Built on a substantial lead in the early voting totals, a slate of candidates with progressive policies in Carrboro won terms to the town council on Tuesday night.
Incumbent Eliazar Posada, as well as newcomers Catherine Fray and Jason Merrill, earned the majority of the vote among five candidates on the ballot after running together as the “Carrboro Better Together” slate.
With all of the town’s precincts reporting, Fray earned the most votes with 27.1 percent (3,570 votes), as Posada finished second with 26.8 percent and Merrill in third with 25.9 percent. Stephanie Wade and April Mills finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, with 10.4 percent and 9.5 percent of the vote. The results largely reflected the trends from early voting results earlier in the evening, where the trio of winning candidates jumped out to an early lead.
The “Carrboro Better Together” bloc ran on its shared plan to promote policies supporting affordable housing development, improving biking and pedestrian options and safety, and addressing climate change. The trio joined forces in September after initially beginning their candidacy individually during the summer.
With a win, Posada earned his first full elected term to the town council. He first joined elected office in 2022, winning a special election to finish out the seat vacated by Damon Seils when Seils was elected to mayor. Fray, meanwhile, has extensive experience within the Carrboro government despite not holding elected office. They served several years on the town’s planning commission, including two terms as its chair, and also co-chaired the 2020-22 task force that developed the town’s comprehensive plan, “Carrboro Connects.” Merrill, meanwhile, joined the slate in alignment with Fray and Posada’s policies and values. A member of the local business community, his platform was built on following the comprehensive plan’s framework and focusing on expanding transit options — which builds upon his experience serving on Chapel Hill’s Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board.
While Posada will retain his seat, Fray and Merrill will join the town council as members Susan Romaine and Sammy Slade depart. Slade, who served across 14 years, shared in July he was stepping away in part due to the “existential threat” caused by climate change and a desire to spend more time with loved ones. Romaine, meanwhile, will leave after one four-year term to continue her local nonprofit work. She said at the time she believed the future for Carrboro “is bright.”
Mills provided Chapelboro with a concession statement on Tuesday night. It read:
“I love that Carrboro is diverse and that one can become engaged and try to make a difference. I certainly hope that I have! However, this process has opened my eyes to a few things that residents will want to know. Candidates are intentionally excluded from interviews and media opportunities. Endorsements are not what they seem, and there’s a reason they are all the same. There is no fact-checking in some of what is published. There was also intimidation of community members, to silence those who challenged misinformation and name-calling. I do think it’s ridiculous that our town council is not representative of our neighborhoods or the population—so I’m proud to have given the community that option. I respect that it was not my time.”
The Carrboro Town Council is set to swear in its new members during its Tuesday, December 5 meeting.
Other local election results from races in Orange and Chatham County can be found here.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on November 7, and was updated on November 8 to include April Mills’ concession statement.
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