Ryan to pursue Carrboro fourth seat

Katrina Ryan, the fourth-place finisher in November's election, again will throw her name in the hat for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, she said Monday.

"Discussions with other potential applicants in the annexation area were fruitless," she said. "They all have children and would rather spend time with them than with the aldermen.

"I've been getting calls and e-mails every day."

The seat vacated by Mayor Mark Chilton after the November election will be filled by an application process.

Applications were used to appoint Alderman Joal Hall Broun in 1998, following the death of Hank Anderson.

Ryan said she supports a different precedent - fourth-place finisher Diana McDuffee's appointment to the board by former mayor Mike Nelson in 1995.

"To me it's not the natural conclusion," she said.

"I don't know why it's legitimate in the Diana McDuffee case to appoint the fourth highest vote getter, but in this case it's not the appropriate means."

Ryan finished with 736 votes, about 12.6 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

She is a resident of The Highlands neighborhood, among those to be annexed into the town Jan. 31.

Ryan moved to an apartment within current town limits to be eligible to run in the November election.

At their Dec. 13 meeting, the aldermen decided to make the appointment process available to the new Carrboro neighborhoods, accepting applications until Wednesday and interviewing candidates Jan. 19 at a public hearing.

While Ryan said she thinks the aldermen are not likely to select her after they declined to appoint her in December, she added that she will try a final time for her neighbors' sake.

Her application will include a letter of recommendation from former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, for whom Ryan campaigned, and a petition from 525 fellow annexees in favor of her appointment.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.