Openly gay Kleinschmidt is next Chapel Hill mayor

[ccharles000]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Mark Kleinschmidt emerged victorious in his campaign for mayor of Chapel Hill on Tuesday, with a 49.49 percent (4,006) to 46.53 percent (3,766) lead against chief opponent Matt Czajkowski with 21 of 21 precincts reporting.

Shortly after 9:00 p.m., Czajkowski conceded to Kleinschmidt.

A member of the Chapel Hill Town Council since 2001, Kleinschmidt will become the third openly gay man to hold mayoral office in the state, following Mike Nelson in Carrboro and Elic Senter in Frankinton.

Orange County reported a 16 percent voter turnout with a little over 11,700 ballots counted.

Kleinschmidt is a leading civil rights and LGBT advocate in the Tar Heel State. After serving as a staff attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, he was hired as executive director of the Fair Trial Initiative in October 2006. Kleinschmidt is former board president of North Carolina’s ACLU chapter and a former board member of Equality North Carolina.

http://www.q-notes.com/4182/openly-gay-kleinschmidt-is-next-chapel-hill-mayor/