Gene Pease reflects on his record

Gene Pease is ready to get his personal life back.

Pease, elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2009, is not running for re-election this year.

“I had no personal life for four years, and I think that four years is a pretty long commitment,” he said.

He said it is time for him to channel his energy elsewhere.

“I want to focus on personal things with my business,” he said.

Pease is finishing his second book on capital analytics, set for publication in December. He is also planning to write a third book.

Pease is CEO of software and consulting company Capital Analytics Inc. and said recently his business has been receiving more work than usual.

And with his strong business background, Pease said he also hopes to help local college entrepreneurs develop their ideas.

If there was anything he could change from his time in town government, Pease said, he would have made the Chapel Hill 2020 plan move faster and would have tried to avoid this summer’s property tax increase.

Though he will not be a member of the council, Pease said he would stay involved with some town committees and continue to help the town.

“I’ll continue to be in contact with the mayor to help him and the council,” he said.

Pease said working on the council gave him a better understanding of the area’s issues.

“I didn’t have as much appreciation of the social issues of the South as I do now,” he said. “It’s been very satisfying.”

He said the most challenging part of this job was balancing the town budget and working with small area plans.

“Both are very controversial, and it’s hard to find a balance for people who want growth and those who don’t,” Pease said. “It’s very hard and not very fun.”

Pease is a member of the economic development board and during his time on the council, he helped increase development in low-income areas.

He is also a member of the Affordable Housing Committee and said his work with the Home Trust was rewarding.

Whit Rummel, a member of the town’s transportation board, said Pease is a strong supporter of public transportation.

“One of the great things about Gene is that he tries to take into consideration the entire community, which is really important in transportation,” he said.

Pease was also involved with the Library Foundation. Melissa Cain, executive director of the foundation, said Pease advocated the building of the new library.

“He helped get furnishing and new material for the library,” Cain said. “He was instrumental for getting the library moving forward.”

Though Pease said the council would not change without him, Rummel said Pease will be missed greatly.

“His loss will definitely be felt because he has done so much to help us move forward, especially in this tough economic time,” Rummel said.

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