Matt Czajkowski

10:40 a.m. Nov. 4 - The original version of this story cited election result numbers that only included Orange County precincts. The Chapel Hill mayoral and town council races also draw votes from one precinct in Durham County. This story has been updated to reflect the numbers being reported by the State Board of Elections, which reports on election results from all counties (Scroll to view the Chapel Hill race).

In a polarizing mayoral campaign between “establishment” and “pro-business” candidates, the man labeled as the embodiment of current policies won.

After serving eight years on the Town Council, Mark Kleinschmidt won the tight race with 48.62 percent of the vote.

In the aftermath of the divisive campaign, Kleinschmidt said cooperation will be necessary to build on the successes of Kevin Foy’s term.

Of 60 signs endorsing Matt Czajkowski for Chapel Hill mayor on campus, only four remain, a Czajkowski campaign manager said.

On-campus campaign manager Kendall Law said a campus group took down the signs and replaced them with signs for an event.

With just days before the election, the campaign doesn't plan to put up new ones.

"If they're just going to be taken down in that magnitude I don't think we're going to waste good money on that," Law said.

More than 50 students and residents attended a forum Tuesday in hopes that Chapel Hill mayoral candidates could offer new solutions to local problems.

The Daily Tar Heel, WCHL 1360, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and Empowerment, Inc. sponsored the forum, which was moderated by former mayor Rosemary Waldorf.

It was one of several forums Augustus Cho, Matt Czajkowski, Mark Kleinschmidt and Kevin Wolff will use to publicize plans.

Two years ago, Matt Czajkowski’s supporters criticized the Chapel Hill Town Council for voting 9-0 on several key issues.

“Where’s the dissent, you know?” Czajkowski said. “If there’s not votes against it, does that mean what they’re approving is perfect?”

Two years later, the votes are no longer unanimous.

Czajkowski, one of four candidates running for mayor of Chapel Hill, has a reputation for being the “lone dissenter” on many Town Council decisions, but he said that status should help him, not hurt him, in the upcoming election.

Candidates for Chapel Hill government met at University Presbyterian Church on Thursday to discuss downtown parking and development.

Hosted by Friends of Downtown, the forum showcased the four mayoral candidates and the eight Town Council candidates.

Several of the candidates cited Durham’s policy of offering free parking as an example of a successful parking plan.

Many candidates stressed the need to streamline the process of opening a business and reduce its cost in order for downtown to develop.

Mayoral candidates

Businesses have seen fewer panhandlers, and arrests have fallen in the last couple of years. Chapel Hill mayoral candidates will have to give their ideas for continuing the trend this election season.

Several measures, like the Orange County 10 Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and the Real Change from Spare Change program have reduced the number of panhandlers, said Jim Norton, executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.