Long-time Mebane city council member Patty Philipps announced at the end of the council’s February 7, 2022 meeting that the next meeting (March 7, 2022) will be her last.
Philipps, 59, was recognized by mayor Ed Hooks at the end of Mebane’s February council meeting to make her announcement. She recounted some of the significant developments in the city since she was first elected in 2003 and expressed appreciation for her service on the council. But she said she and her husband’s “next steps will take us elsewhere.”
The 19-year council veteran and her husband, Andrew Philipps, who has recently retired, will be moving to the coast after March, where they already have a vacation home in Oriental and a 40-foot sailboat. One of their plans is to sail to Cape Cod during the summer of 2022, she elaborated after the meeting.
Sometime after March, the council will turn to the appointment of a replacement to fill out the remaining two years of Philipps’ term.
Much speculation on that appointment immediately focused on Katie Burkholder, who was the fourth-place finisher in the November 2021 election, immediately behind the three candidates who were elected: Tim Bradley, who was re-elected; and Jonathan White and Montrena Hadley.
Bradley had 986 votes from both Alamance and Orange counties; White 950; and Hadley won with 853. Burkholder placed fourth with 725; Charles Lopez had 702; and Roger Parker had 381. For White, Hadley, Burkholder, and Lopez, it was their first run for public office.
