Chapel Hill council member steps down before her term ends. Here’s why.
Karen Stegman will step down from her Chapel Hill Town Council seat six months before her term ends, she announced Thursday.
The decision, effective June 27, comes two weeks after an anonymous tip to The News & Observer raised questions about her family’s purchase of a home in Carrboro last year and the pending sale of their home in Chapel Hill.
Stegman, a Chapel Hill native who is serving her eighth year as a council member, had announced May 12 that she would not run for re-election. She cited several accomplishments during her tenure, from building and preserving affordable housing to protecting LGBTQ+ rights, and acting to stem climate change and systemic racism in policing.
Mayor Jess Anderson praised Stegman and her service Thursday in a Facebook post, saying “it’s just who she is.”
“She has fought hard for the most vulnerable, both from the dais and behind the scenes, be it advocating for affordable housing funding in our town budget to helping set up cold weather cots at churches for our unhoused neighbors,” Anderson said. “She has dedicated many hours and years to [Chapel Hill] and I am thankful that she will be just down the road.”
Stegman told The N&O on May 28 that she was still living at least half the time at her Chapel Hill home. State law is vague, but allows an elected official to still serve if they live in a town or jurisdiction at least half the time and are qualified to vote there.
The Carrboro home was rented out last year, she said.
In a blog post Thursday, Stegman said she changed her mind, so as to not “create any potential for distractions or be a source of concern for the town I have called home for most of my life.” She noted the council will soon head into its summer break, making this a good time to step away before the municipal election season starts in July.
State law allows a town board to fill a vacancy if the election is more than 90 days away, but the council won’t return until September.
The move to Carrboro is the best decision for her family, Stegman told The N&O in May. The sale of her 2,857-square-foot, four-bedroom home in Chapel Hill’s Booker Creek neighborhood is still pending, according to real estate listings. The asking price is $750,000.
“This decision comes after deep reflection and with immense gratitude for the opportunity to serve the community that has shaped me,” Stegman said. “I feel both sad and proud as my service on the Council comes to a slightly premature end.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 9:42 AM.
