Chapel Hill mayor’s race sets a fundraising record. Here’s how much, and who donated.

The race to elect Chapel Hill’s next mayor is on track to be the town’s most expensive ever, based on campaign finance reports showing that more than $61,445 has been raised so far.

Chapel Hill Town Council member Adam Searing announced he would run for mayor in June, after serving on the council since 2021.

In July, Mayor Pam Hemminger announced she would not seek a fifth term and backed another council member, Jessica Anderson, for mayor. Anderson was elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2015 and previously served as mayor pro tem.

Searing already had amassed over $10,000 in donations, according to N.C. Board of Elections campaign finance reports. As of Sept. 26, he had raised the most money in the mayoral and council races with $34,857, roughly a third of which came from $357 donations — the maximum allowed under town rules.

Searing has spent about $25,420, reports showed.

Anderson raised $26,588 and spent $12,217, reports showed. Roughly a quarter of her donors gave the maximum amount.

Searing’s fundraising breaks a previous town record set in 2021, when Hemminger’s opponent, former Council member Hongbin Gu, raised over $34,700 for her mayoral challenge. Hemminger raised about $31,000 in that race, according to 2021 finance reports.

Triangle Blog Blog, criticism, confusion

The race between Anderson and Searing has been contentious, egged on by Triangle Blog Blog, a progressive group that covers news and policy issues in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

The candidates have butted heads multiple times, with Anderson critical of Searing’s references to “my constituents” and countering his statements during council discussions. In September, Anderson and Council member Amy Ryan, who is seeking re-election, kicked off a “Know Before You Vote” web page to counteract “more confusion about issues.”

Searing has accused Anderson of relying on “distractions” and “unwarranted tactics” to avoid talking about her record, and criticized the support she receives from both Triangle Blog Blog (TBB) and NEXT Chapel Hill Carrboro.

TBB is operated by Shameful Nuisance, a 501(c)4 “social welfare” group that can engage in political activities or fundraising, but is not required to report its donors or spending. The blog’s writers include supporters of NEXT Chapel Hill Carrboro, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that hosts community education events and advocates for more dense, walkable and bikeable development.

NEXT has a 501(c)4 public advocacy arm, the NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund, which has endorsed Anderson.

Anderson has shared TBB posts criticizing Searing on social media and in campaign newsletters, and this week, criticized his decision to share and link to home addresses of TBB writers in response to blog posts about an alleged political action committee forming to support Searing and his four-person council slate, and to overturn the town’s recent single-family zoning changes.

The News & Observer later obtained emails showing the PAC planned to raise $120,000 to hire a political consultant and get out the vote for Searing and his council candidates. But on Sept. 12, The Daily Tar Heel reported the PAC was not happening, citing an email from Julia Grumbles, identified as an organizer.

Grumbles did not return The N&O’s emails and calls seeking comment.

Searing’s donors, potential violations

Reports showed Grumbles and others have helped Searing raise $33,371 so far from donors giving more than $50. Only $1,486 came from donors giving $50 or less, who are not legally required to share their names, addresses and employment details.

Searing got the maximum amount allowed from 28 donors, including two who appeared to give that amount twice, for a total of $714 each. Another 35 donors gave $100 to $199, and 31 donors gave $200 to $300. Five gave $350 to the campaign.

The N&O contacted Searing about the $714 donations, and in a phone call Wednesday, he cited a problem with the website’s donor platform. The extra money would be refunded to the donors — UNC political science professor Gary Marks and Randall Roden, a trial attorney with Tharrington Smith — he said.

“It was a screw up. When it came in, we should have noted that they had mistakenly donated twice in violation of what we say on our website and on the Stripe payment thing, and we should have refunded it then,” Searing said. “We didn’t catch it. That’s my fault, but I’m glad we are catching it now and we are refunding those folks.”

At least 10 top donors to Searing’s campaign live near UNC’s campus, where opposition against the town’s zoning change was strong because of fears that investors could buy family homes to create student rentals or replace them with duplexes.

Other donors giving $357 include Paula Gilland and her son Taylor Gilland, who own Purple Bowl, at 306 W. Franklin St., which is threatened by office and wet lab building plans, and residents reportedly associated with efforts to start the new PAC.

PAC money, top campaign donors

A Sept. 18 email from Grumbles that was shared with The N&O showed she forwarded a request from Chapel Hill resident Don Liner to neighbors seeking campaign donations to Searing and his council slate.

In the email, Liner said the Chapel Hill Leadership PAC, affiliated with the nonprofit Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town, would lead the fundraising, instead of a new PAC.

Liner, who wrote a letter earlier this year about the zoning change that appears on CHALT’s website, asked neighbors to also donate up to $6,400 — the maximum allowed for PACs — to the Chapel Hill Leadership PAC (CHL-PAC).

He told potential donors to direct questions to Chapel Hill resident Susan Moffatt, who gave $3,000 to CHL-PAC — its largest donation this year — and $350 to Searing, reports showed.

Grumbles and her husband William Grumbles; Steve Jones, who was named in Grumbles’s email as a PAC organizer; and his wife Lisa Jones all donated $357 each, a report showed. Greg Fitch, also identified as an organizer, gave $200.

Liner contributed $350 to Searing and $100 to the Chapel Hill Leadership PAC. Other CHALT supporters donating to Searing include:

▪ Gordon Whitaker, $357 to Searing, and $1,000 to CHL-PAC

▪ Linda Brown, $130 to Searing, and $30 to CHL-PAC

▪ Julie McClintock, $300 to Searing and $500 to CHL-PAC

▪ Charles Humble, $200 to Searing

▪ Edward Marshall, who gave $150 to Searing and $650 to CHL-PAC

Searing’s biggest expenses included $10,000 for his campaign manager; $6,547 for phone service; and $3,292 for marketing materials and yard signs.

Anderson supporters, contributors

Anderson’s report showed 41 donors who gave $100 to $199 and 19 donors who gave $357, including Hemminger. Others include:

▪ Simon George, UNC Health Care vice president of real estate and development

▪ Extraordinary Ventures and Ireland Family Foundation founders Gregg, Gina and Joe Ireland

▪ James Johnson, owner of Blount Street Advisors, a real estate investment and consulting firm

▪ Jeff Klaitman, with N.C. Diversified Real Estate Ventures

▪ Town Council candidates Melissa McCullough and Jon Mitchell

▪ James Parrott, a fellow at the nonprofit Urban Institute and owner of Parrott Ryan Advisors

▪ Antoine Puech, entrepreneur and downtown property owner

Another 15 donors gave $200 to $300. Hemminger’s husband Brad Hemminger gave $350.

Anderson’s big-ticket expenses included $3,185 for campaign yard signs; $1,028 for T-shirts; $1,500 for Indy Week advertising; $857.50 for food, face painting and fairy hair for a campaign event; and $732.61 for marketing materials.