Chapel Hill Town Council member Allen Buansi will not seek re-election after the end of his first term.

Buansi, whose seat is set to expire in December, shared the announcement in a release on Thursday. An attorney known for his work with the UNC Center for Civil Rights, he said serving the Town of Chapel Hill has been one of the great privileges of his life.

“My commitment to fairness and equity in Chapel Hill and beyond will not change,” said Buansi, “and I am excited about the next chapter. I am so grateful to the people and voters of Chapel Hill for giving a homegrown kid an opportunity to serve and to move the ball forward.”

The announcement opens another seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council, as one of the four seats up for re-election has remained vacant since Rachel Schaevitz stepped down in February 2020. Incumbent Karen Stegman says she is seeking re-election, while incumbent Hongbin Gu has not yet made a formal announcement of her plans.

Buansi is a Chapel Hill native, having attended Guy B. Phillips Middle and East Chapel Hill High School before earning his Juris Doctorate in law at the UNC School of Law. Crediting his commitment to justice to his mother, he currently works as an assistant city attorney in the City of Greensboro. Buansi also serves as the Governor’s appointee on the statewide Local Government Employees’ Retirement Board of Trustees and on the State Board of Common Cause North Carolina.

Over four years on the Chapel Hill Town Council, Buansi also advocated for justice and helped create projects like the Criminal Justice Debt Program and the Training for Action and Progress program. Additionally, he supported the town’s first affordable housing bond, supported a resolution to reimagine public safety and helped lead the local government through the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of his board assignments included Chapel Hill’s Board of Adjustment, the Community Policiing Advisory Commitee, the Council Committee on Economic Sustainability and the Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board.

Two challengers have recently shared plans to run for election to the Chapel Hill Town council: Vimala Rajendran and Camille Berry, who announced her candidacy on 97.9 The Hill’s This Morning with Aaron Keck.

The filing period for 2021 local elections in Orange County begins on Friday, July 2, at noon.

 

Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill/Allen Buansi.

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