The filing period has closed for the municipal elections on the ballot this fall.
Several new faces are guaranteed to be on local governing boards after the election based off a few incumbents choosing not to file.
Five candidates filed for three open seats on the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, including incumbents James Barrett and Joal Hall Broun. Three newcomers – Calvin Deutschbein, Mary Ann Wolf and Amy Fowler – also filed for the open seats. Incumbent Andrew Davidson did not file for re-election.
There will be competitive races for Mayor in Carrboro and Hillsborough for the first time in recent election cycles. Lydia Lavelle is running for a third term as mayor of Carrboro, but after running unopposed in 2013 and 2015 Lavelle will be challenged by Mike Benson this fall. This will be the first competitive mayoral race in Carrboro since 2009.
Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens, who is running for his seventh term, is being challenged by Cindy Talisman. Stevens has ran unopposed each election since knocking off incumbent Mayor Joe Phelps in 2005. Talisman ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners in 2015.
While Stevens is being challenged in Hillsborough, the two incumbent town commissioners in the county seat, Kathleen Ferguson and Jenn Weaver, were the only candidates to file for the two seats on the board up for election this fall.
There will be four seats up for election in November on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. Three seats will be full terms and the candidate who receives the fourth most votes will fill out the two remaining years of the unexpired term of Michelle Johnson, who resigned earlier this year when relocating.
The incumbents running for the board are Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O’Donnell and Sammy Slade. Newcomers Barbara Foushee and Paul Clark also filed for a seat on the board.
Pam Hemminger is running unopposed for her second term as Chapel Hill mayor.
There will be a competitive race and at least two new faces guaranteed for the four seats open on the Chapel Hill Town Council after George Cianciolo and Sally Greene chose to not to file for re-election. Two incumbents – Ed Harrison and Maria Palmer – did file to run for their current seats on the council. The challengers who filed are Allen Buansi, Rachel Schaevitz, Karen Stegman, Carl Schuler and Hongbin Gu.
Early voting for the 2017 election is set to run from October 19 – November 4. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.
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