At the end of Election Day Tuesday, Carrboro voters elected Damon Seils as Carrboro mayor and Barbara Foushee, Danny Nowell, and Randee Haven-O’Donnell to the Carrboro Town Council.

With all eight precincts reported, Damon Seils received 90.25 percent of the vote.

Barbara Foushee received 32.38 percent of the vote, Danny Nowell 24.82 percent of the vote and Randee Haven O’Donnell 17.63 percent of the vote.

The Carrboro Mayor race was called earlier in the evening with Seils receiving 92 percent of the early vote. This is his first term as mayor.

“It was a pretty big rush,” Seils told 97.9 The Hill. “It’s been a great night. I’m just so pleased and grateful.”

He defeated challenger Michael Benson for the mayoral seat. Current Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle previously announced she would not seek re-election for a fifth term in the position.

Seils thanked outgoing Carrboro Mayor Lavelle and previous Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton in his remarks.

“The two of them have been really great role models for me and have really taught me how to be a mayor,” Seils said. “I’m looking forward to following in their footsteps.”

Seils received endorsements from many groups including INDY Week, the Daily Tar Heel, Sierra Club, LGBTQ Victory Fund and Equality NC.

Seils first earned election to the Carrboro Town Council in 2013 and was re-elected for a third term in 2019. Prior to serving on the Carrboro Town Council, he served twice as elected chair of the Carrboro Planning Board and the chair of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. He also works as a research communications specialist at the Duke University School of Medicine.

In the Carrboro Town Council race, incumbents Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O’Donnell, and Barbara Foushee ran against challengers Aja Kelleher and Danny Nowell for three seats. Ultimately, voters elected Foushee, Haven-O’Donnell, and Nowell.

After early voting results came in, Foushee led the votes with almost 33 percent, followed by Nowell with almost 25 percent, Haven-O’Donnell at 18 percent Gist at almost 16 percent and Kelleher with almost 8 percent.

Barbara Foushee.

Foushee was first elected in 2017 and currently serves as mayor pro tem of Carrboro. This will be her second term on council and she said she was grateful for four more years to serve the Carrboro community.

“It’s certainly been an honor and I have a lot of gratitude,” Foushee said. “I’m very humbled by the trust the community continues to put in me.”

Foushee received endorsements from Sierra Club, INDY Week, Daily Tar Heel, Progressive Dems, Equality NC, and Breakfast Club.

Foushee said she believed voters were satisfied with her service and the perspective she brings as a woman of color on the town council.

“As I’ve said throughout my whole campaign, representation does matter,” Foushee said. “My community recognizes that and I appreciate it.”

Haven-O’Donnell was first elected in 2005. This will be their fourth term on the council. They were endorsed by Sierra Club, Daily Tar Heel, Equality NC, and Breakfast Club.

Nowell is a newcomer to the council. He received endorsements from NEXT, Sierra Club, INDY Week, Daily Tar Heel, and Progressive Dems.

He said he believed Carrboro had a strong appetite to be a progressive leader and model that it understands itself to be.

“We have a town full of people who want to figure it out, what it means to be a town that gets it right on climate, a town that gets it right on racial equity,” Nowell said. “I’m so honored and so thankful that by reaching out to all of our neighbors and by knocking these doors we have found that appetite.”

Danny Nowell.

Nowell said he is receptive to the message of everyone who lives there.

“If you are invested in this community and want to take part in it, I want to be a part of the solutions to your problems,” Nowell said. “I want to hear from you and I want to be able to mobilize resources on your behalf.”

Incumbent Jacquelyn Gist lost her seat after serving on the council since 1989. She had received endorsements from Sierra Club and Equality NC. This is the first time since 2001, an incumbent lost their seat to a challenger on the Carrboro Town Council.

After all precincts were reported, Gist received 15.48 percent of the votes and Kelleher 9.25 percent of the votes.

Carrboro Mayor-elect Seils said he looks forward to “getting to work.”

Randee Haven-O’Donnell.

“Part of what we have to do especially in a region like the triangle and special communities like Carrboro is embrace the change that all of these growth pressures are bringing upon us,” Seils said. “Think about what the next 20, 30 years mean for a little town like Carrboro in this larger region. I’m ready to do that and I think a lot of people are ready to do that.”

Seils, Foushee, Haven-O’Donnell, and Nowell will begin their terms for their elected roles in December.

Results for all Orange County elections can be found here.

 

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