Styles clash in Cary contest

CARY -- Mayoral races in this fast-growing town have swung back and forth for a decade over one issue: how to manage development.

This year, the pendulum stopped. The slow economy has muted the discussion of new homes and shopping centers.

But what has emerged in Cary, Wake County's second-biggest municipality, is a more nuanced fight over leadership styles between the town's mayoral candidates. It will be settled when voters go the polls on Tuesday.

Incumbent Harold Weinbrecht used an upset victory four years ago to tighten the town's management of new growth. His predecessor, Ernie McAlister, almost doubled the town's growth rate during his term.

Weinbrecht's challenger this year, Michelle Muir, has centered her campaign on what she says is her superior ability to act as the town's ambassador, only occasionally attacking the mayor's record or beliefs.

The result: Two candidates running opposite tracks, focused on different topics and crossing paths only to parry the other's strikes.

Muir, who is an independent marketing consultant, has tried to prove the mayor is unavailable to residents and local leaders. She said she would have more conversations, bring more ideas and accept more appointments than does Weinbrecht.

"If you elect me, I'm going to be there with you on the job as my sole priority," Muir told voters last week. "I will be accessible and have ideas on how to improve our government."

Muir's challenge, and Weinbrecht's asset, is the fact that people are fairly content in Cary right now, whether or not the town's success is the mayor's doing. Cary boasts the lowest tax rate in the county, an unemployment rate half the state's, sizeable surpluses and several hundred new, high-paying jobs.

Weinbrecht, a one-term incumbent, is campaigning on Cary's fiscal health and downtown revitalization efforts.

He helped ensure surpluses, he said, by voting to delay dozens of capital projects, and he jumpstarted downtown, he argued, by funding the Cary Arts Center with $12 million cash during the recession, when town staff recommended delaying the project.

"Four years ago, I promised that Cary citizens' concerns would be a top priority, that I would have an open and transparent government, that I would balance economic needs with development needs," he said at a candidate forum last week. "I've done that."

Points, counterpoints

The race, despite its personal focus, has also drawn philosophical distinctions between the candidates. The challenger, a Republican, put a soft focus on the importance of small businesses and limited government.

While she doesn't oppose the town's recent spending on downtown properties, for example, Muir said that private investment will be far more important to revitalization.

Weinbrecht, a Democrat, is quicker to discuss the need for town investment in downtown cultural centers and street beautification projects, which he said will attract customers and businesses.

A recent question about partisanship illustrated another difference.

Weinbrecht told a room of retirees that he is a Democrat with many Republican traits. Muir fully embraced the GOP.

"I've been active in the party for about three years, ever since President Obama got elected," she said, raising her eyebrows to a round of applause.

Funding advantage

Muir held a strong financial advantage as the endgame approached. By Sept. 26 she had raised about $34,000 to his $16,000, reports show.

She has raised money from more sources and secured larger individual donations.

Her largest donations included the state-mandated maximum of $4,000 from the N.C. Home Builders Association committee, and $3,500 from the N.C. Realtors Political Action Committee.

The candidates have spun different stories from the numbers. Muir said the donations are votes of confidence. Her fundraising prowess is a reflection of her ability to make connections, she said.

Weinbrecht blames his financial handicap, in part, on poor relations with builders, real-estate agents and developers. He argued that by taking their help Muir proved she would unlock the gates for unchecked growth.

Muir dismissed the argument and said she had no immediate plans for changes to growth policies development fees. She would listen to all members of the community, she said.

Mike Carpenter, a vice president for the N.C. Home Builders Association, said the organization funds candidates it believes will help the housing industry.

"It's one thing to say you support homeownership," he said. "It's another to oppose fees and other sorts of regulatory burdens that make it then impossible for folks to qualify to buy a home.

But the money does not require candidates' pledges or promises, he said.

Muir does not have a long public record on development issues. She joined the town's Planning and Zoning Board two years ago, but the group has reviewed only a few major projects lately, according to chairman Al Swanstrom.

Muir's most notable vote came on a controversial proposal for high-density apartments that was vociferously opposed by its neighbors. Like Weinbrecht, she ultimately joined a minority vote against the proposal, though she had voted in its favor on a different measure months earlier.

"I don't know that there is anybody that has been unduly influenced," said Swanstrom, a registered Democrat.

At a recent forum Muir downplayed Weinbrecht's role in the town's recent performance as she tried to shift the focus to her and Weinbrecht's leadership styles.

"We all know that Cary's employees keep the town running extremely well," she said.