Look Out for Lynn »
Wheeler, that is. The former City Council member, voted out in the last election after her stance on the arena, is back. Or trying to be back, at any rate. So what has changed? Why should you vote for her now, if you didn't last time?
I can't answer that. But I can tell you about her platform. She's focusing on crime (more badges = less crime reads one billboard not far from my house), taxes and roads.
Do more police officers equal less crime? I don't know. I'd be interested to see the statistics there. Surely less crime would be a good thing. Feeling safe in your home (neighborhood, city) is important. But what really doesn't make sense is that we can't have more badges while simultaneously lowering taxes, leading us to the next point.
Her web page says that we need to regain our fiscal responsibility. Interesting stance, as she supported both the arena and the light rail projects, and she appears to also support the $150 million arts package for uptown. I'm all for giving people a second chance, but really. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me and all that. I'm not sure I'd buy this bit.
Finally, she thinks we need to fix potholes in the city. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we need to keep the potholes. I'm just saying that fixing potholes is probably pretty low on most people's radar. I can only wonder if the folks who advised Ms. Wheeler to not advertise last time are telling her how to do so this time. I don't think it likely I'll ever vote for someone just because they want to fix potholes. Are there really people out there who see this as a large problem in Charlotte?
Perhaps most importantly, her positions seem contradictory. More police and more road work will cost more money (hence, more taxes). Something is going to have to go. I'm not entirely against that, but what will it be that gets dumped? The arena and the light rail line are going to tax us for years to come (literally and figuratively). The arts plan, should it get passed, will do the same. And strangely enough, Ms. Wheeler caused all of those. We're supposed to buy that she has suddenly changed her position and seen the light, when really she has just shifted its focus? I don't think so.
