Q&A with Chapel Hill Town Council member Gene Pease

After four years on the Chapel Hill Town Council, Gene Pease announced he was not running for re-election in November.

Daily Tar Heel staff writer Lauren Grady sat down with Pease to discuss his decision to leave the council, reflect on his term and look at his future plans.

DAILY TAR HEEL: In what capacities have you been involved in the town?

GENE PEASE: I first started out as my neighborhood president. We got in a fight over development with the University and that got me speaking in front of Town Council.

In one of those contentious meetings, the former Mayor (Kevin) Foy looked at me and said, “Stop complaining and get involved.”

So I did. I joined the Planning Board. I was then chairman of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee. I became a member of the OWASA Board.

I was co-chairman of the Horace Williams Citizens Committee, which was the planning that was originally done for Carolina North. Then I was president of the Library Foundation, and then ran for Town Council.

DTH: Are there any ordinances or town initiatives that you’re particularly proud of?

GP: Not, probably, the cellphone ban. I wished we had gone to hands-free because it’s just unenforceable.

It’s a law we made to make a statement, but I don’t believe in things that you can’t enforce. So I voted against that twice.

I’m very proud of the fact that we were able to not raise taxes for three years during the recession.

We worked really, really hard and made some very hard decisions to not raise taxes when the economy was really down and people were really struggling. I feel good about that.

DTH: You’ve been seen by some as a voice for Chapel Hill’s business community — is that a role you embrace?

GP: Yes, that’s a natural role for me because I’m an entrepreneur and a small business owner. I have an MBA, so it’s easy to button-hole me. I am for wise development. I’ve been a proponent for increased development in the right areas, so we can increase our commercial tax base and take some of the burden off of our residences and apartment owners.

What most people don’t know about me is that I’m very progressive on social issues. I’ve worked very hard for things like the (Community) Home Trust and the Library Foundation. I think that’s why I got elected — I wasn’t just pro-business. I’m very strong in environmental things. I was on the OWASA Board. For those who know me, I’m pretty balanced.

DTH: Why are you retiring?

GP: I’m not retiring from public service. I’m not running again for that office, and it’s primarily because of my time. It’s incredibly demanding from a time point of view, if you want to do a good job.

It’s time for me to slow down a little bit. My family is all out on the West Coast … my oldest daughter just had a baby, so I’m a grandfather. It just would be very hard to put the hours in that I would need to do a good job, so I felt that I wouldn’t run again.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.