Gardner Waffles on Environment for Christian Zealot Vote

Stormwater runoff – that poisonous soup of automobile drippings, pesticides, debris and sediment that pours off of developed land and into streams, rivers and lakes following rain – is a major source of water pollution in Wake County. A study done several years ago by the Wake County Watershed Management Task Force, a group created by the county commissioners, found that 51 of the county’s 81 watersheds have been damaged by development.

To address the problem, the commissioners last year accepted a plan to more strictly protect watersheds. Republican Commissioner Kenn Gardner, an architect who led the task force, told the Raleigh News & Observer at the time that the recommendations were made with one priority in mind: protecting water sources.

As a leader who has advocated for protecting the local environment, Gardner – who’s up for re-election this year – surely realizes that two of the most important tools at the county’s disposal are land-use and zoning restrictions. If anything, given the scope of the pollution problem, those rules need to be strengthened, not weakened – which is why it’s so disappointing he waffled on that principle recently in order to appeal to a local lobbying group that’s pushing for the election of leaders who “know Christ.”

Called 2 Action formed earlier this year as a result of the fight against Raleigh City Council’s decision to include gays and lesbians in its nondiscrimination policy. Among its advisory board members are Republican City Councilors Mike Regan and Neal Hunt, who’s currently running for state Senate in District 15.

In preparation for this year’s election, Called 2 Action sent questionnaires to candidates for various state and local offices. Many candidates declined to answer the questionnaire; one of them told Raleigh Eco News she refused because she believes it’s inappropriate for a public official to have anything to do with a group that seeks to blur the line between church and state. She asked not to be named, however, because she’s already faced decidedly un-Christ-like harassment for her decision not to participate.

One of the questions posed to candidates for the Wake County Commission was, “Would you vote to loosen land-use and zoning restrictions for church building projects such as building additions?” The question hearkens back to a controversy Raleigh faced two years ago, when North Raleigh United Methodist Church asked the city to loosen its watershed protections and allow the church to expand its campus near Falls Lake. The city ultimately denied the request.

Disappointingly, Gardner – who’s served on the county commission for four years now and has certainly had ample time to grasp the importance of land-use and zoning rules – answered that he is “undecided.” In other words, if re-elected he just might decide to scrap those rules in order to accommodate a church’s wishes. Or not. Who knows?

What’s especially puzzling is that, despite Gardner’s indecision over such basic environmental protections, he still won the backing of the local Sierra Club, which endorsed both him and his Democratic opponent, Yevonne Brannon. Ironically enough, Gardner’s Sierra Club endorsement appears on his Web site right above his endorsements from the Wake County Home Builders and Raleigh Realtor Association, two leading foes of stricter rules for development. Eric Smith, chair of the Sierra group’s political committee, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Brannon, director of N.C. State’s Center for Urban Affairs and Community Services, is a former county commissioner who narrowly lost to Gardner in 2004. She racked up a strong record of protecting the environment while serving on the commission, has been involved in many environmental and parks organizations and currently serves on the board of the Triangle Land Conservancy.

Brannon is among the candidates who declined to answer Called 2 Action’s questionnaire. But when reached by phone and asked whether she would consider loosening land-use and zoning restrictions for church building projects, she responded with a firm no.

“You can’t have two sets of rules, one for churches and one for everybody else,” Brannon said. “That’s illegal.”