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Cary Town Council Coverage

A program to help people displaced by development has been approved to move forward. Stable Homes Cary received unanimous support from the town council.  

A STATEMENT, HOLLY HILL HOSPITAL SAYS THE FACILITY IS STAFFED APPROPRIATELY TO CARE FOR THE PATIENTS. >> NEW TONIGHT, A PROGRAM TO HELP PEOPLE DISPLACED BY DEVELOPMENT HAS APPROVAL TO MOVE ON STABLE HOMES. KERRY RECEIVED UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FROM THE TOWN COUNCIL. BILLY DALEY HAS THE STORY. >> IT WAS A PACKED HOUSE AT TONIGHT'S KERRY TOWN COUNCIL MEETING AT SUPPORTERS OF THE PROGRAM HELD UP. THE SIGNS SAY WE SUPPORT STABLE HOMES, CARRY THIS PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING DISPLACED BY THE LARGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE TOWN. >> IT WAS STANDING ROOM ONLY IN KERRY TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS PILED IN TO SUPPORT STABLE HOMES. CARRY PARTNERING WITH DORCAS MINISTRIES. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IMPACTED BY THE LARGE SCALE PROPERTY REDEVELOPMENT IN THE TOWN THAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS CREATING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PRESERVING SOME OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT'S ALREADY IS THIS EXISTING AND CARRY THE PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE ARE RESIDENTS OF CHATHAM ESTATES, MOBILE HOME COMMUNITY. THAT'S ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW. THOSE RESIDENTS FEAR THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO FIND OTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CARY. SO THEY'RE THANKFUL THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE PROGRAM. WE ARE VERY HAPPY. WE'RE VERY GLAD. WE'RE VERY PROUD THAT THEY HAVE TO HELP US OUT. AND, YOU KNOW, I STILL HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT WE ALL GREW UP IN COUNCIL APPROVED A 1.6, 5 MILLION DOLLARS THREE-YEAR FUNDING PLANS STARTING WITH $500,000. YOU'RE ONE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS. DORCAS CEO ANDRE ANTHONY SAYS THEY PLAN TO START WORK IMMEDIATELY. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON IS FIGURING OUT WHO DO WE NEED TO WORK WITH WHO HAVE THE VULNERABLE COMMI OR RENDER IS A SUPPORTER WHO SPOKE OUT TONIGHT. SHE TELLS ME IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADVOCATE FOR THE LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS. KERRY HAS BECOME A VERY DIVERSE COMMUNITY. WE LOSE OUR DIVERSITY. >> WHEN WE SIMPLY MAKE THIS A TALE OF THE PEOPLE WITH $100,000 SALARIES AND NICE CARS AND HOMES. >> IS THAT WHAT WE WANT? SO WHAT'S NEXT DOOR TO US IS NOW WORKING WITH THE TOWN OF CARY TO FIND OUT HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED. IF YOU OR ANYONE, YOU KNOW, IS IN NEED IS A GORGEOUS IS WEBSITE OR THE TOWN OF CARY'S WEBSITE TO FIND OUT

Stable homes Cary receives support to move forward  

Western Cary Town Council candidates Sarika Bansal and Rachel Jordan are vying for the seat in a runoff election on Tuesday.

