< Previous page

"There's a continuing debate about growth, but Cary has proved that growth is a natural part of a healthy economy," the retired banker said. "There is always an element of a community that takes a contrarian viewpoint and condemns the very thing that created the quality of life that they moved here for and enjoy."

The mayor says the town has invested almost half a billion dollars in roads, parks, water lines and other infrastructure under his leadership.

Reducing development fees has drawn greater private investment, and the town is on sounder financial footing, he says. And its relationships with surrounding communities is much healthier than it was under Lang, he says.

"Cary 20 years from now, even if it's half-again as big as it is now, will look a lot like Cary does now because we're going to insist on good planning and high quality," McAlister said.

If only, argues Weinbrecht.

Because Cary's growth has accelerated too much, he says, the town's quality of life is suffering.

"It's time to stop the pendulum and manage growth appropriately," said Weinbrecht, 51, a SAS software programmer. "When you're growing at 7 or 8 percent a year, there's no way you can keep up with roads, schools and water, unless taxes are high. It's not so much the growth rate -- it's the infrastructure to keep up with it."

Weinbrecht hopes his word-of-mouth support can overcome McAlister's 5-to-1 campaign finance advantage. As of late September, the incumbent mayor had raised almost $160,000 compared with $32,000 for his challenger.

"It's going to be a grass-roots effort, not through mailers and TV ads," Weinbrecht said.

Why? He has little choice.

"I haven't got a dime from a developer," he said.

(Cary News staff writer Adam Arnold contributed to this report.)

< Previous page