Carrboro voters have selected their newest town council member: Eliazar Posada.

The nonprofit consultant and former CEO of El Centro Hispano earned 74 percent of the vote in a special election for a vacant seat on the council with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Small business owner Aja Kelleher earned 24 as the only other candidate on the ballot.

“[When] I saw those numbers come in, somebody needed to pinch me,” Posada told 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck after the race was called. “It was a huge validation of not just our vision for Carrboro, but all the hard work that so many people have put into this campaign.”

The Carrboro Town Council was left with an open seat when Damon Seils was elected to the mayorship in late 2021. Seils was re-elected to the council in 2019, meaning Posada’s term in the seat be about 18 months long.

Seils shared congratulations to Posada on social media Tuesday night, saying Posada will be sworn into the town council on Tuesday, June 7.

“I’m gonna do everything I can to honor their vote,” Posada said of his supporters. “Honor their work in my campaign, and make sure that I make every single person, whether you voted for me or not, proud to have me as your councilmember.”

Posada, who describes himself as the son of migrant farm workers, moved to Carrboro in 2016. After working with El Centro Hispano, which focuses on building community between Hispanic/Latino/Latinx residents and their communities in North Carolina, he now helps other nonprofits with strategy and community advocacy. Posada also serves on the Chapel Hill Reimagine Community Safety taskforce, Carrboro Planning Board, and as Chair of the Raleigh Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs Board.

 

Photo via INDYWeek.


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