MONTH. THESE STATIONS ARE PART OF DUKE ENERGY'S PARK UNPLUG PROGRAM >> VOTERS IN PARTS OF CARRIER FACED WITH A RUNOFF ELECTION THIS YEAR. THESE 2 WOMEN WEALTH WANT TO REPRESENT ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING PARTS OF CARRY ON THE TOWN COUNCIL NOW DISTRICT D RECOVER. IT COVERS ALL OF CARY WEST OF NC. 55 IN REACHES INTO CHATHAM COUNTY. IT'S ALSO NEXT TO THE FUTURE APPLE CAMPUS IN RTP WRAL'S MATT TALHELM ASKED THE CANDIDATES WHAT SETS THEM APART. >> WEST CARRIES TASK GROWTH IS SOMETHING TO RIKA BANSAL AND RACHEL JORDAN HAVE WITNESSED FIRSTHAND. THEY BOTH MOVED HERE WITH THEIR FAMILIES WITHIN THE LAST 8 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH THAT KIND OF GROWTH, THE COMEDY TO KNOW THE FUTURE NEEDS, BUT THE ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE. >> WE MAINTAIN THE HARMONY OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND THEIR LIVES. SO WE CAN'T JUST STOP THAT. BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE THAT GROWTH LIVABLE FOR PEOPLE IN WEST CARY SO THAT WE CAN KEEP HAVING A COMMUNITY HERE. I ASKED BOTH CANDIDATES WHAT 3 BIG ISSUES THEY WANT TO ADDRESS MOST IF ELECTED. >> JORDAN SAYS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONNECTING COMMUNITIES TO GREENWAYS PARKS AND TOWN AMENITIES. >> WEST KERRY WANTS THE SAME AMENITIES THAT THE REST OF KERRY HAS. AND WHEN WE THINK OF THOSE AMENITIES, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE SERVING EVERYBODY. BONSALL SAYS BALANCED GROWTH, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES. >> WE WILL BE ABLE TO ME TO THE THEY NEED THE FINANCIAL NEEDS OF THE TOWN IN FUTURE TO SMALL BUSINESSES RATHER THAN PUTTING THAT BURDEN ON THE TAXPAYERS. >> YOU CAN WATCH MY FULL CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH CANDIDATES RIGHT NOW AT WRAL DOT COM. YOU'LL HEAR THEIR PLANS FOR HELPING MAKE CARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES AND SENIORS. MATT TALHELM, WRAL NEWS KERRY NOW JORDAN TOUTS HER EXPERIENCE VOLUNTEERING IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND IF ELECTED BONSALL WOULD BECOME THE FIRST

Runoff election for town council race in fast-growing west Cary

West Cary runoff election: Bansal in the lead for town council seat

Western Cary Town Council candidates Sarika Bansal (left) and Rachel Jordan (right) are vying for the seat in a runoff election on Tuesday.

Sarika Bansal explains why she is vying for the District D Cary Town Council seat. She is running against Rachel Jordan. Election day is Tuesday.

