"I'm looking forward to including all parts of the Chapel Hill community in my run for council," Kleinschmidt said. "I'd hoped for that from the beginning, even in my earliest comtemplations of running. I'm just thrilled that it's actually working out that way -- I can actually represent myself as a voice of the community at large."
Kleinschmidt said that as a resident and aspiring representative of the town, he still feels connected to the University through his recent stint as a campus leader. He said UNC students have been a strong influence on his campaign.
"I'm really excited about the student interest in my candidacy," Kleinschmidt said. "I couldn't be more thrilled that the student population supports the issues I support."
Kleinschmidt's campaign manager is UNC senior Bharath Parthasarathy of Atlanta, who served under Kleinschmidt in the 81st Congress.
"The beauty of Mark's campaign is that it is such a great mix of young adults and experienced individuals," Parthasarathy said. "It's exciting that a council candidate wants to include UNC students in his vision for the town."
Kleinschmidt said he would try to maintain cordial town-gown relations.
"The historic relationship between the town and the University has been a fairly good one," Kleinschmidt said.
"We have a fairly good model of cooperation. The University is dependent on the town and the town is dependent on the University, and I think that if we can understand that the issues that arise are important to both parties, the relationship can continue to be an excellent one."
Geoff Wessel can be reached
at vrooom@email.unc.edu.
