Hillsborough mayor won’t seek re-election, calls decision ‘right for me and my family’
Hillsborough Mayor Jennifer Weaver will not seek re-election in November, becoming the second of three Orange County mayors to announce their retirement this month.
On April 19, Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils announced his plan to also step down when his term ends in December.
The filing period for the Nov. 7 election will open in July.
Weaver served six years as a Hillsborough town commissioner before she was elected mayor in 2019, succeeding Mayor Tom Stevens. Her current term will end in December.
The decision to step down is the “right one for me and my family,” she said in a release Thursday morning.
“Serving the community in this capacity is a tremendous honor and responsibility,” Weaver said. “In the time remaining in my term, I will be continuing the work already in motion and making every effort to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition to the next phase of town leadership.”
Fast-growing town
Hillsborough is Orange County’s fastest-growing town, experiencing a 58% growth in population between 2010 and 2020, Census data showed. The town has thousands of new homes in the pipeline and commercial projects pending on the outskirts of town.
Over the last decade, Weaver said, she and others have worked to expand the popular Riverwalk greenway, upgrade downtown sidewalks and add outdoor dining, secure more affordable housing, and guide residents and businesses through the pandemic.
The town is about to start construction of its Amtrak train station off South Churton Street and is completing work on a Comprehensive Sustainability Plan aimed at guiding development and meeting the town’s goal of transitioning to 100% clean energy.
“There is so much more I could name, much of it the unseen work that doesn’t produce headlines, but is part of the oft-cited ‘taking care of what we’ve got’ ethos that is at the root of what makes Hillsborough a wonderful place to live, work, and play,” Weaver said.
“There remains ample work to be done, which is the part that makes this decision difficult. But strong communities are never dependent on any one person to thrive, and I am at peace knowing Hillsborough has so many smart, caring, dedicated people in our government and in our town to carry us forward well into the future.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 8:37 AM.