So the, the first question is the easiest for you, just introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your life here in Cary. Sure. Um I'm a mom of a 15 year old daughter. I'm a businesswoman. Um I worked as a cyber security executive. Um For many years, I quit my job to give my time back to the community. Um So my life in Kerry is pretty much around my family, my friends and the service that I do for the community. I'm very involved with the, with the community at many levels. So, you know, that's my passion and that's something I enjoy. And uh my work is very busy too, but now since, you know, I've taken my time off from the work. So my full time is focused pretty much on meeting people, understanding what the concerns are and how can I as a constable, be effective in my role? And you said you've moved here about eight years ago? That's right. And what have you seen in those eight years in, in your district of carry what I have experienced in Kerry is Kerry is an amazing place. You know, the, the love was instant when we moved here. It was uh we missed our, we miss our family, we miss our friends back home. But then, you know, Kerry is home now for us. And um we made a lot of good relationships and we, you know, uh it's uh it's something that, you know, we, we a place where we got our professional and personal success um at a town level, what I have seen Kerry is transformed, especially district D, the growth and the the people that have moved from out of state and how entire district D West Kerry has come up? I think that has been pretty phenomenal and I, I've seen this with my own eyes. So it's amazing and a great transition to that first big question here of that area. District D West Carry is growing so much. You have apple right on the edge there coming in soon. What do you see as the biggest challenges that come with that kind of growth? The interesting thing is that our um the biggest strength is our growth, but that is also a challenge, you know, so we have to make sure that there is a, there is a approach, there is vision, there is a balanced growth in district D while we accommodate the future needs. But we also make sure that the existing neighborhoods and the people that live there, we maintain the harmony of their neighborhoods and their lives. What would that look? Like, what kind of infrastructure do you think the town needs to invest in? I think road expansions. Um uh you know, community center, parks, recreation, um classes. Um Most of the district d I mean, it is a pretty, uh you know, interesting mix that you see here with young families with senior citizens. And, you know, one of the things that really would help is like having some senior citizen focused places or, you know, some some things that we could pickle ball that we could bring or, you know, we could have some classes for the uh for the kids, you know, um Community Center would be nice having some collaboration with the school board, although that's not a direct responsibility of the council but having some say in the process or advocating for the for your constituents, I think that would be very important mentioning the senior population carries does have a growing senior population. What are some of the things you would support for for that population here as the town population ages? So uh there is uh you know, um definitely this community is uh is like I say said, it's very mixed with our senior citizens being very prominent. And I think, you know, one of the beautiful things about Kerry is that people want to age in place. So things like, you know, what we can help with is there is a program called healthy homes where we help senior citizens with fixed income to make sure that, you know, we town is assisting them with the growing needs and the prices and then, you know, there are things that we can do. I got a call from a senior citizen once and that was pretty interesting because they were like, Serika, I want to have some classes on district d uh side, you know, and we, we should have some sort of training programs for senior citizens so that they can come take classes and have some, you know, part time jobs. I thought that was pretty interesting idea. So that's something, you know, um something that we can bring forward once I'm in the council and um things like affordable housing for senior citizens. I think it is very, very important that we take care of our senior citizen community. Um One other thing that I think would be really helpful in the interim while we plan our community center, district D um most of the uh senior citizens, they go to Bond Park, Senior Citizen um uh center and then, you know, having transportation, having bus uh uh services, uh regular bus services. I think that would be very nice for them. So those are the things that I think, you know, we can bring in that that doesn't exist today. That, that actually is a good transition to another question I had about public transit here. I mean, we, you, you know, and especially in West Kerry people. Coming in and out of RT P. Those roads can back up, it can get a little congested. What kind of public transit system or investments do you think need to be made here as we are growing, public transportation will play a very important role in managing some of the uh you know, congestions and you know, some of the making accessibility and affordability, um you know, better bringing that affordability into uh into district D. Uh from that perspective, district D is a little bit expensive right now. You know, people find it a little bit expensive. Um So having transportation. So there is a, there is a very important company that we have to remember that every family, they can count it an assessment and there is about $1000 that is being spent to manage and afford a car for family. So, you know, if we can have good transportation system with more access, with more uh you know, make it easier for people to use. I think, you know, we can probably help families save that money. So those are the things that I feel that we can increase the bus routes, we can increase the services, make it more accessible, make sure that we have some weather related, you know, items that we take care of. Like there are bus stops and some shades, things like those when it comes to affordability, you know, there was a study, a housing study done for the town a little bit ago that said that uh I think 4000 rental units under $1000 were lost in in since 2010. And we know that that single family housing, the prices here have gone up. What would you do to help people that are struggling to find affordable housing here? Affordable housing is definite and housing affordability is becoming a problem in Kerry because Kerry is a magnet for Corporates and for people and talent. So I, you know, this problem is obviously something very, very high on my regard to discuss with the mayor and the council members. When I am elected. I know that there are some initiatives