Anna Linvill, candidate for Hillsborough Board of Commissioners
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Three candidates are running in the November election for two seats on the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners.
Incumbent Kathleen Ferguson is running for a third term in the nonpartisan Nov. 2 election. Her opponents are incumbent board member Robb English and challenger Anna Linvill.
Early voting in the nonpartisan Nov. 2 election begins Oct. 14 and runs through Oct. 30.
To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit co.orange.nc.us/1720/Elections or contact the Board of Elections at 919-245-2350 or vote@orangecountync.gov.
Name: Anna Linvill
Age: 42
Residence: Hillsborough
Occupation: Community organizer
Education: Master’s Degree in International Relations
Political or civic experience: Secretary of The Hillsborough Arts Council, U.S. Air Force veteran (Arabic linguist)
Campaign website: annalinvill.com
What do you think the town’s top three priorities should be? Choose one and describe how you will work to address it.
▪ Support for local businesses/local institutions.
▪ Planning for and mitigating increasing traffic including walkability/bikeability.
▪ Ensuring we remain a welcoming, socio-economically, culturally, and ideologically diverse community.
Some regulations are imposing undue burdens on local businesses, making it difficult for hotels, bars, and restaurants to host events, or requiring expensive facility updates that, because of pandemic shortages, have become even more expensive with long wait times for contractors to install. Because of these policies, storefronts are sitting empty for extended periods of time. As we have witnessed through multiple economic downturns over the past few decades, empty storefronts lead to more empty storefronts. We need to re-examine regulations that seem to be imposing unreasonable barriers and expenses on businesses so they can open their doors, especially during hard times. It would be sad if we regulate ourselves into a situation where the only businesses that can afford to be downtown are tourist town chains like the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (nothing against RMC, I just prefer Matthew’s).
The county jail, sandwiched between King Street and Margaret Lane will soon be moving to the new facility on Highway 70 outside of town, opening up an opportunity for Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough to collaborate on reimagining that space. I have heard some talk of mixed use zoning there. I would like to find a way to carve out a space in that complex to house both the Orange County Historical Museum and the Hillsborough Arts Council, with classrooms, historical exhibits, and gallery space. Both institutions are bursting the seams of the spaces they currently occupy, but need to remain centrally located, so they can continue to play a central role in Hillsborough’s identity and economic vitality. Our town’s fascinating history and Hillsborough Arts Council events like Last Fridays Art Walk, Handmade Parade, and Lantern Walk attract thousands of visitors each year. Housing them in one facility in the center of town would demonstrate our community’s commitment to preserving a sense of place as we grow.
What is the town doing right, and wrong, about development and growth?
Over the past 15 years, Hillsborough’s Arts community, entrepreneurs, and political leadership fostered a fertile environment for small businesses and artists that made our town a highly desirable place to live. We have excellent restaurants and bars, a lovely library, a vibrant arts community, plenty of green spaces and recreational trails, a beautiful new hospital, and a newly expanded water and sewer system that is ready to support predicted future growth. Our commissioners are cognizant of the increasing cost of living, and are doing everything they can to help longtime residents struggling to afford to live in Hillsborough, requiring developers to build units at a wide range of price points, so that we do not become victims of our own success.
I would say the town board and staff has done more right than wrong, but we are at a point where we need to get serious about managing traffic flows and planning for increasing pressures on our transportation system. Traffic lights are ill timed, and pedestrians are finding it increasingly difficult to cross busy streets safely with few crosswalks and sidewalks that start and stop seemingly at random. We should be looking at options like traffic circles that keep traffic speed down and reduce idling time. Getting cars off the road by building bike lanes, sidewalks, and gravel or asphalt pedestrian paths would help a lot, especially with school drop-off traffic jams and shorter commutes. Several years ago, we missed an opportunity to create a bypass that would have allowed interstate commuters to avoid stop-and-go traffic in downtown. In my view, it is time to revisit our bypass options. Pollution and traffic noise caused by idling traffic is only going to get worse as more people move to town.
