Longtime Carrboro Town Council member Randee Haven-O’Donnell announced that she will not seek reelection, citing the need for new voices in local government and a desire to turn her attention towards activism.

“I am humbled by the gift of having served with my community folks and treasure all of our work together for our beloved hometown,” her statement read. “At this time, I encourage new voices to step up, collaborate and represent our beloved hometown community through its governance.”

Haven-O’Donnell was first elected to the Carrboro Town Council, then known as the Board of Aldermen, in 2005. Since then, she has served five consecutive terms, during which time Carrboro has grown and added to its community. She was last elected in 2021.

“I’ve been in the room and at the table to guide our ‘little engine that could’ hometown through expansion of her municipal boundary and the densification of her population,” she said of her time on the council. “In my capacity as an elected Town official, I have engaged as a community organizer to build and fortify the community as we became the progressive stronghold we are today.”

During her time on the council, she oversaw the approval of the South Green development, a community safety task force, and greenway projects.

She said that her decision not to run again is motivated in large part by what she sees as the current threat to American democracy.

“It is time to invest more deeply in community awareness, action and advocacy,” she said. “I feel called to act in a different capacity, one that furthers education, seeks to motivate and mobilize our citizenry to be resilient and face the challenges ahead together.”

She specified that her focus after leaving the council will be activism in a few key areas, which she says she was unable to give enough attention to because of her seat. Those include women’s reproductive rights, tenants’ rights, local stormwater mitigation, environmental preservation, water quality, and PFAS pollution.

“Now is the time for me to repurpose [my] early activism with the leadership skills I have developed on the Town Council,” she said. “Therefore, with the urgency of this kind of community work in mind, I am not seeking reelection.”

 

Featured image via Randee Haven-O’Donnell

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