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The race for Cary Town Council's District A seat is heating up.
Cary Residents, a new political action group, is accusing council member Jennifer Robinson of taking large campaign contributions from developers and not reporting it until after the election in 2005.
"Mrs. robinson consistently supports developers over her residents," Cary Residents Treasurer Karl Thor said.
The group supports challenger Lori Bush.
Thor said incumbent Councilwoman Robinson hasn't done anything illegal, but he said 80 percent of the donations for her 2005 campaign for Town Council came from developers, some of whom are working on projects she approved on council.
"Residents should be concerned about whether Jennifer Robinson, a candidate for the District A Cary Council seat, has the residents interest above the developers," Thor said.
Robinson said the allegations are not true.
I followed the letter of the law for the campaign finance reports that were filed in the past," she said.
She also doesn't deny accepting campaign contributions from developers.
"The fact that I received (money) from developers is simply a statement that people who do business in Cary see me as someone who supports a predictable and professional government," Robinson said.
However, Robinson said she does listen to citizens, especially on development issues.
"I always talk to the citizens that are affected by a development and try to work to help the citizens convey their concerns over to the developer," Robinson said.
The District A seat covers much of Northwest Cary, where most of Cary's growth is happening.
The seat is the most contested one on Cary Town Council.
Including Robinson, four people are running for the position.
At the center of this debate is growth and how much, or little, there should be in Cary.
"I've always stuck to the fact that we have a land use plan and a land use plan is a really good plan," Robinson said.
Thor said he thinks the plan is not good enough in its current form.
"When you look at the land use plan, it is so vague in how you're supposed to structure the city," he said.
It will be up to voters to decide which way they want their city to go on October 6th.
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Comments
By Karl Thor on 09/30 03:13 PM
Raleigh Broker - Cary has a land use plan, but it is too vague. For example, the Davis and High intersection was supposed to be a "Community Activity Center" (CAC) which is supposed to be 500,000 s.f. of retail space. With the approved rezoning plans it is 1,000,000 s.f. i.e. the size of a Regional Activity Center. When asked, Cary's staff said the margin of error for a CAC is +/- 500,000 s.f. In other words the margin of error is a big as the original size. In addition, every developer asks for, and receives, waivers on size, buffers, run-off etc. I don't blame them, they are just trying to maximize profits (like me) but as a taxpayer this costs me money and dimishes the value of our homes. As Jennifer Robinson has been quoted "Growth is not an issue now in Cary. The challenge now is to pay for the growth that has already occured." Since she was a supporter of that growth ("growth will increase our tax base and keep taxes low..."), I would like to see someone, like Lori Bush, who understands that growth is expensive a priori or at least will listen to her constituents. For the past 12 YEARS Cary's biennial survey has said that growth was their major concern, yet Jennifer Robinson thought she knew better than all of us and ignored us.
By Promises Unkept on 09/30 11:04 AM
Smart growth...that protects our neighborhoods and quality of life and landscape. Not just ANY growth. And leadership that puts citizens first. After all, we live here.
By Raleigh Broker on 09/30 10:27 AM
Cary has a great land use plan for the long term, don't they? Has Jennifer Robinson tried to usurp that plan? Not taking sides here, but I know a couple of developers that live in Cary. Be mindful to not endure the slogan of welcome to Cary now go home.
By Time for a change on 09/30 12:58 AM
That's why I am voting for Lori Bush. She seems like someone who doesn't think I am just a "nuisance" in the way of "progress" by her definition.
By Promises Unkept on 09/29 09:23 PM
Ms. Robinson promised myself and my neighbors that she would relay our concerns over Park West to Morrisville leaders. Never heard back from her, even after repeated requests via e-mail & phone. Bottom line: we need leadership in District A that is responsive to citizens in that district. Not acknowledging the folks in your district that have very serious concerns is unacceptable. That is her job.
By Citizen of Cary on 09/29 04:05 PM
86%, 87% whatever. Remove the "questionable ones"..is it still over 50%? In politics that's called being "in the pocket of special interests". Good for Lori Bush. I want my representative worrying about the citizens, just the citizens, not certain industries' interests.
By karl thor on 09/29 11:57 AM
Voter in Chatham - Mr. Thor didn't file the complaint to the BoE. That was Mr. Van Kloempken who is not a member of DHH or Cary Residents. Broker in Cary - I agree - it is a shame that so many got lumped together in "the development community". I apologize that there isn't space to go into details. I actually think that most local builders, landscapers, and real estate agents (i.e. those not making millions on development) can see the logic of maintaining prices of Cary homes...it costs nearly the same amount to build a house, and the same amount of effort to sell a house, in Durham as in Cary. However, because Cary Residents, Citizen of Cary, and DHH fight to keep the housing market controlled, you all make more money for the same amount of work. It is a simple supply and demand equation...and we are "selling" Cary too cheaply...and using our tax dollars to subsidize developers who strain our roads, schools, and water. I would love to actually talk to local builders and real estate agents about how we can work together to acheive what I beleive are our common goals, rather than split into factionous "camps". Like you, I want Cary to have the highest quality of life possible. Karl Thor PS I actually was one of the few "regular" donors to Robinson's campaign in 2005 who gave money honestly before the deadline for notifying voters...everyone makes mistakes!
