The 2026 race for the Orange County Board of Commissioners gained three members in recent days: two incumbents and one second-time challenger.
District 1 Commissioner Jamezetta Bedford and District 2 Commissioner Earl McKee, whose terms are set to expire next December, both formalized their runs for re-election on the opening day of the filing period. Both Democrats, Bedford is seeking her third term, while McKee is seeking a fifth term.
“My experience serving on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, as a local CPA, as a mother of an adult daughter with autism and intellectual developmental disability, and as a grandmother of two children enrolled in CHCCS has definitely helped me perform the duties of commissioner,” wrote Bedford in a press release. “Seven years of Commissioner experience, two as vice chair and three as chair, and serving as liaison on many of our county and regional committees have deepened my understanding of these complex systems.”
A Chapel Hill resident serving on one of the boards three District 1 seats, Bedford joined the county commissioners after serving on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education. She finished a three-year stint chairing the board on Monday, which came after serving two years as its vice chair. She cited her experience in elected office — as well as her professional background and personal background as a mother of an adult daughter with autism and intellectual developmental disability — as having shaped how she navigates decisions on the board.
“My first campaign focused on health and safety, public education, senior and disability services, affordable housing and economic development which remain key topics,” Bedford wrote in a press release launching her campaign. “Four years ago the global pandemic highlighted core issues faced by families in our county like food insecurity, the need for basic utilities like clean water, access to mental health services, lack of broadband, the need for expanded transit options, how to address the climate crisis and how racial justice intertwines across all. We have made progress in these areas, and I’d like to help several projects come to fruition.”
One of those is the county’s ongoing efforts to refresh its public school infrastructure. Bedford said constructing the five new school buildings from the $300 million bond referendum approved in 2024 is a top priority, alongside building and opening the crisis diversion facility Orange County is planning for Hillsborough. The goal for the behavioral health center is to address gaps in responses to mental health crises and be “a welcoming community-facing safe place where residents and visitors can receive services,” said Bedford. She also listed implementing the county’s strategic plan and climate action plan, encouraging more affordable housing options, expanding broadband and reviewing the county’s tax assessment process as key goals.
McKee is a Caldwell resident and retired farmer who has held a variety of positions both on the board of county commissioners and in the Orange County community where his family has lived since the 19th century. Having served as the board’s chair and vice chair, he has long championed his representation of the county’s rural areas and priorities, like broadband expansion. He petitioned the board to start a task force to examine Orange County residents’ needs for consistent internet connectivity, which partially led to the ongoing public-private partnership with Lumos to provide broadband to more than 5,800 homes.
McKee announced his plans to run for re-election on Facebook Sunday evening.
“Should I be successful in this effort,” he wrote, “I intend to focus on completion of the broadband project with fiber running past every property possible, continued support for increased proficiency of all students in our dual school systems, and support for our great emergency services and law enforcement personnel.”
McKee also said he plans to push the board and state representatives to expanding North Carolina’s Homestead exemption for homeowners who are 65 years old and up, citing the need to find a solution “for the ever-increasing tax burden on our residents living on fixed incomes” as the age in place. Presently, the state excludes a portion of the appraised value of permanent residence owned and occupied by seniors whose income does not exceed $37,900 annually or who are permanently disabled.
The third seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 2026 is the at-large seat, which is expected to draw attention from candidates after Commissioner Sally Greene said she would not seek re-election. One of those challengers is Adam Beeman, who plans to run for the second consecutive county cycle. Beeman, a Democrat who lives in Cedar Grove, ran in the 2024 primary for a District 2 seat, ultimately finishing third behind Phyllis Portie-Ascott and Horace Johnson Jr.
In addition to owning and operating an electrical contracting business, he has also served on the Orange County Planning Board for eight years — including four years as chair and two years as vice chair — and the county’s Board of Adjustment. Beeman listed some of his policy priorities as funding more skilled trades offerings in Orange County’s schools, promoting smart growth by using density and expanding current water/sewer infrastructure instead of private wastewater systems. He is also an advocate for reforming the county board’s current allocation of seats to the districts, promising to push for two District 1 and District 2 seats and three at-large seats compared to the current three-two-two setup, respectively.
The filing period for 2026 primary and general elections in North Carolina — for federal, state and county government positions — runs through Friday, Dec. 19 at 12 p.m. Learn who else has filed for office in Orange County by reading Chapelboro’s coverage.
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