During this local election season, 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro spoke with candidates for races representing Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. Each answered the same set of questions regarding their decision to run for elected office, their background in the community and what they wish for residents to think of when voting this fall. Their answers (lightly edited for clarity and brevity) are shared here, as well as links to their respective campaign websites or pages. If a candidate did not respond or chose not to speak with 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro, it will be designated with no audio. The order of candidates below is in the alphabetical order of their last names.
Carrboro Town Council
(3 seats)
Carrboro’s town council has three of its six seats on the ballot, but two current office-holders are not in the 2023 race. Susan Romaine and Sammy Slade are not running for re-election, but Eliazar Posada is — along with the four first-time candidates of Catherine Fray, Jason Merrill, Stephanie Wade and April Mills. 97.9 The Hill spoke with each candidate, asking these questions:
Why were you inspired to join this race?
What are the top three issues your campaign is built on?
What do you believe is the town’s responsibility in addressing an affordable housing shortage and lack of housing inventory? If elected, how would you plan to help address that?
Which of the town’s approaches to addressing climate change at the local level do you support, and what areas would you like to see more attention toward?
Beyond what we’ve discussed, what is something you believe the Carrboro Town Council has done well in the last four years, and what is something you would have done differently?
When voters see your name on the ballot, what do you want them to think of?
Photo via Stephanie Wade for Carrboro Town Council.
Mayor of Carrboro
Incumbent Carrboro mayor Damon Seils is not running for reelection, and with candidate filing closed the race will be ran unopposed by Barbara Foushee. Here were the questions 97.9 The Hill asked:
What led you to the decision to make the jump from town board member to mayor?
Despite running unopposed, what do you hope to learn from voters and what is something you hope to inform them about?
What do you believe the Carrboro Town Council done well over your recent term, and is there anything you would’ve done differently?
What is your vision for the best possible version of Carrboro?
When voters see your name on the ballot, what do you want them to think of?
Early voting in Orange County runs from Thursday, October 19, through Saturday, November 4. Election Day will be Tuesday, November 7. For more election coverage and candidate introductions, visit Chapelboro’s Local Election Coverage page.
Photo via the Town of Carrboro.
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