Polls will be open Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for local elections in Mecklenburg County, including Davidson Town Board and mayor and the county’s three at-large school board seats. If you haven’t made up your mind yet about who to vote for, see our 2011 Voter’s Guide on our Election 2011 page for profiles of the seven Town Board candidates and two mayoral candidates. (Links below) Read the full story

Commentator Pat Scruggs is on one side of the Election 2011 debate in Davidson. But in a commentary on our Election 2011 page today, she sees opportunity for our town after Tuesday’s vote. Could the two main groups battling it out right now have a positive role to play – possibly even together – after the ballots are counted?

Early voting is under way and Election Day is just ahead, on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Read profiles of Mayor John Woods and challenger Vince Winegardner on our Election 2011 page.

Stay tuned for our Town Board candidate profiles, coming soon!

The Town of Davidson recently announced the launch of two new websites – a community calendar and a visitor’s guide and business promotion website. Meanwhile, the town also is in the midst of redesigning the current municipal website. The designs and redesigns are part of $20,000 in branding and marketing work the town is doing this budget year. Read the full story

Candidates for Davidson mayor and Town Board assembled in the church hall at Davidson Presbyterian Church Thursday night to answer voters’ questions on a wide range of issues, from the future of Davidson to the financial troubles of the MI-Connection cable system to the evening’s favorite topic: Whether candidates would agree to kill the current residential trash pickup fee. Read more and listen audio recordings of the Q&A sessions on our ELECTION 2011 page.

Davids0n President Carol Quillen (left) joined the Town Board work session Tuesday. With her was Ed Kania, the college's vice president of administration and finance. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By MADELEINE DICK-GODFREY
DavidsonNews.net

Newly inaugurated Davidson College President Carol Quillen attended the Davidson Town Board’s monthly work session Tuesday night, and got an earful about planning, revived talk about changes to the college’s main entrance on North Main Street, and plans for a commuter rail line from Charlotte. In a meeting designed to introduce the new leader of town’s biggest institution, President Quillen talked with local leaders about the importance of keeping strong connections between the town and the college. Read the full story

Carol Quillen

Davidson officials are hoping to keep strong ties between Town Hall and Davidson College, and they’ll be working on a new chapter Tuesday when newly inaugurated Davidson President Carol Quillen appears at a Town Board work session. Also below, info about meetings this week for the Planning Board and MI-Connection Board. Read the full story

In an election forum at Davidson College Sunday night, mayoral candidates Vince Winegardner and John Woods offered divergent assessments of Davidson and its future. To Mr. Winegardner, Davidson is a town of rising taxes and poor decision making that needs to show “greater respect and appreciation” for developers to achieve its goal of economic development. To Mayor Woods, the town has been “battered” by the economy, but has its “head up,” and is attracting “neat” new businesses. Read the full story, and listen to an audio replay, on our ELECTION 2011 page.