Chapel Hill Town Council member Adam Searing announced his candidacy for mayor of Chapel Hill on Twitter and to his news newsletter subscribers on Wednesday evening.
Searing — a public interest lawyer, lobbyist and health advocate — was elected to the town council in 2021 and has focused his term on improving the Town's parks, natural spaces and housing.
"We need a Mayor and Town Council that listen to residents — you and me and all our neighbors — instead of consistently ignoring community concerns," Searing said in his newsletter announcement.
His platform, according to his announcement, includes increasing affordable housing, improving parks and open spaces and reducing increases on property taxes by reforming the Town's budgeting priorities. He said he opposes eliminating single family zoning restrictions, as well as plans to develop on the Town's coal ash site on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
"We need a Chapel Hill that makes our amazing parks, green spaces, and love of the outdoors as valuable to our community as housing development. This shouldn’t be an "either/or,'" Searing said.
Searing's term on town council is set to expire in December 2025. If elected as mayor, a special election would be held to fill his vacated seat.
Searing is the first candidate to announce his intent to run for major of Chapel Hill. The filing period for candidates begins on July 7 and closes on July 21 at noon.
