7 - The Omniscient staff interviewed returning MAYOR CINDY PERRY on her recent appointment to

Page 6 The Omniscient

January 2022 A Chat With Pittsboro’s Returning Mayor: Cindy Perry

BY ETHAN WESTMORELAND DESIGN EDITOR

Tuesday, Nov. 16, PITTSBORO—Graphic Editor Ethan Westmoreland and Editor-inChief Grace Leonard met with Mayor-Elect Cindy Perry at Café Diem to discuss her plans and outlook for her upcoming term. What followed was an almost hour-long conversation about Perry’s perspective on Pittsboro’s state of affairs, the place of public officials in a community and the nature of governing in a small town.

The Problems Prodding Pittsboro The chemical contaminants of 1,4-Dioxane and PFAS, both carcinogenic, have been observed in Pittsboro’s water supply for years. According to a 2020 Duke University study, the presence of PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—is two to four times higher in the blood of Pittsboro residents than in the general U.S. population. This is an upsetting statistic to many citizens and served as a sort of call to action for the then former mayor, Cindy Perry. “This term almost means more to me than when I first got elected in 2015, just because there are so many problems right now; the water is such an issue,” Perry said. “It’s considered generally safe if you have a 1-in-a- million cancer risk because of a chemical exposure; we’re down to 1 in a thousand.” Mayor Perry, who happens to be the daughter of a chemist, marveled at the subject’s precedence in her job as mayor. “[Contamination] is such a compelling issue for people your age,” Perry said. “Because I’m 74 years old, what’s in my body is in my body; it’s probably a bunch of pesticides and herbicides from before we even knew they were dangerous... But it’s your generation and the people even younger than you who are looking at a lifetime of exposure.” But Pittsboro’s issues continue past the water. The town is currently experiencing a housing crisis, a problem emblematic of the country at large today. “The problems are already here, they’re already crying out to be dealt with,” Perry said. “Years and years ago, when Chatham Park was first coming in, there was a question at one of the political sessions about about what gentrification was going to mean in Chatham County. And to tell you the truth, at the time, I hadn’t heard the expression. I didn’t know that much about the whole process. But it’s here, it’s now. Houses in Pittsboro are going for so much that it is pricing people of even moderate income, let alone low income, out of the market. There’s so much to be done even for a town that only has 5,000 people. The footprint of this town is roughly 2 miles by 3 miles… but the surrounding area has a real stake in what happens here.”

Pittsboro’s Political Participation The 2021 Presidential election had the highest voter turnout of any U.S. election in history. But this increased participation in the democratic process was not limited to national campaigns. “We almost always come in really high–80-83%. I think we came in at 87% this time,” Perry said. “We have a really motivated community. That’s one of the things I love about Pittsboro; it’s a community that is agricultural, academic, and artistic. And the three of them together bring people together into a really studied political venue. It really is amazing how interested people are in politics.” The Pittsboro population’s continued investment in politics is important to Mayor Perry, especially that of young people. “It’s wonderful to have experienced people and people who have had great careers,” Perry said. “I had a wonderful career, 25 years as an attorney here in town. And even before that I was a legal secretary for a law group in Chapel Hill. But the truth is that we need young people and young people’s ideas to take on the next flow of things… So one of the things that I want to do is leave students and young people with the idea that ‘politics’ is not a dirty word. If there’s that much enthusiasm about the presidency, then why wouldn’t there be more enthusiasm about local politics? Because local politics is the most impactful to your everyday lives, and it’s more accessible.”

P-Town Pride Mayor Perry revels in the importance of Pittsboro’s close-knit community. With a population of just over 4,000, the issues of the small town may seem insignificant to some, but Perry doesn’t see it that way. She recounted a story from the 2018 Mayor’s Climate Change Conference, one where Pittsboro’s status as a small town was valued: “They called me before I went [to the conference] and they said ,‘We want you to be a part of a panel: you and a couple of other Mayors.’ And I said ‘Y’all, I don’t think you understand how small my town is.’ And they said ‘Oh yes, we do!’ So there was the Mayor of San Francisco, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cindy Perry, Mayor of Pittsboro sitting on stage talking about Climate Change in front of all of these people… The idea started out being ‘Well, what can you do in a small town?’ You can do small things that really mean a lot.” This experience left a lasting impression on Mayor Perry. “A reporter from The New York Times was there and asked me if I would interview with him after,” Perry said. “A little gal from Pittsboro. Incredible! So obviously, that’s in the scrapbook.”

