ABOUT ME
As a nonprofit lawyer, lobbyist and health advocate, I led North Carolina’s premier health coalition to wins in the N.C. General Assembly that expanded coverage and improved care for millions of North Carolinians. I also helped start and run the state’s first major children’s coalition, winning new protections for kids in multiple areas, from dental care to changes for safer cars and highways. I’ve gotten awards for my work from President Barack Obama, the American Academy of Pediatrics (NC), Families USA, Indy Week in Durham and even a Capitol US flag award.
I have done none of this alone. Every single one of these legislative victories and awards came after lots of hard work with partners, allies and even opponents. Cooperating to find solutions to make life better for our lowest income and most vulnerable residents is hard, but in my experience, we can succeed if we try.
I still live in Chapel Hill, but now I fight for kids and families nationally through my work for the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. Most recently, in 2023 I was able to help amazing advocates in North Carolina finally pass Medicaid expansion in our state after more than 10 years of debate.
My Family
My wife Mimi is a UNC professor in the School of Social Work. Skylar is a proud December graduate of UNC, now working in New York City, and Cam attends East Chapel Hill High School. The last photo is of Mimi with the fifth member of our family, our dog Bear, at yet another Chapel Hill trail.
Our Chapel Hill Community
I was elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2021 and am currently almost two years into my term. My time in local government has been a learning experience. I have met with hundreds of constituents, attended hundreds of hours of meetings on everything from a local neighborhood’s problems with the power company to our town budget, researched issues from our coal ash problem to our lack of parks investment, and worked hard to understand our community’s needs and priorities. I’ve helped build affordable housing communities like our Trinity Park rebuild, fought for more parks funding, questioned developer projects where “green space” is often a muddy retention pond linked to a tiny patch of grass, fought for our local small businesses, and led the fight against housing children and families on top of our town’s toxic coal ash/garbage dump.
Before I joined the Council, I was also very active in our local community. As a teenager my first real job was working in one of our locally-owned bicycle shops. Over the years, I’ve done everything from serve for years on the Carrboro Planning Board to help start a community coalition around saving the Greene Tract Forest off Homestead Road. I’ve helped grow our local youth mountain bike league and have been coach of the Phillips Middle School Falcons Mountain Bike Team. I’ve also written a local column about bikes and hiking and had the honor of volunteering for months in UNC’s COVID vaccine clinic at the UNC-Chapel Hill Friday Center. I’ve been married for 27 years to Mimi Chapman, a professor in the UNC School of Social Work. We have an older son, Skylar, who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2023, and a younger son, Cameron, who is a junior at East Chapel Hill High.
Why I’m Running for Mayor
We need a mayor that listens to the residents instead of consistently ignoring community concerns. We need to invest in and protect greenspace, while building affordable housing. I want to make a difference and be a strong voice for a new plan to make our community a leader in parks, trails, and open space.
I’ve been playing in the creeks of Chapel Hill for half a century! Here I am in Bolin Creek when we lived in the (now torn-down) Town House Apartments. I love our town’s natural spaces and want to preserve what’s best about them for our kids and for future generations.
Adam playing in Bolin Creek c.1971
Can you help?
I appreciate your financial support!
Let’s make Chapel Hill a town that future generations
can enjoy and be proud of.
Get the Latest News
Give me your email address and I’ll keep you up to date. I’ll be going on occasional hikes, and meeting people in town to talk about the issues. Email is an easy way to know what’s next.
