By Gregory Childress
gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645
Chapel Hill -- Tonight, the 10 applicants seeking to replace former town councilman Bill Strom will get their shots to make lasting impressions on the newly seated council, which could make a decision on the vacant post on Monday.
The applicants will have 3 to 5 minutes each to deliver their best sales pitches during a council session scheduled to begin at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
"For me, I think it's important to consider an applicant's presentation and identify someone who brings a voice that's missing," Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said Tuesday.
Kleinschmidt has said that racial diversity will be a strong consideration when he considers the 10 applicants, two of whom are African-American, including Aaron Shah.
"I think there needs to be diversity and a reflection of the different cultures in our community," said Shah.
New council member Penny Rich said it is important that the council selects someone who has been involved and is ready to go to work. And she agreed with Kleinschmidt and Shah that adding African-American representation should be a consideration.
"I also think we should seriously consider filling it with an African American," Rich said. "It's important to make that voice heard."
The council hasn't been without black representation since 1953. It lost its lone black member when Jim Merritt lost his election bid in November.
Merritt had been appointed to the council a year ago to replace another African-American, Bill Thorpe, who died in September 2008.
Also at issue will be the matter of the fifth-place finisher in the November election. Some citizens have petitioned the council to appoint the person who finished fifth because they believe it would be akin to the citizens electing Strom's replacement.
Matt Polhman, who finished fifth in the race for four council seats, is one of the 10 applicants vying for the appointment. Polhman has said that he thinks he should receive the appointment.
Meet the applicants:
n Lee M. Pavao of 307 North Estes Drive was elected to Town Council in 1993 and served eight years. He was mayor pro tem for two years, from December 1999 to December 2001.
n Jon DeHart of 102 Larkspur Way was an unsuccessful candidate for Town Council in the past municipal election. He is the branch manager of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage office in Durham.
n Matt W. Pohlman of 104 Colburn Point finished fifth in a four-seat race for Town Council in the Nov. 3 Municipal Election. He is a CPA and financial adviser with Franklin Street Partners and was president of the board of directors of the Mental Health Association in Orange County for six years.
n Will Raymond of 209 Mt. Bolus Road, a software engineer, was a Town Council candidate in the municipal election. He's a community activist who has run for council on two other occasions.
n Joe Capowski of 404 Coolidge St., served on Town Council from 1991-1999, including two years as mayor pro tem.
n H. Brock Page of 111 Cloister Court is a Chapel Hill native and local attorney.
n Joshua R. Ravitch of 402 Larkspur Way is a strategic consultant for the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation and former scientist for GlaxoSmithKline.
n Donna Bell of 611 Craig St. is a member of the town's planning board, EmPowerment board of directors and the town's visioning task force. She is one of two African Americans seeking to fill the vacancy.
n Aaron Daimon Shah of 605 Nunn St., is an assistant high school basketball coach at Chapel Hill High School. He also works in UNC coach Roy Williams' summer basketball camps. Shah ran for council four years ago but dropped out after a family illness.
n Jason Baker of 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is a member of the planning board. He works in the marketing department of Weaver Street Market.
