Orange County Commissioner Mark Marcoplos announced Tuesday he will be seeking re-election in 2020 for the at-large seat he holds.

“I hit my stride after about a year on the Board,” Marcoplos said in the release announcing his run, “and have been playing key roles on issues that I am passionate about – education, environmental sustainability, transportation, climate change, job creation and local business support – all with an eye toward affordability, social justice and diverse, inclusionary citizen participation including young people.”

Marcoplos, who was elected to the board in 2016, serves in many roles across the Orange County community. He currently chairs the Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Group and the Orange County Climate Council, in addition to serving as a trustee for Durham Tech and a board member of GoTriangle.

Marcoplos said in the release the challenges North Carolinians and Orange Counrty residents face are unprecedented. He pointed to the disputes in state legislature over public schools and the ongoing reckoning with climate change as examples of addressing similar issues in local government.

“It will take creative and pro-active leadership,” he said, “informed by an understanding of local history, to ensure that we address these challenges while retaining the basic values that have always guided us – support for high-quality education, protection of the environment, sustainable economic development, and taking care of our neighbors who are in need.”

Marcoplos is the second commissioner to announce their plans to run for re-election. Chair of the Board of Orange County Commissioners Penny Rich announced her re-election campaign earlier in November.

Primaries for the 2020 Board of Orange County Commissioners race begin on March 3.

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