to reduce taxes twice," he said, pledging to offset any increase in property values this year with a decrease in the tax rate.
Philip Cousin
Political Party: Democrat
Political Experience: Durham County School Board, 1996-2000
Education: A.B. in Religion and Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.Div., Duke University Divinity School
"How do we balance our booming economy with maintaining our quality of life?" This question, Philip Cousin said, summarizes the main issue the county commissioners must address in their upcoming term.
Cousin advocates working to increase the number of students who stay in school.
"I'd like to see a decrease in our dropout rate, closing the gap between our minority and majority students," he said.
He also suggested improving the county's infrastructure and attracting businesses to balance the increasing population of the county, and preserving open space in the county.
"I would like to see established very clearly an urban growth boundary so [we don't lose open spaces]," he said.
Ricky Hart
Political Party: Republican
Political Experience: Candidate for Durham County Sheriff, 1998; Candidate for Durham County School Board, 1994
Education: B.A. in Business Administration and M.A. in International Criminal Justice, Trinity University
Ricky Hart draws a major distinction between himself and the current county commissioners, whom he criticizes for spending too little time in actual schools.
"I'm proactive. I'll get out there and you will see my face," he said. "I will go, and I will talk to the maintenance person there, the bus driver there... and the students there, because they know what's going on."
Hart added that population growth throughout the county requires an expansion of infrastructure-businesses, schools, public water and sewer facilities.
"Prior planning prevents poor performance," he said.
Hart also proposes eliminating or reducing the county vehicle tax, or else using its revenues to fund youth programs.
Becky Heron
Political Party: Democrat
Political Experience: County Commissioner, 1982-2000; past member, Durham Planning and Zoning Commission
Education: B.A. in English and Retailing,
Becky Heron, a county commissioner for 18 years, thinks the county's rapid growth necessitates careful planning for the future, but she says its finances are strong.
"Durham County is in great financial shape," Heron said. "We have a good fund balance; we were able to reduce taxes [by two cents in 1998-99 and by one cent in 1999-2000], and this year we held the line.... We are one of very few counties that have a AAA bond rating."
Heron also said she would reduce the tax rate after property revaluation, and added that she does not accept donations from political action committees, or from individuals in amounts over $100.
"I have been practicing campaign finance reform since 1988," she said. "I'm independent; I'm not beholden to anyone."
Ellen Reckhow
Political Party: Democrat
Political Experience: County Commissioner, 1988-2000; Vice Chair, Board of County Commissioners, 1994-00
Education: B.A. in Economics, Boston University; M.C.P. in City and Regional Planning, Harvard University
Ellen Reckhow has three top priorities if re-elected: education, crime reduction and promoting "smart growth." She hopes to lower the dropout rate while renovating existing schools and building new ones.
"We set a goal of reducing the crime rate by 6 percent by 2000, and we've achieved that goal," said Reckhow, the co-chair of the Durham Crime Cabinet, which aims to cut crime by 5 percent more by 2002.
She advocates "smart growth"-preserving open space, improving the county's infrastructure and revitalizing downtown Durham.
"We need more sidewalks, more bike paths, more public transit, so people have choices under how they move about the community."
Tom Stark
Political Party: Republican
Political Experience: Chair, Durham Open Space and Trails Commission; Candidate for Durham City Council, 1995
Education: A.B. in Political Science, Duke University; J.D., Duke University School of Law
Tom Stark thinks Durham's burgeoning population needs to be balanced with nonresidential growth, such as businesses. "The most immediate issue is that the tax base is out of balance," he said. "Residential development is what causes sprawl and what causes gridlock."
Stark also proposes improving teacher salaries. "You can adopt a lot of programs, but it's the quality of your personnel that matters," he said.
He advocates fighting youth crime by cracking down on gangs and providing alternatives such as youth sports or scouting programs; supports rewriting the zoning code to encourage farmland preservation; and opposes "burying a tax increase" in property revaluation.
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