Bonitz, Farrell Re-Elected as Pittsboro Commissioners; Foley 1st Time Winner

Pittsboro has made its decision in the race for the Board of Commissioners, in which three seats were up for grabs.

Incumbents John Bonitz and J.A. Farrell were both re-elected to their positions Tuesday night, each earning close to a quarter of the vote in the town of Pittsboro’s lone precinct. Bonitz led the field with 26.56 percent of the vote, approximately two percentage points in front of Farrell. Joining both of them will be first-time commissioner John Foley, who earned 21.44 percent of the vote.

Bonitz, Farrell and Foley all comfortably defeated challengers Allen Wilson, C.P. Stewart and Kali Korey. Korey filed to run but did not participate in any campaign events.

With the victory, Bonitz — whose day job is with the NC Clean Energy Technology Center in Raleigh — will serve his third term on the board, while retired business owner Farrell is set to serve his fourth as a commissioner.

Foley, a real estate agent, is taking over the vacant seat left by former town commissioner Kyle Shipp, who was elected mayor on Tuesday in an unopposed race. He shared a statement on Wednesday with Chapelboro thanking the voters who participated in the election.

“Their concerns were clear: safe water, affordable homes for all and smart growth,” said Foley. “With billions of dollars of high tech industries breaking ground literally 20 minutes from downtown Pittsboro, the road ahead will be challenging. I am comforted in knowing that with our newly elected Town Commissioners, and an aggressive and competent staff here in Pittsboro we have assembled a team up to that challenge. To the people of Pittsboro, I have listened to your concerns and will do my best for our beautiful community.”

Bonitz, Farrell and Foley will each be sworn in to join mayor pro tem Pamela Baldwin and fellow commissioner James Vose on the board before the end of 2023.

Local election results from races in Orange and Chatham County can be found here.

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