that Kerry has started. It is these are baby steps, but you know, there is something good that we have done in the town that project on Laurel Street, uh where 60 units are being um uh built in partnership with the builder. Um You know, that will be that will serve the need, but that's only 60 units we really need, you know, to expand our footprint there. And um the second thing is making sure that, you know, I would be a big advocate to relax the requirements for accessory dwelling units, accessory dwelling unit is a secondary home that if needed, you know, people can build over their garage and that could serve as one of the options that you know, could, could help us meet the need. Um Then I mentioned healthy homes um where, you know, people who need, who are struggling and they need assistance, like repair work to keep the maintenance up or meet the growing needs, like growing prices. That's something the program already exists and I will continue to support that, you know, with the councils, we're standing here right across from the town hall and we know that that is something that the future council here will have to decide the future of Town Hall. Do you support a redevelopment of this space here? And if so, what would you like to see here? So, um redevelopment, obviously, you know, it's uh something I don't think it is. Uh I think it's an idea from what I understand. I was talking to the mayor two days ago about this project and I don't think it is a very firm idea, but, you know, at the end of the day, we will have to really listen to what people, people really want to do there. You know, if people really need this redevelopment of really, you know, what are their ideas? I really think, you know, as a Councilwoman, I have to really make sure that every voice is heard before a decision is being made. So that's where my heart is. What would you tell voters as they make their decision here? Why vote for you in this runoff? Um I, um you know, the district d requires a strong leader that has a vision that can have uh you know, help build a strategy. How do you move the town forward, a leader that will prioritize people's interests over any other person or party's interests? I think that's very, very critical because at the end of the day, you know, what makes Kerry great is the people of the town and I want to make sure that, you know, I am that person who is helping them, give that voice at the town hall. Um Second thing is, you know, I'm uh I'm a mom, I think like a mom and it is very important that we put ourselves in their shoes before we make a decision. That's why I um I would be a better candidate for council. You also would make some history here. Does that. Uh I don't wanna say hang over your head here, but you do think about that. It is uh it is a proud moment for Indian American community. And um definitely, you know, we were at the cusp of making history on October 10th, but we were, we missed it by 50 votes. Um That's definitely an important aspect, bringing diversity to the council and making sure that, you know, we had that uh a separate, you know, um I could bring that perspective on the table when a decision is being made. I think that is going to be a very good element that doesn't exist in the council today. And yes, that would maybe making history in the town. And even in an international level, you know, Kerry was being discussed because of this race, which is a proud moment for me. And this is going to be my first question, but we got talking there. So if you had to say three biggest issues that you want the voters to think of when they talk about you and they decide on who they're voting for. What would be your three biggest issues for the town. So one is infrastructure, you know, town is growing too fast and we are not really keeping up with the pace of infrastructure, making sure that, you know, we are expanding our roads, we are maintaining the roads, there are street lights, there is traffic assessment done so that, you know, we can slow down traffic somewhere, we can increase some of the flow in some places. So I think that study is required and that's something I want to prioritize economic development. I am a business owner. So I really do feel very strongly that, you know, if we start planning for building our small business administration today, we will be able to meet the need, the financial needs of the town in future through small businesses rather than putting that burden on the taxpayers in 10 years. When the growth slows down, taxpayers will feel the pain of picking up, you know, some higher taxes. So I think if we start planning today, that is going to help us build that sustainability for the future in the smart and balanced group. You know, when we are growing right now, making sure that our environment is protected. We are, we are taking everything into consideration like schools, infrastructure and the neighborhood that's closer to the construction site. Like how are their lives getting impacted? I think that's very, very important for me. So those three things are very, very close to my heart. Anything else you can think of? Get out to vote because you hold the, you know, your, your, you can exercise your right and make sure your voice is heard. So getting out to vote is very, very critical runoff generally has a base now. So, um, I would request everyone to provide and excellent, a quick little shot as we stand here and sorry, I know it was a little colder but I, I, and like I said, I wanna make sure I hit all those same questions for everybody and also this in addition to what we were talking about there. But, uh, so, uh, the, uh, in eight years, what would you say? How would you compare, what when you moved here to today? What you've seen in, in West Carry, um, traffic has definitely increased. Um, schools are a little bit more overcrowded. Um, we do see that, you know, a lot of people are living here but, you know, that is a good thing because, um, you know, Kerry is a beautiful town. It's very vibrant. One thing that I feel, you know, that we really, I could bring to the table is bring the town together that part of the town and make sure that people who feel geographically, you know, isolated, we can bring that aspect in and bring more are an integrated. Is that one thing you do see with West care, I mean, it is, that's what I hear most of the time really. Yeah. Not, not feeling so much part of the, yes, the town that's, I mean, I guess as things get annexed in growth and all those things, it does because if you see Kerry, um especially West Kerry, it's um it's uh it's in Wake County but it is also in Chatham County and that's always like kind of a second child or orphan child, I would say. So we have to make sure that we bring them into the fold, we prioritize their needs as well as we are looking at weight carry side of West Kerry. So I think that's an important factor for me to make sure that I could bring the entire West Kerry together.

