There was a flurry of activity at the Orange County Board of Elections office Friday afternoon, as the filing period got under way for the 2019 municipal election.

Filing began at noon – and in less than two hours, nine candidates had already thrown their hats in the ring, including Carrboro’s incumbent mayor and two first-time candidates for Chapel Hill Town Council.

Here’s a summary of the activity so far. (Updated as of 4:55 Friday afternoon.)

Chapel Hill

There are now four announced Town Council candidates, including three first-time candidates: Josh Levenson, Renuka Soll, and UNC student Tai Huynh. Incumbent Jessica Anderson has also filed to run for reelection.

There are four open seats on the Town Council this year; the other three incumbents are Donna Bell, Nancy Oates, and Michael Parker. The mayor’s seat is also on the ballot; incumbent mayor Pam Hemminger says she’s planning to run for reelection.

Carrboro

Lydia Lavelle filed Friday to run for a fourth term as Carrboro mayor; she won 88 percent of the vote in her last reelection campaign two years ago.

Two first-time candidates have filed to run for the Board of Aldermen: Susan Romaine and Stephen Friedman.

There are three open seats on the Board of Aldermen this year; the incumbents are Damon Seils, Sammy Slade, and Bethany Chaney. (Chaney has already announced she’s not running for reelection.)

Hillsborough

Hillsborough mayor pro tem Jenn Weaver filed Friday to run for mayor. Longtime mayor Tom Stevens announced earlier this year that he’s stepping down after 14 years on the job.

Incumbent town board members Mark Bell, Matt Hughes, and Evelyn Lloyd all filed to run for reelection Friday. (For Hughes, it’s actually his first election campaign: he was appointed to the board last year.)

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

Incumbent school board member Rani Dasi filed to run for reelection on Friday. There are four seats on the board up for grabs; the other incumbents are Pat Heinrich, James Barrett (who’s not running), and recent appointee Jean Hamilton.

If you want to run for office, you can find more information on the process at this page, from the Orange County Board of Elections.

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