Jim White, Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party and Bill Knight, Chair of the Orange County Republican Party issued the following joint statement today:

Last week a mailing was sent to residents of Chapel Hill that was supposedly from an organization calling itself “CHC PAC.”   There is apparently no such political action committee registered with the Orange County Board of Elections and no contact information or mailing address on the postcard.  The postcard is designed to look like a mailer supporting mayoral candidate Mark Kleinschmidt, and contains attacks on mayoral candidate Matt Czajkowski. 

Frankly, this does not read like a mailing that was intended to benefit either candidate, neither candidate has time to respond to it, and we are greatly disturbed that this was sent in Orange County in the few days before an election.    This appears to be an unfortunate and illegal attempt by an unknown individual or group to influence the election for Chapel Hill Mayor.   We do not care whether the responsible parties are Democrats, Republicans, or unaffiliated; this is not the way campaigns are conducted in Orange County, and we strongly condemn the person or persons behind this mailing.  This improper electioneering communication may violate both the North Carolina General Statutes and federal mail fraud statutes and we call on the Orange County District Attorney, the Orange County Board of Elections, and the North Carolina Board of Elections to investigate this matter vigorously and punish those behind this mailing to the full extent of the law.

We both implore the voters of Chapel Hill to ignore this spurious attempt to influence the election and ask that it not influence their choice either way.  Judge the candidates on their positions, not some unwelcome attempt by a third party to sway the outcome.
 

Independent Weekly

The Independent Weekly has endorsed the following candidates:

Carrboro:

Incumbent Mayor Mark Chilton and aldermen Jacquelyn Gist and Randee Haven-O'Donnell for re-election and challenger Sammy Slade.

Chapel Hill:

Mark Kleinschmidt for mayor, incumbents Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrison and Jim Merritt for Town Council and challenger Penny Rich.

Hillsborough:

Incumbents Mike Gering and Frances Dancy for re-election to the Hillsborough Town Commission. No endorsement for mayor because Mayor Tom Stevens is running unopposed.

Chapel Hill/Carrboro Board of Education:

Incumbent Greg McElveen and challengers Michelle Brownstein and Joe Green.

Sierra Club

The Orange-Chatham Sierra Club has made its endorsements in this year's municipal elections:

Chapel Hill:

-Mark Kleinschmidt for Mayor

-Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrison, Penny Rich, and Jim Merritt for Town Council

Carrboro:

-Mark Chilton for Mayor

-Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O’Donnell, and Sammy Slade for Alderman

Hillsborough:

-Tom Stevens for Mayor
-Frances Dancy and Mike Gering for Town Council

Thorpe-Anderson Breakfast Club

Chapel Hill Mayor - Mark Kleinschmidt

Chapel Hill Town Council - Lauren Easthom, Ed Harrison, Jim Merritt and Will Raymond

Carrboro Mayor - Mark Chilton

Carrboro Board of Aldermen - Randee Haven-O’Donnell, Jacquelyn Gist and Sammy Slade

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board - Greg McElveen, Michelle Brownstein and Joe Green

UNC Young Democrats

Mark Kleinschmidt for Chapel Hill Mayor

Daily Tar Heel (UNC Student Newspaper)

Matt Czajkowski for Chapel Hill Mayor

Congratulations to all of those who received endorsements.