Chilton sails into his third term as mayor

A few minutes before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Mark Chilton set aside his beer and pizza to declare himself the winner of a third term as mayor of Carrboro.

“I think I’ll go ahead and declare victory,” he told the group of family and friends clustered around a laptop in a corner of Jessee’s Coffee and Bar. It was expected.

Several precincts were still reporting results, but Chilton was already ahead with more than 70 percent of the vote.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue for another two years,” he said.

Chilton, who has served as mayor since 2005, ended up with 1,658 votes ­— 72.06 percent of the total — to defeat candidates Amanda Ashley and Brian Voyce.

Voyce, who also ran against Chilton in 2007, came in a distant second with 19.56 percent of the vote. Ashley received 7.43 percent.

Chilton — whose children updated him with results from other local races after his announcement — said his first action probably will be to help the Carrboro Board of Aldermen fill a vacant seat.

Chilton touted environmental projects and plans for economic development during the campaign, as well as the strength of his leadership experience in Carrboro.

David Mason, 40, a technological consultant from Carrboro, announced Monday on Twitter that he would vote for Chilton.

Mason said Chilton has demonstrated a commitment to helping Carrboro maintain its character as the town grows.

“I like the way that Carrboro has grown over the last few years,” Mason said in an interview Monday. “I don’t really see the two challengers acknowledging that.”

Ashley, who proposed capping the town’s population at 25,000, didn’t seem fazed by the news that she’d lost to Chilton.

 “My whole attitude has been, ‘I will be happy if I win and relieved if I don’t,’” said Ashley, who went to the Orange County Social Club to hear the election results. “The thing about new ideas is that other people have to get on board.

“But now that means I can do something else.”

Voyce, who was out of town on business Tuesday, could not be reached for comment.

Chilton also said during the campaign that he has improved the town’s relationship with Chapel Hill, reducing what he calls Carrboro’s “little-brother complex.”

Chilton said he’ll soon begin working with the Chapel Hill Town Council to prevent traffic accidents at the intersection of Merritt Mill Road and Franklin Street.

The N.C. Board of Transportation has identified that intersection as particularly prone to accidents, Chilton said.

He said the towns will consider building a traffic circle or changing the stoplights to solve the problem.

He also said he wants to make Carrboro a safer community for walking and biking.

Chilton said he looks forward to working with Chapel Hill mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt. The two have known each other since they were students together at UNC.



Staff writer Seth Crawford contributed reporting.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.