Attorney and former Chapel Hill Town Council member Allen Buansi officially became the latest state representative on Wednesday morning.

Buansi was sworn into the North Carolina House of Representatives to succeed Rep. Verla Insko in District 56, which covers Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The ceremony followed Buansi’s appointment to the role and primary election win in May.

“I’m honored by the trust our community has placed in me,” wrote Buansi on social media afterward, “and I’m ready to dig in and fight for a more affordable, accessible and inclusive NC!”

Insko announced last year that she would retire from her elected position after 25 years, later sharing she would step down on May 31. Doing so allowed her successor to be determined by the primary election in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, where Buansi and opponent Jonah Garson campaigned in the Democratic primary with no Republican challengers in the general election. The Orange County Democratic Party then formally appointed Buansi to finish out Insko’s term on May 23.

Many other elected officials in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County shared their congratulations to Buansi on social media.

While Buansi will finish out Insko’s term in 2022, he will begin a two-year term starting in 2023.

Photo via Allen Buansi on Twitter.

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