The Easthom Page

I am thrilled to report that I have received the Hank Anderson-Bill Thorpe Breakfast Club Endorsement! This endorsement is very meaningful to me.

Here is a history of the Club as they have written:
“The Anderson-Thorpe Breakfast Club was founded by Hank Anderson, the first Black Recreation Department Director in the South in the 1970’s to help analyze and remedy the issues faced by African-Americans in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro communities. After Hank’s death, Bill Thorpe, who served on the Chapel Hill Town Council until his death in 2008, led the Club. The Breakfast Club spearheaded efforts to name Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, and to improve the pay and working conditions of African-American and Latino employees at the University, hospital, schools and municipalities. The Breakfast Club’s political agenda is a progressive and inclusive agenda that supports the State NAACP’s 14-point agenda, with particular emphasis on justice for young people in our schools, fairness in employment and housing, and dismantling institutionalized racism.”

Congratulations also to fellow council colleague Jim Merritt, Ed Harrison, and candidate Will Raymond! Also congratulations to Mark Kleinshmidt for the endorsement for Mayor.

Bill Thorpe and I ran for council together in 2005 and I greatly miss him, especially during these times that he loved probably the most, the campaign. While serving on council, he and I would get together for lunch and we would have lengthy discussions of the politics of the day, in addition to whatever else was showing up on our agenda. He would frequently tell me that I was “coming along” as a newcomer to Chapel Hill politics, and that I was doing a great job, BUT! I was still learning and he would give me whatever advice he had that day. He was a great mentor, friend, and above all else he had such a genuine concern and love for this town. We sat beside each other for most of the time we served together on council, and we had a good many offline discussions as a result, too. For the time that I served with him and got to really know him personally I garnered a feel for what he might be thinking about something and have been influenced every since. I believe that is what good mentors do….they educate, and they leave their mark. Bill left me with an extreme sensitivity and understanding to the issues facing the local African-American community. If I am elected again, I hope to remember Bill with my work for the issues that he cared most about.

Thank you again to the Anderson-Thorpe Breakfast Club for their endorsement.

I am very very happy to report that I have received the INDY endorsement! This endorsement historically has been very highly coveted by candidates, along with the Sierra Club’s, and I am truly humbled and happy that they have endorsed me.

I am also flattered and grateful for their statement about me: ” Laurin Easthom was the top vote-getter in 2005, and she has done nothing to dissuade us from supporting her since. She is a strong advocate for neighborhoods, and her well-reasoned, experienced approach is an asset. “

That’s a lot to live up to! but I aim to do the same. The way I approach issues about town is not going to change, but I recognize that times are changing. As an experienced council member, I will have the historical perspective, institutional knowledge, and established relationships that will allow the Town to weather the storms (whatever they may be), allow growth in a reasonable manner, aesthetically increase our commercial tax base, protect neighborhoods, and protect and covet our natural environment. From where I would like to sit for the next four years, I would like to listen, look at issues from all sides, and decide in the best interest of the Town as a whole.

I am also happy for Mark Kleinshmidt who received the endorsement for Mayor, which is well deserved. Mark and I have not always agreed on issues (we mostly do), but he has always treated my opinion with the greatest of respect. He is a true professional, never judging me as a person and always listening and trying to understand my position. He will make an excellent mayor.
Congratulations also to Penny, Jim Merritt, and Ed for their endorsements!

I hope I can live up to the fine endorsement, and I also hope to serve the Town for the next four years in a manner that makes citizens feel their voices have been heard, their comments heavily weighted in my decision, and feel truly a part of their government.

I am happy to report that I have received the Sierra Club endorsement! This endorsement means a great deal to me. Thank you to the Sierra Club. I was lucky to have received this endorsement when I ran in 2005, and I certainly do not take this endorsement for granted.

I have worked very hard for the last four years on the council to make sure that our environment is protected. One example: I convinced a large corporation, Duke Energy, to curb their practice of rampant spraying of herbicides in the power easements within the Town, which in my opinion, affected our citizens’ health, safety and welfare by contaminating our water and creating fire hazards of large dead trees. Chapel Hill has been the only city in the state in which they agreed to do this. This was such a big success that I was able to make a council legislative request to our local delegation of the general assembly to address this issue statewide, and sure enough there is a bill to curb the practice, with Verla Insko and House Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) sponsoring the bill.

Things I would like to work on include a Champion Tree Program in town. Such a program exists in Wake County. Large trees are “nominated” and if they qualify (by a certified arborist), are awarded a plaque as a Champion Tree. The tree is assigned a GPS coordinate to ensure its location and alert developers as to its existence, and is given protection for its life. If such a program could be incorporated into our Tree Protection Ordinance, then we could truly preserve many old, historic and beautiful trees that do nothing other than connect us to magnificent nature.

Thanks again to the Sierra Club for their endorsement. Congratulations also to Ed Harrison, Penny Rich, and Jim Merritt, and Mark Kleinschmidt for Mayor.