Chapel Hill Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt to run for mayor

Mark Kleinschmidt, an attorney and two-term member of the Chapel Hill Town Council, will run for mayor.

Kleinschmidt, 39, said he is honored to have served his two terms with Kevin Foy as mayor. Now that Foy says he will not seek re-election, Kleinschmidt says he's ready to ask voters if they think he can do as good a job.

"Yes, I am running for mayor," he said.

Kleinschmidt is the executive director of the Fair Trial Initiative. The Durham-based program "confronts the crisis of incompetent trial counsel for indigent defendants facing the death penalty" by providing pro bono opportunities for lawyers to work on capital cases, among other measures.  

Kleinschmidt says he doesn't want to talk more about his plans because now is a time for people to focus on Foy's accomplishments.

He did say he had been giving a lot of thought to running again  when his term ends this year.

"A few months ago when 'Milk' came out I decided to run again," he said. "I've been thinking about what it takes and I decided I have what it takes."

"Milk" is the story of Harvey Milk, the San Francisco supervisor who was shot in office in 1978. Played in the movie by Oscar winner Sean Penn, Milk was told he could not win as an openly gay man at a time when many still considered homosexuality a mental illness. He made several attempts before winning office.  Kleinschmidt is also gay.