Foy Wins Easily in Chapel Hill Mayor's Race

Challenger Kevin Wolff, who ran a low-profile campaign, garnered slightly more than 27 percent of the vote.

Foy had 4,431 to 1,664 votes for Wolff. There were 18 votes for write-in candidates.

In the town council races, the four incumbents were leading three challengers.  Sally Greene, Cam Hill,  Bill Strom and Jim Ward were leading. Hill held a lead of 826 votes over the highest-polling challenger, Matt Czajkowski., 2,954 to 2,728, with 36 of Orange County's 38 precincts reporting.

Turnout in Chapel Hill precincts was generally about 20 percent, according to preliminary county results, though a few precincts were significantly lower.

How the town should try to influence the University of North Carolina's juggernaut project, Chapel Hill North, and how much the town can influence its design and pace figured in the race for mayor and for four council vacancies.

The university and the town have created several panels to try to work out an agreement on the future of the 250-acre tract where the university now has its airport, Horace Williams, and a large park-and-ride lot. It also formerly housed the town's Public Works Complex.

Other subjects that candidates addressed were affordable housing and whether the downtown commercial district needs revitalizing. Some challengers argued that the town needs to diversity its tax base with commercial development and needs to make its planning and development process more predictable in order to do that.

In the mayor's race, Wolff, an attorney, ran a relatively low-profile campaign. Foy, who was seeking his third two-year-term, sought votes with print ads and a Web site.