Photo courtesy of Ethan Westmoreland From left to right: Staff Writer Ray Brock, Mayor Cindy Perry, Editor-In-Chief Grace Leonard, Design Editor Ethan Westmoreland.

January 2022 The Omniscient

Page 7 LIVING A MORE BY GRACE LEONARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SUSTAINABLE LIFE

In order to care for the one Earth that we have, we must all strive to lead more sustainable lives. While being completely sustainable does not come with ease, there are small steps everyone can take that makes for a healthier planet.

Cut Out Single-Use Plastics Avoid Amazon

Plastic and styrofoam are not biodegradable materials, and when they are no longer useful they tend to be piled up in landfills or they litter the environment. While society has become dependent on plastics, there are some that we should commit to cutting back on or cutting out; these are called single use plastics. Single use plastics include plastic non-reusable drink bottles, take-out utensils and containers, plastic bags, straws and some coffee cups. Avoiding using these items may be difficult, but it can be done if you motivate yourself and find reasons to do the right thing. Try opting for reusable bottles made of glass or metal, glass or metal straws if you must have one and reusable fabric grocery bags, and try to consume less takeout--ask for no utensils and try to support businesses that don’t use plastic or styrofoam to-go containers. Shipping and supporting big businesses can be quite harmful to the earth by furthering pollution. Most items in your town’s stores are already shipped in, and when ordering from Amazon, you add to that by shipping in a small amount of items at a time. Amazon is not the only culprit; all online shopping and big business contribute to the excess pollution. This is extremely wasteful and rarely necessary—it is just a lifestyle comfort. The simple solution is to only get what you absolutely need off of Amazon and try to purchase as many local products as possible. Purchasing your monthly needs, save for groceries, in one trip to a brick and mortar store rather than shipping each item one by one makes a bigger difference to atmospheric pollution than you know. Source Your Food Conserve Water and Electricity

Do you know where your food comes from or what’s in it? If you are not sourcing your food, you could be purchasing meat from CAFOs that could contain carcinogens due to how it has been treated. Fruits and vegetables also often contain carcinogens due to being treated with pesticides or proximity to another crop treated with pesticides. Food can also be grown in a way that contributes to overall waste if it was harvested in a non-native climate that requires more water to care for it. Sourcing your food is knowing where it came from and how it was treated. The best way to source is to buy local food that is in season, specifically at farmers markets. Also, ask the butcher where his animals came from, how they were treated and if they were given any injections. It is really important to avoid pesticides as it is harmful to the soil and to your body. Something you’ve probably heard all of your life is that you should not waste water or electricity. When it comes to conserving water it’s more about paying attention to what you’re doing; for example, don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth or rinsing dishes, don’t take lengthy showers and don’t purchase non-local plants that require lots of water to thrive. It’s also about mindfulness when conserving electricity; for example, turn off all lights when leaving a room, or if they aren’t being used, don’t leave lights on when you’re not home. If you’re going on a trip, remember to unplug anything that uses electricity that you won’t need, such as clocks, and pay attention to what kind of technology you use, including if it uses minimal energy or not—you can purchase energy-saving light bulbs and other technology such as programmable thermostats.

Boycott Unethical Corporations

While the decisions you make on a daily basis are impactful and should be as sustainable as possible, in reality, your daily choices aren’t the most significant factor in pollution percentages. Large corporations are the source of most of the pollution in our world. If citizens and corporations work towards sustainability together, then we will all live healthier lives and leave a healthier planet for our descendants. You can participate in improving the practices of corporations by writing to NC representatives to pass energy resolutions, boycotting these corporations and their sister companies, and working for these companies to influence their policies.