Incumbent Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle was re-elected in an uncontested race Tuesday.
Lavelle was first elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. This was her third uncontested mayoral race.
Despite running unopposed, she said she still valued campaigning as a way to interact with the community.
“During the campaign season, it still provided an opportunity to talk to all the voters about what we’ve accomplished, what the priorities are for the board, what projects are going to come up next and what we want to focus on," she said.
Lavelle said her next term will have a focus on long-term planning for the town.
“I think what’s really important for Carrboro is this comprehensive plan process we’re going to start," she said. "Currently our guiding document is ‘Vision 2020,’ which we created in 2000. Next year is 2020, we’re here.”
Among other things, Lavelle mentioned the 203 Project, a combined development including a new library and facilities for a radio station, as a priority going into the next two years.
“So we’re going to have a two-year process where we as a community kind of talk about how do we want to look in another 20, 30, 40 years – figure out where we want to grow up, where we want to be dense, where we might want to preserve space, where we might want to have some infill," she said. "That kind of conversation hasn’t happened in a while. It’s time to have that conversation again.”
Lavelle became North Carolina’s first openly lesbian mayor when she was first elected in 2013. This will be her fourth term as mayor of Carrboro.
Ros Schwartz, a Carrboro resident, voted at the Carrboro Town Hall on Tuesday.
“The people we elect in local elections inevitably start to build reputations and careers off of what they do here,” Schwartz said. “Inevitably, if they run for a higher office, they’re bringing the lessons they’ve learned and the experience of working in Carrboro. I also think it’s important to have a voice in the management of my town.”
When asked about what she wanted to tell the voters, Lavelle expressed appreciation for the community’s support.
“I appreciate the faith and trust that voters in Carrboro put in me, and I consider it really a great honor to be the mayor of Carrboro,” she said.
Taylor Heeden and Blake Weaver contributed reporting.
