Led by Molly Sears, wife of Mayor Dick Sears, the political action group called Citizens for Holly Springs has placed campaign signs all around town that tell voters which commissioners supported the landfill. It would be built on a 471-acre piece of land valued at about $40 million.
"We want an elected official who is intelligent, forward-thinking not backward-thinking, who's willing to look at all the issues," Sears said.
Newly elected officials, she hopes, could reverse the decision to build the landfill. At least one county commission candidate has said that if elected, he would like to revisit the landfill issue.
“That's a wish or a hope, and I think it's time to move forward," said Wake County Commissioner Joe Bryan, who along with Commissioner Phil Jeffreys, is targeted on the signs.
"It just shows people with small minds think small. They are interested in what they want and not the rest of the county. We have 11 other municipalities that voted for it,” Jeffreys said.
In June, the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of the controversial project, which would be at Main Street and N.C. Highway 55 in Holly Springs. It would provide solid waste disposal to Wake County residents for 25 years, once the current landfill in northern Wake County closes in 2008.
Opponents, including Dick Sears, argued that the land would be better suited for other purposes, including a megamall that would bring revenue to the area and thousands of jobs.
Wake County Manager David Cooke said the landfill contract could be broken for a penalty, but that the consequences would go beyond money. A reversal, he said, could hurt relationships between the county and the 11 other towns that support the decision.
• Credits
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