EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town as a political action committee. It is an advocacy group that works closely with the Chapel Hill Leadership Political Action Committee. The article has since been updated.
More local organizations are sharing endorsements of candidates for town government races in Orange County.
The Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town and the NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund each recently released lists of candidates earning their support for Chapel Hill and Carrboro races this fall. CHALT shared its endorsements Friday, while NEXT’s published on Monday.
CHALT shared endorsements for three candidates in this election cycle: Hongbin Gu in the Chapel Hill mayoral race and Vimala Rajendran and Adam Searing in the Chapel Hill Town Council race. The advocacy group, which pledges to curb “urban sprawl” while promoting resilient growth and economic sustainability, based its endorsements off of its questionnaire and interviews it conducted with all the Chapel Hill candidates.
Despite endorsing current Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger in the past, CHALT said the group believes she has not shown bold leadership during her previous three terms, citing a lack of reform to the Blue Hill district form-based code and support for housing projects that include “unsightly apartments.”
“Mayor Hemminger and Dr. Gu approach problems from different directions,” wrote the advocacy group in its support of Gu. “Whereas Pam seems to prefer playing it safe in order to avoid a bad outcome, Hongbin is willing to take calculated risks to achieve a good outcome. Hongbin is driven to make things happen, and over the last two years, both Hongbin and CHALT have grown increasingly dissatisfied with Pam’s leadership and her inability to make progress on many of the problems Chapel Hill’s residents identify as most important.”
CHALT also said its endorsements of Searing and Rajendran for the Chapel Hill Town Council are based on the pair’s strengths aligning with CHALT’s priorities.
NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro endorsed three different candidates in the Chapel Hill races, as well as three candidates in Carrboro’s races. The group, which aims to promote economic opportunities for residents of all income levels and to expand local housing choices, endorsed Hemminger in the Chapel Hill mayor race. Incumbent town council member Karen Stegman, as well as challenger candidates Camille Berry and Paris Miller-Foushee were each endorsed in the council race.
NEXT said it was conflicted with its choice to endorse Hemminger, but cited her support of the new Climate Action Plan, the Future Land Use Map and her background in the town government as key reasons the PAC is supporting her.
“Mayor Hemminger works well with town staff, heeds the advice of experts, and can assemble a coalition of Council members on key issues,” wrote NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro. “This is particularly important as we begin the process of rewriting Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance [also called the LUMO,] which will shape our community’s future for decades to come.”
Support for more affordable housing, work in addressing racial equity and fits with NEXT’s goals for the area were among the reasons cited for endorsing Stegman, Berry and Miller-Foushee.
In the Carrboro races, NEXT endorsed Damon Seils in the mayoral race and incumbent Barbara Foushee and challenger Danny Nowell in the town council race. The PAC wrote it believes Seils’ experience in the government and leadership on social justice issues sets him apart. Foushee’s endorsement stems from her long-time influence in the community, as well as her views on climate justice, transit, and affordable housing. Nowell, meanwhile, earned NEXT’s support based on his “strong campaign in support of affordable housing and support for low-resources communities,” as well as his stances on transportation alternatives and economic development.
To read the full details of endorsements from each advocacy group, visit the NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro Action Fund’s website and the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town’s website.
For more coverage of the 2021 town government elections, visit Chapelboro’s Local Election Coverage page.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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