4 Local Officials Prepare to Step Down, Move On

Four local officials are stepping down from their elected positions this week and looking toward future goals.

Chapel Hill will inaugurate its newly elected mayor and Town Council members at 7 p.m. today at the Chapel Hill Town Hall. Carrboro's inauguration is set for Tuesday.

Mayor Rosemary Waldorf and council members Lee Pavao and Joyce Brown will leave office.

Pavao will be ending a 15-year career in local politics after losing a recent bid for mayor. Pavao said his prominence as a council member and experience as a businessman have prompted local groups to request his membership. "I've had lots of people call me about being in this group or the other, but I've said I'm going to devote my time to the Ronald McDonald House and the Childhood Trust," he said.

The Ronald McDonald House is a nonprofit organization that provides housing for families of seriously ill children who come to UNC Hospitals. The Childhood Trust is a fund-raising group that solicits money for mistreated children.

Pavao said he has no immediate plans to return to elected office. "I will continue to serve the community in some capacity, and I will consider my future (political) involvement sometime next year."

In contrast, Brown, another Chapel Hill Town Council member, said that after serving 12 years on the council, she decided not to run for re-election.

She has been a board member of several local environmental groups, including the Conservation Council and the N.C. Solar Energy Association. "I don't have any immediate plans right now," Brown said. "I'm just sort of winding down now from the council."

Local government in Carrboro also will see turnover in elected offices as a result of the Nov. 6 elections.

Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Allen Spalt, who lost his seat on the board, said he plans to remain committed to the area after he leaves office Tuesday. "I was an active citizen in Carrboro for more than 12 years before I was in office, and I will continue to be now," he said.

Spalt will continue to serve as the director of Carrboro's Agricultural Resources Center, an environmental reform group based in the town.

Spalt also will continue working with the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, a motion to regulate town growth based on school availability.

Spalt, like the other officials on their way out of local government, says he is keeping his options open. "For the moment I'm just taking my time trying to figure out what I'm going to do."

The City Editor can be reached

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