The filing period for this fall’s upcoming local elections came to a close on Friday, locking in which candidates will have their names on the ballot. In Orange, Chatham, and Durham counties, many races saw a variety of candidates enter.
Two of the local mayor races will be contested this fall, while three are unopposed. Barbara Foushee in Carrboro, Mark Bell in Hillsborough, and Kyle Shipp in Pittsboro are poised to take over the role in their respective towns – all moving up from their current elected positions.
Meanwhile, Chapel Hill will likely see a competitive race from council colleagues Jess Anderson and Adam Searing whose campaigns indicate they land on opposite sides of the town’s recent planning approaches. In Durham, eight residents joined the mayoral race – including city council members DeDreana Freeman and Leonardo Williams. State Senator Mike Woodard is also in the group who filed for the role.
The town board and council races largely all saw a high return on filings. In Chapel Hill, three incumbents’ departures mean some of the ten candidates on the ballot will be joining the town council this winter. The race may be defined by the groups of candidates running as blocs. One that has already joined together is largely criticizing the council’s more progressive votes of late and have been endorsed by Adam Searing: Breckany Eckhardt, Elizabeth Sharp, Renuka Soll, and David Adams. The other grouping seems to align with the council’s recent planning approaches: Melissa McCullough, Jon Mitchell, Theodore Nollert, and Erik Valera. One-term incumbent Amy Ryan and technician Jeffrey Hoagland are the other two candidates.
In Carrboro, three seats are available on the council with just one incumbent running for re-election in Eliazar Posada, who is seeking his first full term after winning a special election in 2022. It means the group of Catherine Fray, Jason Merrill, April Mills, and Stephanie Wade each have a shot at earning elected office for the first time.
In Hillsborough, two of the three incumbents are running again. Matt Hughes and Evelyn Lloyd each filed early in the period, leaving Meaghun Darab and Victoria Masika to campaign for the seat left by Bell’s run for mayor.
Pittsboro is in a similar situation, with one town commissioner seat open after Shipp moved into the mayoral race. Incumbents John Bonitz and J.A. Ferrell are each running again, but they will face four other challengers: Allen B. Wilson, John Foley, C.P. Stewart, and Kali Korey.
The most wide-open race will likely be the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education. Nineteen people filed to run after seeing no candidates enter the race through the majority of the registration period. Three incumbents – Rani Dasi, Deon Temne, and Ashton Powell – are all running again, having filed in the final hours of the filing period. But with 16 other residents vying for those three seats and the expiring seat of Jillian La Serna, a handful of votes could make a big difference in November’s election.
Now, these candidates will work to share their platforms and meet voters ahead of the fall. Voter registration for the local election cycle is ongoing and will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 13. Early voting for the 2023 elections begins on Thursday, October 19, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.
The full list of candidates in each races Chapelboro is following this election season can be found here. Additional coverage of candidates and local races can be found on Chapelboro’s Local Elections page.
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