| Viewing Single Post From: Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, July 3, 2009 | |
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| abb | Jul 3 2009, 03:48 AM |
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1177891.cfm Minister to challenge Councilman Clement By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun gronberg@heraldsun.com Jul 3, 2009 Bookmark and Share DURHAM -- This year's City Council race got its first announced challenger Thursday when a local minister, Sylvester Williams, said he'd challenge incumbent Councilman Howard Clement for the Ward 2 seat. Williams, a Durham native, said in a morning news conference that he wants to "reduce the growing disparity between Durham's neighborhoods," particularly that between his native East Durham and the rest of the city. The effort, he said, will require focusing business incentives on established local enterprises and on new businesses willing to hire people in areas where unemployment is highest. The city also needs to give landlords more incentives to rehab old and abandoned houses, he said. Williams added that while he and his supporters "appreciate [Clement's] service though the years, we also look at our community, and we see where we haven't progressed as other parts of Durham have." Thursday's announcement by Williams, pastor of the Assembly at Durham Christian Center on Bryant Street, came just days before the filing period for this year's city election opens. The county Board of Elections will begin registering candidates Monday at 8:30 a.m., and continue until noon on June 17. Up for grabs this year are the mayor's chair, now held by Bill Bell, and three ward-based council seats. Bell, Clement, Ward 1 incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden and Ward 3 incumbent Mike Woodard are all expected to seek re-election. Council candidates have to live in the wards they represent, but voters from the entire city will decide the winner of each of the seats. The election is non-partisan. Ward 1 covers central and northern Durham, Ward 2 the southeastern parts of the city and Ward 3 the western parts of the city. Williams is making his first try for elective office but has spoken up about public affairs from time to time. He's been a critic of the proposed East End Connector -- a highway project that would link the Durham Freeway and U.S. 70 -- on the grounds it would displace a predominantly black neighborhood. William also drew attention in the late 1990s when he urged the Durham Public Schools to stop teaching the theory of evolution. He argued that the theory is racist "because it teaches black students that white students have evolved at a far greater pace than they have," Another minister and potential Ward 2 candidate, Melvin Whitley, said earlier this week he wouldn't seek office this year. Clement is the council's senior member and has been in office since 1983. He was re-elected easily in 2005 but by a smaller margin, percentage-wise, than Cole-McFadden and Woodard secured in winning their races. |
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| Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, July 3, 2009 · DUKE LACROSSE - Liestoppers | |
2:46 AM Nov 28
