Election season opens with a bang (The Carrboro Citizen)

Filing season got underway on Friday, with a flood of candidates throwing their hats in the ring for this fall’s municipal elections.

Mayors Mark Chilton of Carrboro and Mark Kleinschmidt of Chapel Hill both filed to run for reelection.
Chilton said this would be the last time he would seek reelection as mayor.
“I’ve really enjoyed being mayor, but I also think that after time it’s important to let other people have an opportunity to lead,” he said. “But I want to stick it out two more years and move us forward on the development of the Morgan Creek Greenway” and other issues, like the hiring of a new town manager and the half-cent sales-tax proposal for transit.
Kleinschmidt said he felt two years was a short time to be mayor, and he wanted to continue the work he’d started with the town.
“During the last two years, we’ve been doing a lot to prepare for the future,” he said, noting the town’s comprehensive plan in particular. “I’m hoping to continue to be a part of that as we plan for the next decade. … We’re right on the edge of completing the development of many existing plans for our future.”

Carrboro
Carrboro Board of Aldermen incumbents Dan Coleman and Lydia Lavelle have filed for reelection. Newcomer Michelle Johnson also filed for a seat on the board. Board member Joal Hall Broun, who has served on the board for 12 years, announced Monday that she would not seek reelection.
Three seats on the board are up for grabs.
“Over the past five years, I have provided leadership and innovative proposals in such areas as economic development, housing affordability, transportation alternatives, sustainability and social justice,” Coleman said in a statement. “I have worked hard to research issues, stay in touch with concerned citizens and forge effective policy in collaboration with my colleagues.”
Johnson, a Carrboro resident since 2001, is a clinical social worker, artist and yoga instructor in town, as well as a social-justice activist in Carrboro and across North Carolina. She said in a statement that she looks forward to engaging the citizens of Carrboro over the next few months on the important issues facing the town. Lavelle said she hopes to continue the local leadership she has established over the past four years.
“During my first term, I have established a reputation as a person who listens and makes well-reasoned decisions,” Lavelle said in a statement. “I work hard to be accessible to my constituents and colleagues. Further, I actively represent the interests of Carrboro in a variety of regional settings.”

Chapel Hill
For Chapel Hill Town Council, Jason Baker, Augustus Cho, Laney Dale and Lee Storrow have filed to run for seats. The terms of Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward and council members Donna Bell, Matt Czajkowski and Sally Greene will expire this year, leaving four open seats on the council. Ward, Bell and Czajkowski have not yet announced their plans for this fall’s election. Greene announced Tuesday that she will not seek reelection.
Baker, a part-time graduate student in geospatial information science at N.C. State University and a member of the marketing department at Weaver Street Market, is on the Chapel Hill Planning Board and has served on the town’s Comprehensive Plan Initiating Committee and Transportation Board.
“I am excited by the opportunity to serve my town and my community,” he said in a statement. “I hope to bring a new but experienced perspective to the town council.”
Cho, who ran for mayor in 2009, is chair of the Chapel Hill Transportation Board and a member of the Community Design Commission. He has served on the Northern Area Task Force.
“I bring experience, leadership and clarity of thinking to the council as we face various and difficult challenges in the times ahead,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to campaigning as we address and seek solutions that will mutually benefit all.”
Dale, who runs two start-up mobile application companies, said he started getting involved with the town when he moved to Chapel Hill four years ago. He serves as vice chair of the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission.
“I found out I really wanted to improve and maintain the quality of life here,” for everyone from students to older residents, he said. “I identified