Candidate Storrow, the real deal

Meet Lee Storrow: Unlike the other candidates in the Chapel Hill Town Council election, Storrow is a young UNC graduate, and he’s gay.

But he’d prefer that you engage him on actual policy issues (sustainability, transportation and growth). If you bring it up, he identifies his age as an asset, and he contends that his sexuality is irrelevant.

And he’ll tell you that he’s proud that we live in a town where he can run without that holding him back.

Storrow is running indeed — and take him seriously.

His campaign, experiences and commitment show that a young college graduate can have a place in local government, and can make as compelling a case for election as any of his older competitors.

For the past five months, Storrow has been working diligently to connect with voters, knocking on doors (more than 1,500 in all) and meeting with individuals and groups to try and win their support.

Residents have responded, opening their doors and checkbooks. Storrow has raised more money than any other Town Council candidate, about $11,000 from more than 200 individual donors (a pretty sizable number, considering that 3,553 votes was sufficient to win a seat in 2009).

That Storrow also has a student fanbase is less surprising, given that he only graduated in May.

But talking with him, I’m still a little stunned by the breadth of his support on campus, politically and socially.

Storrow has Young Democrats canvassing for him, but he also has a written endorsement by the former chairman of the College Republicans.

And he has support from current or past leaders of both the Interfraternity Council and the Black Student Movement — and the student body president, for good measure.

Countering the biggest question that a young candidate might face, Storrow has experiences which suggest he’ll be able to do the job.

Take his work with the American Legacy Foundation (the national anti-tobacco group), for example. As a youth board liaison, he sits on its 13-member board of directors with the governors of Missouri and Utah, along with other political leaders and scientists.

More locally, he works on the outreach committee for the Town of Chapel Hill’s initiative to produce a new Comprehensive Plan. He has also been sitting in on council meetings for nine months to better understand the job that he is seeking.

All in all, that sounds like as good a candidacy as one could expect.

That’s not to say Storrow will necessarily win a seat, especially if student turnout remains as low as in the past.

After all, it’s only fair to point out that the incumbent council members and other challengers in the race are also capable and dedicated to this town, and there aren’t enough seats for all of them.

But it’s no stretch to say that he’s already a pretty good representative for both Chapel Hill and the University community — regardless of any other labels you might apply to him.