As the Carrboro community begins preparation for a change in mayors, the first person has declared their candidacy for the position.

Carrboro Town Council member Damon Seils shared his plans to run for mayor Wednesday morning, making the announcement on 97.9 The Hill’s This Morning with Aaron Keck.

“A lot of the priorities I’ve been pressing for the last several years on the town council,” he said, “like developing a comprehensive plan for the town, improving local transit service, re-imagining the ways we provide basic municipal services to meet our racial justice and economic justice goals…those kinds of things are really coming to points of decision and action in Carrboro. With Lydia [Lavelle’s] announcement last week that she’s not going to seek re-election this year, it just seems like the right opportunity for me to step up into a new leadership role for the town.”

Lavelle, who has served as the Carrboro mayor since 2013, announced last week she would not seek a fifth term in the position this fall.

Seils first earned election to the Carrboro Town Council in 2013 and was re-elected for a third term in 2019. Prior to being a town council member, Seils served twice as the elected chair of the Carrboro Planning Board as well as the chair of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. In addition to his work with the town government, he works as a research communications specialist at the Duke University School of Medicine.

One of the few gay elected officials in North Carolina, Seils helped enact local nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ community members and has been a long-time advocate for gay rights. He also was involved in leading racial equity and criminal justice system reforms, responding to attacks on immigrant rights and advocating for public transit improvements.

On Wednesday, Seils told 97.9 The Hill he envisions a future for Carrboro built around walkable, transit-oriented development meant to strengthen the town’s commitments to racial and economic justice.

“The vision for me,” he said, “is bringing the experience I have on the council and making the plans we’re putting together now a reality, which is always the hard part: implementation.”

Candidates for local elections can officially file for positions beginning Friday July 2.

Featured image via Damon Seils

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