Sarika Bansal explains why she's running for Cary Town Council

Rachel Jordan explained why she is vying for the District D Cary Town Council seat. She is running against Sarika Bansal. Election day is Tuesday.

Just tell me first off a little bit about yourself, introduce yourself to the voters here and uh your life here in Cary? Sure. Um So I've had connections here all my life. My dad actually went to high school in North Raleigh at Millbrook High. His parents were part of the mass exodus that happened when IBM came to Raleigh in the early seventies. But my family moved around a ton. We were, my dad was an engineer and we were basically at a new plant every two years the whole time I was growing up. But my sister settled here, my brother settled here and eventually we came here to from the DC area. Uh So I moved here from Northern Virginia about seven years ago and very quickly got involved with the Democratic Party because that's something I've done off and on since 2008. I was actually in grad school at Clemson University in 2008 for the South Carolina Obama primaries. So I spent a fair bit of time volunteering for his campaign. Uh I volunteered both in upstate South Carolina and in Georgia when I was in that there. My I'm sorry, when I was in Clemson, my graduate degree is in English literature. So I taught English there for a while, freshman writing and then moved to DC and moved to the Northern Virginia because my soon to be husband was there and ended up getting involved in the wine industry there. Um I went to high school in Myrtle Beach. So I started working in restaurants when I was 15. And even through all of my schooling, I had kept working in the service industry. And so I ended up becoming a sommelier in DC. For about seven years. I worked at the Mandarin Oriental, which was an amazing experience. I love the town but also can be a tough place to raise a family. And with so many connections here, I, we moved down here in 2016 and I ended up living two miles away from my sister. So we bought a house and it's been amazing because we have family here because Kerry is so great to raise a family. It's such an amazing area, especially in West Kerry because we have West Kerry has so much diversity and so many people who have moved here from all over the country and the world and I love it. We're, we're standing of course here in West Kerry not far from the future Apple campus, right on the edge of, of this district. What do you see as some of the biggest challenges with the growth here in West Kerry growth is a huge issue. I actually live about two miles from where the Apple campus is going in and it's something I worry about a lot, especially since I've lived both in Northern Virginia, where growth is definitely a problem and an issue. But there's at least been a coherent approach to it where you have mixed use developments with apartments, condos, town homes, and then single family homes radiating out from them and where you often have transit going to a central hub, whether that is bus or metro. I've also lived in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, which was a very different situation. If you know anything about the northern Atlanta suburbs, they resisted any sort of development until very late in the game. And so you see roads clogged with traffic and I want West Kerry to be ready for the development that is coming. And I fear that we are not, I think all too often we've been developing in a way that's not totally coherent. And I want I want us to have a rational approach to development. I want it to be based on urban planning and I want us to be ready for what is coming when Apple comes to be here and all the growth we're seeing. I also understand in West Carey, we have a lot of residential neighborhoods where people bought into those neighborhoods hoping for them to be residential. And you're now seeing rezoning for massive apartment complexes that's challenging. And we also have a tendency to have either large apartment complexes or large single family homes. So I worry a lot about there being no middle ground in West Carry housing. I know my daughter is at Alston Ridge elementary school. She's in fourth grade and I mean, I, I love her school. I am in charge of the cultural arts there. So I'm there a lot working with them and I talked to the teachers and a lot of them drive 30 or 40 minutes to get here because you can't afford to live in West Kerry on a teacher's salary. So I think we really have to balance the growth that is coming and we can't just stop that, but we have to make that growth livable for people in West Kerry so that we can keep having a community here because if we are a place where our service workers, our teachers, our cops, our firefighters can't afford to live. You can't have a community that's structured like that. Now, uh talking about affordable housing and you know, there's a study done for the town that I think something like 4000 rental units under $1000 were lost since 2010. And, and we have seen those home prices, the rental prices even go up so much. What would you we doing when it comes to affordable housing? Well, there are two things that are, have already been on the council's radar. One is right now, we only even request 5% of affordable housing set aside and new developments. And I think we could substantially increase that. The other issue, we have a healthy homes program and that is an amazing program for keeping people in their houses, especially when you're talking about retirees or people that have lost a job that might have been able to buy the house but not have the financial wherewithal to do repairs or to stay in their homes. Unfortunately, it is now structured around the housing limits, the average median home price and the average median income of all of Wake County and carries both our home prices and our median income are substantially higher than that of West Carry. And actually, the current council voted against raising that percentage that we