Pam Hemminger

Pam Hemminger
Mayor of Chapel Hill
Assumed office
December 2, 2015
Preceded by Mark Kleinschmidt
Orange County Commissioner
In office
2008–2012
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
Board of Education
In office
2004–2008
Personal details
Born (1960-03-20) March 20, 1960
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Brad Hemminger
Children 4
Alma mater Vanderbilt University (BA)
Occupation Politician
Business owner
Website www.pamhemminger.com

Pamela S Hemminger (born March 20, 1960)[1] is an American politician who has been Mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, since December 2015. She unseated fellow Democrat and incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt in the 2015 election that focused on housing development and replaced many municipal officials.[2] Before her election as mayor, Hemminger, who owns a commercial real-estate company, served on the Orange County board of commissioners and the Chapel-Hill Carrboro school board.

Education, personal life, and early career

Hemminger received a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in economics and German.[3] While attending the school, she met her husband, Brad Hemminger, who is an associate professor at the UNC School of Information and Library Science.[4][1] They have four children, who all attended Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and three of whom graduated from UNC. Hemminger regularly hikes and plays tennis.[3]

From 2004 to 2008, Hemminger was a member of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education,[5] where she served as both vice-chair and chair.[6] She served as an Orange County Commissioner from 2008 to 2012,[5] having been elected to the four-year term along with Democrat Valerie Foushee.[7] She served on the town's Parks and Recreation Commission and Greenways Commission and as chair of the Upper Neuse River Basin Authority.[3]

Mayoralty

Elections

Hemminger won the 2015 mayoral election against incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt and Southern Village resident Gary Kahn.[8] This was the first time in five decades that an incumbent mayor in Chapel Hill was defeated;[9] only one town councilor was reelected that year.[5] Hemminger had raised $24,974 before the early voting period, compared to Kleinschmidt's $30,480.[10] At the time, Hemminger had lived in Chapel Hill for 29 years and was the owner of real-estate-management company Windaco Properties LLC.[6][11] She was backed by the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town political action committee (CHALT), which advocated a more deliberate pace of growth that included afforable housing, environmental protection, and energy efficiency. CHALT also supported three candidates for town council who all won.[8]

She confirmed her reelection bid during a weekly appearance on WCHL's The Aaron Keck Show in May 2017 before a formal announcement in June.[12] She was reelected to a second mayoral term on November 7, 2017, with 92.51% of the vote. She was challenged by a write-in campaign by former Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP leader Eugene Farrar.[13] Her campaign focused on diversifying the tax base to fund affordable housing, community space for teenagers, parks and recreation, and additional cultural activities.[14] She was endorsed by Indy Week,[15] CHALT, Equality North Carolina, and the Sierra Club.[16]

Tenure

Hemminger was sworn in as mayor of Chapel Hill on December 2, 2015;[17] her second term began on December 6, 2017.[18] Hemminger and the town council passed a resolution in March 2016 condemning the statewide Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (known as House Bill 2).[19] She released a statement after its partial repeal stating that the new bill "does not go far enough to address discrimination".[20] She developed the Food for the Summer program in 2016 and 2017 from an election promise, which served meals to up to 1,600 children five days a week.[21][22]

Hemminger worked to bring new retailers to Chapel Hill, hoping to make the town a "regional foodie destination", such as by approving construction of a Wegmans supermarket.[23][24] She supports a cap on campaign donations, which was $353 for individuals in Chapel Hill during her first election.[25] Hemminger wrote to UNC chancellor Carol Folt to ask for the Silent Sam statue on campus to be put into storage in August 2017 because it presented a "clear and present danger" to students should it be felled.[26][27]

She endorsed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, in the 2016 presidential election.[28] As Chapel Hill is not registered as a sanctuary city, it would not be affected by Executive Order 13768, which cut federal grants to such cities; on the matter, Hemminger said, "we just have a community value that says, 'Yes, we're open for everyone.'"[29] The town council passed a resolution in June 2017 keeping a commitment to Chapel Hill's global-warming goals as part of the Paris Agreement.[30] Hemminger spoke in defense of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in September 2017[31] and signed a petition against the Clean Power Plan's repeal in January 2018. "To ignore climate change is ridiculous," Hemminger also wrote. "To repeal things or go backwards makes no sense."[32]