I want to see a Hillsborough with everything residents need within a 5 minute drive or 10-15 minute walk. Our schools often send out warnings that students should not walk to school because there are no safe paths or walkways. Every year, we hear of students who have no choice but to walk being hit on the way to or from school. I have seen a study sketching out safe, walkable routes to school, but it seems very little progress has been made to move to the next stage in planning. Our kids should not have to risk their lives walking to school, and driving our students a couple of blocks from home to school is like something out of a Simpsons episode. It is time to work with the county and NCDOT to build safe, walkable and bikeable routes to school.
Lastly, telecommuting and distance learning are going to continue to be a huge part of how we work. We need to make sure our digital infrastructure is up to the task of delivering fast, reliable internet to all of 27278 in good weather and in bad.
How can Hillsborough preserve its small-town, historic character while meeting the needs of an increasing number of new residents and developments?
Our history, centuries-old multi-ethnic culture, architecture, and diverse ways of life are huge assets that we need to preserve. As we grow, we need keep these assets centered and have a clear vision of how we want Hillsborough to look and to feel. We should commit to preserving our local soul, connecting and expanding Hillsborough’s special feeling into the newer developments — with architecture and people-centered design that is beautiful and accessible to a wide variety of income levels. Developments and renovations should be built to last, reflecting Hillsborough’s historical, cultural, and rural heritage while allowing residents and builders to use modern materials, windows, and eco-friendly designs. I would also like to see a commitment between the county and the town to preserve our rural buffers and small farms, woodland habitat, diverse historic communities as we grow, so that we can ensure Hillsborough continues to be the charming and vibrant place full of local character we all know and love.
What skill or life experience do you have that would bring diversity to local government?
For the past four years, I have worked as an organizer for the Hillsborough Arts Council (HAC). As a member of the Executive Committee, I am very proud to say that we were able not only to survive the pandemic shutdowns, volunteer hesitancy, and financial uncertainty, we have come back stronger and more resilient than ever with a full staff and plans to grow. In early 2020, my colleague Josh Collins and I rallied dozens of local businesses, artists, spoken word poets, musicians, and dancers from all cultural backgrounds, to bring back Last Fridays Art Walk, reviving Hillsborough’s spirits and boosting our local economy after a very difficult year. The momentum and passion of all of those involved is inspiring a rejuvenating energy and collaborative spirit between nonprofit organizations and local businesses.
An Air Force veteran and Army spouse, I have lived all over the U.S., in the Middle East, and Europe, giving me the opportunity to experience and appreciate many different communities, cultures, and ways of life. Communities like Esslingen, Germany, have taken great care to preserve their cultural, environmental, rural, and historic assets, choosing carefully how to grow and adapt to changing times while remaining open to new ideas. Others have not, and are either deeply depressed and falling into ruin, or are becoming indistinguishable from other towns and cities halfway across the globe. (One of the most surreal experiences I have ever had was visiting an ACE Hardware store in Tripoli, Libya, with a fake Cinnabon next door).
Life experience is the best teacher, but I do have a Master’s Degree in International Relations, which really means that I have read broadly about political philosophy and history — everything from very conservative to very progressive thought. It is my view that philosophers and politicians are often very good at correctly diagnosing a problem, but seem to run into trouble when prescribing a solution. As a veteran and witness to our bipartisan follies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya (to which I had a front row seat), I feel strongly that ignoring or silencing the views of skeptics and those with whom we disagree leads to avoidable errors. It is easy to mistake theoretical and ideological posturing and gestures as actual good, but reality rarely conforms neatly to theory, and human beings do not fit neatly in ideological boxes. If I am elected, I will be a principled, pragmatic, solution-oriented voice on our town board, genuinely open to hearing what anyone has to say without prejudgment or an ideological litmus test.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 8:46 AM with the headline "Anna Linvill, candidate for Hillsborough Board of Commissioners."