By Broker in Cary on 09/28 09:28 PM
Ok... First things first... Please tell me where in my post there was name calling b/c I have yet to find it. Secondly, Citizen... if you are refering to the data on davisandhighhouse.org in association with contributions made to Ms. Robinson's 2005 campaign... actually you are wrong. The site is claiming over 87% of contributions came from "Real Estate" not Developers but they account into that Land Planners, Engineers, Attorneys, Stay at Home Moms, Meredith college Employees??? None of these people have careers in Development or Real Estate.... you can't just lump everyone together like that just b/c they may do some things for Developers in their line of work or may be married to a Real Estate Broker??? This is pathetic!!!!
By Citizen of Cary on 09/28 05:49 PM
OH my gosh..I just saw that 86% of Jennifer Robinson's campaign contributions came from developers! Is that right? if so there is an imbalance there.
By Citizen of Cary on 09/28 05:33 PM
Broker...because developers and other people in the growth business have monetary interests that are possibly not in the best interest of the citizens maybe? Croneyism? And not taking money from someone is not "discrimination". Also please stop calling names, people can have differing opinions.
By Broker in Cary on 09/28 01:44 PM
Why would Mrs. Robinson want to discriminate against Developers in any campaign as her opponent Lori Bush is doing? I received a pamplet from Mrs. Bush just the other day stating that she would NOT be accepting donations from Developers in this election... is that not a discrimination, especially in a Town that relies so heavily on the Building/New Construction Industry? It almost seems like a slap in the face to the entire Real Estate world here, as a Broker in Cary I would never support a person that is making this kind of noise and discrimination on an entire sector of a Business that has brought SO MUCH to Cary.... it probably even brought you and Mrs. Bush here to the lovely communities you both live in.... such hypocracy!!!
By Citizen of Cary on 09/27 04:46 PM
Wait a second. "There are no allegations..just accusations?" What does that mean? I think Mr. Thor is simply stating FACTS. Which is essentially what I said in my last post.
By Verlin Youd on 09/27 04:05 PM
I've found Jennifer reasonable and a true advocate for her district. I have seen her respond to community concerns, listen and communicate effectively, and genuinely care about our quality of life in Cary.
By voter in Chatham on 09/27 01:09 PM
There are NO allegations. Just accusations. You, Mr Thor, are wasting taxpayer dollars by filing silly complaints with the Board of Elections. But you aren't worried about that. Just getting your name out there. NBC17 didn't air your further unsupported accusations because they are just that. Accusations made by YOU that don't prove anything you are complaining about.
By Karl Thor on 09/27 01:04 PM
The news is that Ms. Robinon's donors are/were involved in 3 lawsuits against the very residents that she is SUPPOSED to represent. Unfortunately, NBC17 didn't have time to air that story. The allegations are all verifiable - send an email to karlbthor@yahoo.com and I'll give you the evidence upon which they are based.
By Citizen of Cary on 09/27 08:20 AM
Since when is Cary growth not an issue - it's the third fastest growing city in the country? And since when is it not a factor in Cary's elections? I keep seeing these stories pop up about Jennifer Robinson in publications and commenters will say "shame on you" or it's a "dirty trick" but I have yet to see anyone refute the allegations. Our representatives should care about what their constituents say, not inform them that their ideas and concerns are without basis. I think this is why the mayoral election ended up the way it did. My advice to Ms. Robinson is - should she win - listen to the people of Cary, and act on their behalf. I for one, however will not be voting for her. I am voting for Lori Bush.
By Mike Jernigan on 09/26 11:13 AM
Does it really matter to anyone that does"nt live in Cary? Cary is their own little entity.Their not even a part of N.C if you ask one of them.They are all just a little better than the rest of N.C. citizens.I even hear their Illegal Immigrants hire legal immigrants to do the yard work. and before you freak out it"s mostly a poke at fun,and a little truth.
By Heather Johnson on 09/25 06:23 PM
Where does NBC17 get off calling that a news story?! Looked like an attempt by one of the opponents to get some name recognition in a crowded field. So is NBC17 going to present every campaign smear as a legitimate news story? And for Mr. Thor to make baseless accusations against an elected official who is serving her community with honor, all in the name of benefiting his candidate? Well, that says a lot about HIS ethics. Shame on NBC17!
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