New Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt was sworn in Monday night along with returning council members Laurin Easthom and Ed Harrison and newly elected council members Gene Pease and Penny Rich.
Kleinschmidt, who won by a slim, 106 vote margin, took pains to thank everyone who worked on his campaign and said the closeness of the race proved that every effort was important. He and fellow council member Matt Czaj-kowski, who lost the mayor’s race, acknowledged a hard-fought but civil campaign and said they looked forward to working together.
The new council did not wait long to get down to one of the largest issues pending from the previous council — naming a successor to Bill Strom, who resigned in August. As The Citizen went to press Wednesday evening, the council held a meeting to hear from applicants for the seat. The council is scheduled to meet Monday as well and could vote then on their choice. — Staff Reports