Stephen Diehl identifies three issues as the pillars of his campaign to unseat incumbent Mark Stohlman: representative government, responsible growth and fiscal responsibility.

He's particularly concerned about the first one, stressing "representative" in a way that suggests a lack of confidence that the current council possesses that characteristic.

"The town sets up a lot of committees and procedures to get citizen input," Diehl said. "But when it comes down to it, the town often just goes in its own direction."

Diehl says he'll be a stronger advocate for the town. "Listening to citizens and seeking out and doing what they want should be of utmost importance," he said.

On taxes: Diehl said he was one of the principal organizers of a group of 200 citizens who rallied outside of Town Hall last year to protest a proposed 19 percent tax hike.

The measure failed. He thinks Morrisville's current tax rate "could actually be much lower" if town leaders did a better job of managing expenditures. ... The last thing people need in this down economy is a tax increase."

On Growth: Morrisville has done a poor job of balancing growth with infrastructure needs, Diehl said. "There has to be infrastructure in place to support development, but ours is staying static," he said.

More important to Diehl is the balance the town strikes between residential and commercial development. The town's tax base has grown as massive office and industrial parks have sprouted.

"People move here for the residences," Diehl said. "... Commercial entities change the character of the town and bring in a lot of traffic that our roads can't handle.

"People don't want to see their property values diminished by putting a major shopping center next to their neighborhood, which can't handle it."

On Transportation: Diehl said Morrisville needs to pay greater attention to its citizens' wants regarding roads. He pointed to N.C. 54 as an example.

"N.C. 54 is the backbone of the town and is a two-lane road," Diehl said. "... I have said repeatedly in the past that the major transportation problem in Morrisville is N.C. 54 being two lanes," he said. "We need this to be expanded to reduce congestion."