After 12 Years, Mark Chilton Stepping Down Early as Orange County Register of Deeds

After almost 12 years on the job, Orange County’s longtime Register of Deeds is stepping down from his position – a few months earlier than originally scheduled.

Mark Chilton announced on social media Thursday that Friday, August 14 will be his last day on the job. His term was already set to expire in the fall, with assistant register of deeds Amy McLamb set to take over in December; she won the Democratic primary for the seat back in March (with Chilton electing not to run) and will be unopposed in the November general election.

Mark Chilton has been a major figure in Orange County politics and government for three and a half decades. He was first elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 1991, as a 21-year-old UNC student; he later served as mayor of Carrboro from 2005 to 2013 before being elected Register of Deeds in 2014.

That 2014 election drew some national attention: Chilton defeated incumbent Deborah Brooks by promising to defy state law and recognize same-sex marriages, months before a court ruling overruled the law and legalized same-sex marriage across North Carolina anyway. (Par for the course for Chilton, who’d been a vocal proponent of progressive values throughout his career – most notably getting arrested in 2013 as part of “Moral Monday” protests at the General Assembly, while still serving as mayor.)

Once elected Register of Deeds, Chilton devoted his 11-plus years on the job to updating and modernizing the Register of Deeds office, expanding Spanish-language services and publicizing long-buried documents that shed light on Orange County’s history.

Chilton’s decision to step down will leave a temporary vacancy in the Register of Deeds office. Since Chilton was a Democrat, state law gives the Orange County Democratic Party executive committee 30 days to recommend a replacement candidate, which Orange County Commissioners would then appoint to serve out the remainder of the term, which expires in a little more than three months; if the party misses that deadline, county commissioners can make their own appointment.

Here is Mark Chilton’s full statement, as posted on Facebook Thursday, August 13:

Thirty-five years ago, I was elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council at 21 years and 39 days old – not even 6 weeks over the minimum age per the NC Constitution. I felt deeply honored back in 1991. It was also a real honor to serve as Mayor of Carrboro, but the greatest honor of my life has been to serve as your Orange County Register of Deeds for the last 12 years.

But the time for new things is at hand. Amy McLamb will be our new ROD very soon and frankly I have nothing left to teach her.

So with great confidence in my successor, and a bit of a tear in my eye, Friday August 14 will be my last day as ROD. I am so proud of my staff and all that we have accomplished in the last 12 years.

After twenty-eight years in four different local elected offices, I am leaving office – probably for good.

Onward to graduate school!

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After 12 Years, Mark Chilton Stepping Down Early as Orange County Register of Deeds

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