Mark Kleinschmidt (politician)

Mark J. Kleinschmidt (born March 25, 1970) is an American lawyer, educator, and politician. He served as the Mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina from 2009 until 2015.

Kleinschmidt is the first openly gay Mayor of Chapel Hill in the city's history.^[1] He is also the third openly gay candidate to be elected mayor of any North Carolina city, following Mike Nelson, the former Mayor of Carrboro, North Carolina elected in 1995, and Elic Senter, who was elected Mayor of Franklinton, North Carolina, in 2007.^[2]

Biography

Early life and career

Kleinschmidt and his twin sister, Michelle, were born on March 25, 1970, on Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois, to (now retired) U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant and Marge Kleinschmidt, a registered nurse. The Kleinschmidts lived in Hawaii and New Mexico, before settling in Goldsboro, North Carolina, when Mark Kleinschmidt was 10 years old.

Mark Kleinschmidt received a Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of North Carolina as part of UNC's first Teaching Fellows class in May 1992. He taught social studies at West Mecklenburg High School within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. In 1997, Kleinschmidt enrolled at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he received his law degree in May 2000.

Political career

Kleinschmidt was elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2001. He served on the council for two terms from December 2001 to December 2009.^[3]

In May 2009, incumbent Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy announced that he would not seek re-election for a fifth term in office. ^[4] Foy had served as mayor for four terms from 2001 to 2009. Kleinschmidt, a councilman since 2001, was one of four candidates to announce their candidacies to succeed Foy. In addition to Kleinschmidt, the three other candidates for the 2009 mayoral election were Chapel Hill Town Councilman Matt Czajkowski, former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party chairman Augustus Cho, and patent law attorney Kevin Wolff.^[5] Outgoing Mayor Kevin Foy officially endorsed Kleinschmidt as his successor in October 2009, shortly before the mayoral election.^[5][6]

Kleinschmidt was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, in a race described by local media as a "hard-fought but civil campaign."^[7] He narrowly defeated his closest rival, fellow town councilman Matt Czajkowski, by just 106 votes.^[7] Kleinschmidt received 4,006 votes (49.49 percent) while Czajkowski garnered 3,766 votes (46.53 percent) for second place. Augustus Cho came in third place with 217 votes (2.68 percent) and Kevin Wolff placed fourth with 94 votes (1.16 percent).^[8]

Mark Kleinschmidt was sworn in as Mayor of Chapel Hill on Monday, December 7, 2009.^[7]

Kleinschmidt easily won re-election to a second, two-year term in 2011 with 5,442 votes (77.54 percent). Kevin Wolff placed second in the 2011 mayoral race with 1,243 votes (17.71 percent), and Tim Sookram came in third with 292 votes (4.16 percent).^[9] Kleinschmidt won a third-term unopposed on November 4, 2013, with 89.7 percent of the vote.^[3] Approximately 500 voters wrote in write-in candidates, stemming from controversies over development in Chapel Hill's Central West area.^[3] Kleinschmidt promised to continue revitalization efforts in the city's Ephesus Church – Fordham Boulevard district during his third term.^[3]

Kleischmidt lost his bid for a fourth term on November 3, 2015 to Pam Hemminger. Hemminger received 4,651 total votes, roughly equivalent to 54 percent, while Kleinschmidt received 3,900, around 45 percent of the vote. After hearing the results, Kleinschmidt expressed his gratitude to the town of Chapel Hill. “I’m grateful to have been mayor of the greatest town in America,” Kleinschmidt said. “During my time as mayor, we were able to harness the voices of over 10,000 people who love this town. Thank you all for the greatest gift I could have received in my life in being the mayor of this town.” ^[10]

References