A familiar face in Orange County politics is looking to make a leap into elected office next year.
Marilyn Carter, the current president of Democratic Women of Orange County and former Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, filed to run for the county’s board of commissioners on Tuesday. Carter, a Chapel Hill resident, filed to run for District 1 and shared a social media post to help launch her campaign.
“Orange County has a once-in-a-generation opportunity ahead,” she wrote. “The Board of County Commissioners is developing long-range plans for land use, housing, climate, development, schools, and public health. Significant investment has come into our county through federal infrastructure dollars and the opioid settlement.
“In short,” Carter added, “this is the moment to continue our progress and advance equity in Orange County.”
In addition to her work in the local Democratic party, Carter is also a member of the Orange County Planning Board, which she cited as a strength of her candidacy. In her professional life, she’s worked for IBM and Cisco Systems as a senior project manager and senior manager of operations, respectively.
Carter has been up for consideration by the Orange County Board of Commissioners before. She was one of several people who applied to the board for appointment in 2021 after Mark Dorosin resigned ahead of a move to Florida and left his District 1 chair vacant. Ultimately, Anna Richards was chosen by county commissioners to fill the seat and ran unopposed in 2022 to finish the term. Richards announced on Monday night she would not be seeking re-election after her term ends in 2024.
Carter credited Richards’ work on the county board for working to expand social justice programs, mental health services for youth, and resources to address challenges in local schools, like learning loss influenced by the recent pandemic and the long-existing opportunity gap.
“Commissioner Richards has been a leading voice for social justice and a strong advocate for students in Orange County,” said Carter. “We are lucky that she will continue to serve our County as Commissioner through 2024.”
There are two District 1 seats — which represent both Chapel Hill and Carrboro — on the ballot in 2024. Sitting commissioner Jean Hamilton, who is also a Democratic commissioner, announced on Monday she plans to run for re-election. The two top vote-earners from each party will advance from the primary in March to face off for those two seats during the general election in November. Additionally, there is one District 2 seat and one at-large seat up for election next year.
The filing period for candidates in both county and statewide races will continue through Friday, December 15, at 12 p.m. A list of those who have entered the races can be found here.
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