As of noon on Friday, the filing period for the upcoming special election in Carrboro officially closed.
Despite being an election cycle focused on federal and statewide elections, the Carrboro Town Council is holding a special election to fill a seat with an unfinished term — which will have one year left on it once someone is elected this fall.
But, with the filing period finished, who is running for that seat?
Who Will Be on the Ballot?
- Cristóbal Palmer
- Isaac Woolsey
Palmer is a digital library director at UNC who describes his campaign platform as aligned with the town’s recent comprehensive plan and focused on “transportation transformation.” Woolsey also has transit as a central point of his reason for running, as the disability advocate says he wants Chapel Hill Transit to reinstate later run times scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more about the two candidates in Chapelboro’s coverage of their filing. Palmer’s can be found here and Woolsey’s can be found here.
How Did We Get Here?
With Barbara Foushee’s election last fall, a seat with two years left on its term was left open – since the council member was previously elected in 2021. That means, as Foushee reminded the community during a conversation with 97.9 The Hill, that whoever files could serve only for a short period if they so choose – or could get a jumpstart at an opportunity for a longer term.
“They would run for the open seat now, this November,” said Foushee. “But if they wanted to run again to get the four-year seat, they’d have to run another election in 2025 [with the other council seats.]”
Like all town elections, the position and race is non-partisan, but it will appear on Carrboro voters’ ballots with the federal and state elections in November.
History and Public Service
If it does not feel all that long ago since Carrboro’s latest special election, you’re not wrong.
Eliazar Posada was elected during the 2022 cycle to fill the vacant seat left by Damon Seils when Seils made the jump in 2021 from council member to mayor. Posada then earned re-election in the 2023 cycle and is now serving a four-year term.
What does the current Carrboro mayor recommend for anyone thinking of running a local campaign for town council?
“Have a message for the community and how you stand out,” said Foushee. “[Share] how your service may be different from some of us serving on the council right now and what you would do if you were elected. These are the kinds of things that people – the community – want to hear about: who are you, what have you done, and what will you do if you get elected?”
While Foushee said the work is demanding and requires much more behind-the-scenes coordination and management than most people realize, she added the impact of being an elected official can be profoundly inspiring.
“It’s public service at the highest level,” the mayor said, “so your life as you know it – if elected – will never be the same.”
Early voting in the fall general election cycle, which includes the special Carrboro Town Council election, is set to begin on Thursday, October 17.
Featured photo via the Town of Carrboro.
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