The 2022-23 Graduate and Professional Student Government President Theodore Nollert announced his candidacy for Chapel Hill Town Council on Monday. Summer Editor Caitlyn Yaede sat down with Nollert on July 11 to discuss his decision to run for town council and his goals if elected.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Daily Tar Heel: Why did you decide to run for Chapel Hill Town Council?
Theodore Nollert: I'm a young person, a grad student and a renter. So, I have a lot of experience with how challenging it can be to find housing in Chapel Hill. I really think that we have a huge opportunity to shape what the town is going to look like for the next generation and there's a lot that I want to do to contribute to that.
We've got to expand the diversity of housing options so that housing costs go down across the board. Rent is up 50 percent since 2015, and more than half of the town's population are renters, around 51 percent. We've got some exciting new grants that came in from the federal government for transit. We need to have a robust transit network. Building our greenways is something that's important and exciting to invest in so we have a lot of safe and fun ways for people to walk, bike and bus around town.
I'm sure you see that there are some empty storefronts on Franklin Street. I think we should be attracting businesses and making sure this is a place where we have diverse business ownership. This is important because that also means this is a town where young people have a future — it's not just a college town that people come to and leave, but it's a place that's attracting the next generation.
Something that's really guiding me is that we need a robust commitment to environmental justice because there's a future for us to look forward to. All of our decisions need to keep that at the forefront in many ways because that's how we ensure not just young people now, but our children and our grandchildren have something a place to live that is livable.
DTH: How do you think your past experiences — whether it be the GPSG presidency or your role on the Chapel Hill Planning Committee — will help you in this next role?
TN: As president of GPSG, I did this 30-plus department listening tour and I think that, for anybody who is in an elected position, getting out to know your constituents and listening to them is a core skill set. I took what I learned there and produced the largest-ever one-time pay raise for grad students in University history. I worked with the administrators and the Board of Trustees, so I can work across different constituencies to produce results.
