Chapel Hill mayor Hemminger wins a 4th term. Here are other town election results.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger won a fourth term Tuesday, carrying an early lead to victory over her closest challenger, council member Hongbin Gu, in unofficial election results.
In the Town Council race, incumbent member Karen Stegman also appeared to survive a tough election, taking the first of four spots alongside newcomers Paris Miller-Foushee, Camille Berry and Adam Searing.
Hemminger, a commercial real estate professional, earned 61.11% of the vote to Gu’s 36.15% with all precincts reporting at 9:40 p.m. Another challenger, second-year UNC law student Zachary Boyce, took in 2.48% of the vote.
The totals reflected votes from all 18 precincts.
Orange County voters cast 6,863 ballots in early voting, according to the Board of Elections. Durham County voters who live inside the Chapel Hill town limits also vote in the town’s elections.
The mayor’s race largely came down to a choice between two candidates who have had past support from the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town, which advocates for shorter, slower town growth that has limited effects on stormwater and traffic.
Hemminger and Gu, a mental health research and analytics consultant, both had CHALT support in previous elections, but the group passed on Hemminger this time, because she “has not shown the bold leadership we had hoped to see,” CHALT said in its endorsements.
Gu, who is finishing her first term on the council, is analytical and data-driven, the group said, and “is willing to take calculated risks to achieve a good outcome.”
This year’s election also was unusual because five of the town’s seven council members publicly endorsed Hemminger’s campaign.
In a joint statement, the members praised Hemminger’s efforts during COVID-19, on affordable housing, and to bring in new businesses and commercial development. In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, council member Jessica Anderson said she also worried that Gu would not work with the council if elected mayor.
Hemminger, reached by phone as she celebrated with family and friends Tuesday, said she was “thrilled and grateful.” Voters were really interested in climate action, affordable middle-income housing, and bikeways and greenways in this year’s election, she said.
They also expressed frustration with the pressure of growth, she added.
“I think people were willing to listen to the real facts and not the fear tactics,” Hemminger said. “We’ve done some amazing things in the last few years and we’re going to continue to do some amazing things to make Chapel Hill the type of place it really can be, that’s welcoming and inclusive and sustainable for the future.”
Here’s a look at the results with bold denoting the winners.
Chapel Hill Council
Stegman, another past CHALT-supported candidate, took significant heat for her June decision to approve the Aura Chapel Hill mixed-use project at Estes Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Signs posted at the intersection in October called the vote a betrayal.
CHALT withdrew its support for Stegman ahead of the race, choosing instead to support Rajendran and Searing.
NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro, which often opposes CHALT in pushing taller, denser, transit-oriented development and housing, endorsed Stegman, Miller-Foushee and Berry, as well as Hemminger.
Stegman said she was “honored and humbled by the outcome and really grateful for the support in the community for what I take as support for the direction that we’re heading in as a town and the issues that I’ve worked really hard on.”
“I never took anything for granted,” she told The News & Observer by phone Tuesday night.
Voters elected four people to council:
▪ Karen Stegman (incumbent): 20.22%
▪ Camille Berry: 20.10%
▪ Paris Miller-Foushee: 19.82%
▪ Adam Searing: 16.75%
▪ Vimala Rajendran: 14.34%
▪ Robert Beasley: 5.23%
▪ Jeffrey Hoagland: 1.77%
Carrboro
Damon Seils defeated his rival, Mike Benson, to become the town’s third LGBTQ mayor after a defining lead in Tuesday’s results.
With all eight precincts reporting, Seils had 90.25% of the vote to replace outgoing Mayor Lydia Lavelle. Benson had 9.05%.
Seils, a Town Council member since 2013, is a local and regional transit advocate, who recently led town efforts to improve racial equity and the criminal justice system. He also has worked for immigrant rights and LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.
The town charter makes the new council responsible for filling Seils’ now-vacant council seat or calling a special election to let voters decide, since there is more than a year left to serve. His term expires in December 2023.
Residents also cast votes for three council members, ousting incumbent Council member Jacquelyn Gist, who has served since 1989.
Gist expressed disappointment that voters chose Nowell, who lacks experience serving in town government and has only lived in Carrboro for a short time.
“It was a hard-won race, and life goes on,” Gist said in a phone interview with The News & Observer. “I’m proud of the service I’ve given to Carrboro. I’m proud of having made Carrboro a progressive community, and I look forward to other opportunities to serve.”
The results:
▪ Barbara Foushee (incumbent): 32.38%
▪ Danny Nowell: 24.82%
▪ Randee Haven-O’Donnell (incumbent): 17.63%
▪ Jacquelyn Gist (incumbent): 15.48%
▪ Aja Kelleher: 9.25%
Hillsborough
Mayor Jennifer Weaver ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election, securing a second term in office with 96.81% of the vote. Voters cast 33 ballots for write-in candidates, results showed.
Hillsborough voters, with all four precincts reporting, also elected two members to the town’s Board of Commissioners:
▪ Robb English (incumbent): 40.47%
▪ Kathleen Ferguson (incumbent): 43.68%
▪ Anna Linvill: 14.96%
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 8:57 PM.