use to account for that. And I really think that that shows a lack of foresight and truthfully leaving our amounts leaving us at 65% of the average median income for Wake County for how we justify healthy homes and how we determine who gets help is really not paying attention to the data for carry because we do have higher incomes and higher home prices. And it leaves a lot of people who we could be helping in the lurch. And that also really, that affects our redevelopment because it makes gentrification happen way more quickly if we can't have people who have lived in Cary, stay in their homes. We talked a little bit about the senior population and in that. And what kind of things would you do you think need to be done to, to support that growing senior population here? I absolutely think our healthy homes program needs to be doing more. Um, it is not adequate right now with the way we have structured it, we need to be putting more money towards it. We need to have those minimums higher. And also we need to account for people, both seniors and as I was talking about workers in the community who are making middle income wages and it is quickly becoming true that you can't live and carry on a middle income wage. And I think that damages the entire fabric of our community with infrastructure. Uh You, you all know that in West Kerry, there can be a lot of traffic, there can be some other uh infrastructure challenges here. What kind of infrastructure do you think the town needs to invest in? We need, we need greenways, we need protected bike lanes and we need transit, West Kerry, all of Carry does a thing where we normally require greenways and or sidewalks when development happens, which is amazing. And I love the sidewalks in my neighborhood. I love that we do that. It's one of the things I love about Carrie is that we require these amenities, but I worry that sometimes we're so focused on those amenities that we then are not making them effective because if you have a greenway or a sidewalk and it doesn't go outside your neighborhood, you can't then use that to go anywhere. I mean, I live about half a mile from a massive shopping center called Parkside. They have movie theaters, Target Harris Teeter and yet I cannot walk or bike the half mile to Parkside because there is no way to get there. There is a crosswalk that was painted across 55. This is the highway with six lanes of traffic, but it is not linked to any lights and it's been there for four years. Um One of the things that got me into this race was talking with Laurie Bush who told me that when Parkside was built and the road was being widened, there was a proposal to put a pedestrian tunnel underneath 55 with a greenway leading to it and that other members of the council rolled their eyes at her. And even when I asked someone else about it, I was told that you have to understand. We thought you guys out in West Kerry were going to be rural and you didn't need things like sidewalks. And I think that's a ridiculous thing to say. We have the largest proportion of Children and people under 19 in our area, we have tons of different communities. We have people out walking all the time. I'm an E biker. We're very close to the tobacco trail and we have people out biking all the time and it's really not safe when you have kind of roads that people are going 55 miles an hour on and there's no protected bike lanes. Sometimes there's not even a sidewalk and sometimes a lot of times these gaps happen on very fast roads. Where you, I mean, I know I ride through a neighborhood to get to the American Tobacco Trail and most of the way from my house to the neighborhood, I can get there on greenways or in neighborhood spaces, but there is a 300 yard space on a road where people go 50 miles an hour with no curb and no greenway and it's really dangerous. And I have a nine year old often times I can't take her biking with me because the ways I would go are dangerous for her. The corollary to that is that we don't have the same transit options that the rest of Kerry has carry, runs the buses for Morrisville and Apex. But West Ky which is the fastest growing section of Kerry and has some of the densest building has one single bus stop and it is on 55. So if you don't know West Kerry is everything west of 55. So the one bus stop we have in the entire district is just on our side of that highway. What do you think when it comes to public transit should be done. I think we need to be putting more money towards our sidewalks and greenways. And I think West Kerry should have equal access to the bus rapid transit that Kerry is talking about with Wake County. I think it's ridiculous that we're getting skipped over in a lot of those conversations. We talk a little bit about redevelopment and uh it's not necessarily here in this district. Uh there's a lot of new development but when it comes to the redevelopment and the potential for the town Hall campus there in downtown and all the development happening there, what would you support with that uh redevelopment proposal? I'm really enthusiastic about the way faith communities, many of whom have large space down downtown have stepped up and are partnering with one wake and talking about redeveloping some of their space for mixed mixed use in affordable housing. I think that's a really exciting development. Um And I really want the town to be working with them as to Town Hall campus. I want any development to make sense. I think I worry sometimes that we are too eager to bring in new development. And so things don't always get thought through. I am enthused by the fact that we started adding uh requirements for native plantings because that helps a lot with the way development is impacting our environment. Um We've had a real problem with declining tree canopy in Cary. And I think that if we're doing a massive development like the town hall campus. I really want the town to have a lot of say in it. We already have a process set up for things like surveys