On the day the 2024 filing period opened in North Carolina, current Orange County Commissioner Jean Hamilton announced she will be seeking re-election.
Hamilton, who is one of three District 1 representatives on the county board, shared a press release saying she plans to file and campaign for another four-year term. She said her motivation is to continue strengthening Orange County’s ability to “meet current and future challenges.”
“I have worked hard in the past few years,” Hamilton wrote, “to listen and understand the needs and values of the community, to work respectfully and collaboratively with other elected officials and local government staff, and to use our financial and natural resources efficiently and effectively.”
Hamilton earned election to the Orange County board in 2020 as the top vote-earner in the District 1 race, which covers Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She was elected with 37 percent of the vote over Mark Dorosin — who ultimately earned the second seat — and Penny Rich.
The two pillars of Hamilton’s 2024 campaign are addressing Orange County’s schools’ infrastructure needs and tackling other capital needs in a financially-sound way. The Democratic commissioner listed her efforts chairing the Capital Needs Work Group and pushing it to develop plans for updating school facilities as one example, as well as her voting record on how to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to support different programs for residents. Hamilton added that she supports the long-term planning goals of developing a county-wide strategic plan, a 2050 land use plan, and Orange County’s climate action plan as steps to best inform the local government’s approach to wellbeing.
“I look forward to using my community and BOCC experience and my graduate education in economics and social work to continue to listen, collaborate, ask hard questions, and be a good steward of our resources to meet the present and future needs of Orange County,” said Hamilton.
Before her time on the Board of County Commissioners, Hamilton served one term on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education from 2005-2009 and was also appointed to finish two terms in 2010 and 2019. She additionally served on the Women AdvaNCe and The ArtsCenter’s respective boards of directors and is a member of the local NAACP. In her professional life, Hamilton has a private psychotherapy and counseling practice in Chapel Hill.
Hamilton is the first candidate to publicly announce for the two District 1 seats on the ballot in 2024. Anna Richards holds the other seat that is seeing the end of its four-year term, which she was appointed to fill in 2021 and won election to finish out in 2022. There are also one District 2 seat — which covers Hillsborough and rural Orange County — and one at-large seat on the local ballot.
The filing period for 2024 state government elections began on Monday and will last through noon on Friday, December 15. The primary election is set for March 5, while the general election will be November 5.
Photo via the Orange County government.
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