Electoral history


2008 Orange County Commissioner election, District 1[7]
Candidate Votes %
Valerie Foushee 50,556 53.38
Pam Hemminger 44,155 46.62
Total votes 94,711 100
2015 Chapel Hill mayoral election results[33]
Candidate Votes %
Pam Hemminger 4,878 54.01
Mark Kleinschmidt 4,053 44.88
Gary Kahn 84 0.93
Write-in 16 0.17
Total votes 9,031 100
2017 Chapel Hill mayoral election results[13]
Candidate Votes %
Pam Hemminger 7,426 92.51
Write-in 601 7.49
Total votes 8,027 100

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Pam Hemminger – Candidate for Orange Board of County Commissioners". Indy Week. April 18, 2012. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (November 3, 2015). "Chapel Hill's mayor elect: 'I'm not planning a U-turn'". The News & Observer. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mayor Pam Hemminger". Town of Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  4. ↑ Gramer, Montana (July 7, 2017). "Q&A with Chapel Hill mayor Pam Hemminger". The Daily Tar Heel. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 DeVito, Joey (November 3, 2015). "Pam Hemminger Elected New Mayor Of Chapel Hill". WCHL. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Grubb, Tammy (July 6, 2015). "Former Orange County Commissioner Hemminger launches bid to unseat Chapel Hill mayor". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "2008 General Election". Orange County Board of Election. November 25, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Grubb, Tammy (November 2, 2017). "Chapel Hill: Challengers sweep mayor, 2 councilmen from office". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ Foulkes, John (December 2, 2015). "Year in Review: Pam Hemminger narrowly wins mayorship, looks to change town's development strategy". The Daily Tar Heel. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (March 21, 2016). "Late report shows developers backed Kleinschmidt in Chapel Hill mayor's race". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ Benjamin, Reed (September 23, 2015). "Pam Hemminger – Chapel Hill Mayor". Indy Week. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ Hodge, Blake (May 26, 2017). "Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger Running for Re-Election". WCHL. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Grubb, Tammy (November 7, 2017). "Pam Hemminger outpaces write-in challenger Eugene Farrar in Chapel Hill mayor's race". The Herald-Sun. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  14. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (October 19, 2017). "Mayoral candidates Hemminger, Farrar lay out competing visions for Chapel Hill future". The Herald-Sun. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  15. ↑ "The INDY Endorses Pam Hemminger for Chapel Hill Mayor". Indy Week. October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  16. ↑ Talley, Lauren (October 12, 2017). "CHALT endorses Town Council candidates". The Daily Tar Heel. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  17. ↑ DeVito, Joey (December 2, 2015). "New Chapel Hill Mayor and Town Council Sworn In". WCHL. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  18. ↑ Ocampo, Daniela (December 11, 2017). "Local Governing Bodies Swear in and Welcome Elected Members". WCHL. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ Blanford, Andrea. "Chapel Hill resolution urges repeal of House Bill 2". WTVD. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  20. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (March 30, 2017). "Chapel Hill mayor responds to state compromise on HB2 repeal". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  21. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (May 10, 2016). "Chapel Hill-Carrboro preparing summer lunches for students". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  22. ↑ Rosenbloom, Bruce (June 6, 2017). "Summer Meal Program Feeds K-12 Students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro". WCHL. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  23. ↑ Hudnall, David (October 13, 2016). "Chapel Hill Is Probably Getting a Wegmans, Becoming a 'Foodie Place'". Indy Week. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Chapel Hill approves location for Wegmans supermarket". October 26, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ Talley, Lauren (September 20, 2017). "Campaigning at a cost in Chapel Hill, Carrboro". The Daily Tar Heel. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ Stancill, Jane (August 18, 2017). "Chapel Hill mayor wants Silent Sam removed from UNC campus". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  27. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (February 8, 2018). "A safe place for Silent Sam? Orange County lawmakers hope the General Assembly agrees". The Herald-Sun. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Group of NC mayors endorse Clinton for president". WLOS. July 21, 2016. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  29. ↑ Beckett, Stephen (February 1, 2017). "Mayors: Chapel Hill, Carrboro Not Affected by Executive Order on Sanctuary Cities". WCHL. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  30. ↑ Grubb, Tammy (June 7, 2017). "Orange Co. commissioners join local resistance to climate change". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  31. ↑ Grubb, Tammy; Baumgartner Vaughan, Dawn (September 1, 2017). "Political Chatter: Mayors press to keep dream alive for young immigrants". The Herald-Sun. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  32. ↑ McKinney, Rachel (January 24, 2018). "Mayor Hemminger signs petition to uphold Obama-era environmental policies". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  33. ↑ "2015 Election Results". WCHL. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
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