and for people speaking back. But I know I have talked to a lot of citizens that feel like when they do talk back to carry their voices get ignored. And I felt like that too when I, sometimes I have had issues where I emailed or called the Town of Kerry and I got a one line email back and no other communication. So I think doing more to communicate with our citizens is really integral. I actually have a email link on my website and I have written back to everyone who has asked me questions. Sometimes it takes me a day or two because campaigning is quite, quite a thing. Um But I really think it's important that our citizens feel heard and I think that anything we do with town Hall campus has to have room for that kind of input. I think sometimes our town is so big and we have so many different departments in town hall and with staff that I think sometimes builders have to go through a lot with staff and we forget to communicate that clearly with the public when it comes to last year because I know it's cold out here. But the three biggest issues, what would you say? Are you the three biggest issues? You wanna tackle. So that idea of connected community that, that we have, we have to have more transit, we have to have more greenways and we have to have more amenities in district D you know, we've been supposed to get a community center for a very long time and people are only just now really talking about it. We need more parks, we need, you know, we have Morrisville has a semi pro cricket field and there's nothing in carry even though we have a massive population that are cricket fans. So I think that West Kerry wants the same amenities that the rest of Kerry has. And when we think of those amenities, we need to make sure they're serving everybody because we have this incredibly diverse community where I mean, I have friends who speak Telugu, I have friends who are from Poland. I have friends who are from Sri Lanka and we have so many different cultures that come together. And I think that is one of the things that's amazing, but I want that to be reflected in the way we bring amenities to our community. And I think those amenities are desperately needed in West Carry. The other thing is the environment. I mean, we, you look around, we're basically in a parking lot now and this is an amazing place. We're right outside a lovely local cafe that's uh run by Korean owners and sells, you know, amazing hot dogs and donuts but all too often. My neighborhood now granted it's a little 10 to 13 years old, but it's planted with Bradford pears. We really need to be thinking about using native plants, saving our champion trees when we do have development and working towards using all the new research about how important native plantings are. How important our water quality is to help with that. We also sometimes carry, has a real storm water issue because we have had 4, 500 year storms in the last year in this area. And that means that we have to rethink a lot of our storm water standards and a lot of our water quality issues. And the last thing is that affordable housing issue, the fact that we desperately need a place for people who have, who make middle incomes to live in our community. Um because I do not want to live in a community. I mean, you see it in San Francisco. I have friends who work in the tech industry out there and it's a nightmare. I mean, I know people who bought 1000 square foot homes for over a million dollars that hadn't been renovated since the seventies. And you can't have any sort of community. If you can't have people aging in place, if you can't have people's Children, feeling like they can buy a starter home there or feeling like teachers, cops, firefighters, service workers can live there. Final question. Why should voters vote for you. So I got into politics in this way because I was asked because there wasn't a democrat running. Um I have normally been somebody who works in the background, but I think that speaks to what I am in this for. I've been volunteering for the Democratic Party. I've been volunteering at my daughter's pre at my daughter's schools. I've been active in my community and I'm gonna do that whether or not I get elected to the council. But I think that speaks to my values that I want to work for this community. And I spend a lot of time doing that no matter what I mean, I've canvassed over 6000 doors and knocked, knocked on people and talked to people over the last few months. And that's just a much larger version of what I do every election season because I'm always out there trying to get people to vote and talking to people about what's important to them. And I think that says something about who I am. And the other thing that I think my history of working with local politicians, you know, I worked on Representative Yalu's campaign. Representative Mario Serrano was one of the first people I met in the Democratic Party here. So I have a very clear idea of what the town council can and cannot do which in North Carolina, since we are a Dillon rule, state and municipal governments only have the rights to control things that the state has given them, which means that sometimes our power is very limited and we have to get creative. But I think the fact that I've been working with so many local politicians who have done so much work to help this community means that I have a very good understanding of how the city government works and of how to make change. Ok, excellent. We'll probably get a quick two shot here and we'll get out of your way and let you get in the warm because it, it does get a little chilly here. But Philly for a long time, you said you guys moved here about seven years ago. Yeah, we, uh, yes, we had. So I've been working for a restaurant, uh, for, you know, at the Mandarin rental and I've been a sommelier and, uh, you know, once you have a baby that, uh, that got rougher, I worked for almost a year after my daughter was born.

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