HILLSBOROUGH -- At the end of the first day of election filing in Orange, a single name was down to run for one of three open Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board seats -- and it belonged to a newcomer.

Parent Michelle "Shell" Brownstein is a former UNC-trained surgeon with four children. She served on the parent advocacy committee at Mary Scroggs Elementary and on the state Parent-Teacher Association. She speaks publicly on how families can support students who are both gifted and disabled.

In other races, as they'd previously announced, Augustus Cho filed to run for Chapel Hill mayor; Penny Rich filed to run for one of four seats on the Chapel Hill Town Council; Sammy Slade and incumbents Jacquie Gist and Randee Haven-O'Donnell filed to run for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen; Tom Stevens filed to defend his seat as Hillsborough mayor; and Hillsborough Town Commissioner Mike Gering filed for re-election.

Election filing continues until July 17 at noon. For daily updates go to blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat.

ELECTION

2009