The end of an era is coming for the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Barry Jacobs is leaving the board after serving for two decades. After initially filing to run for another term, Jacobs withdrew that paperwork. On the same day, former Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Sally Greene filed to run for the seat.
Greene is facing off with two Orange County attorneys – Brian Crawford and Noah Oswald – to replace Jacobs on the at-large seat on the commissioners up for election this year representing all of Orange County.
Greene said she would rely on her background working on the Town Council to work on countywide initiatives.
“Service for homelessness, affordable housing, criminal justice issues, mental health issues – the way I got into Town Council work was through those kinds of issues,” Greene said in an interview. “Those are issues that the county is really, largely responsible for – helping people lead their best lives.
“And I believe that I have the experience to take this work to the entire county.”
Crawford also pointed to poverty rates in the county as an area that needs focus and intentional work from the commissioners.
“I don’t think [the poverty rate] is something that the values of Orange County would stand for when people recognize that,” Crawford said. “So, what I’d like to try to do is make sure that we can bring enough jobs so that people who want to live in Orange County can afford to live here.”
Oswald said that focusing on economic development would alleviate some of the funding burden from property taxes of county residents.
“By diversifying our county revenue stream from relying on residential property taxes to inviting and successfully recruiting corporate and business partners who make Orange County their home and add to our corporate revenues without adding to our service needs in the county,” Oswald said.
At 33 years old, Oswald is significantly younger than other candidates and recent commissioners, which Oswald said is a valuable perspective to bring into the decision-making process that affects all county residents.
“Lack of knowledge of the current growth patterns and issues that happen for somebody who is growing up in our community, wants to be engaged in our community and what priorities the county has that we feel like we have benefitted from or things that we feel like could be done better or differently to ensure that the community that we know and love stays a community for people to know and love.”
Oswald pointed to recently going through the homebuying process in Orange County for the first time as a perspective on affordability that is currently lacking from the board.
Crawford, who has served on the Orange County Planning Board, described himself as a consensus builder and said that would serve the county well on the Board of Commissioners.
“I’m known to listen,” Crawford said, “not to jump to quick positions right away and hear both sides; I try to be fair, maybe it’s the mediator in me.”
Crawford said the mentality of being “stronger together,” which Hillary Clinton used as her campaign slogan in the 2016 presidential race, would benefit the county.
“I think all of us are much better if we can figure out how to make sure everybody in Orange County enjoys it.”
Greene added that criminal justice reform would be a priority for her, if elected to the board.
“There’s a movement of pre-trial reform that I think Orange County could join to end the cash bail system for misdemeanors and other non-violent felons,” Greene said.
Overall, voters will be choosing one of the three candidates between Crawford, Greene and Oswald to serve in the at-large seat on the board.
In District 1, representing southern Orange County, former Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Board of Education member Jamezetta Bedford was the only candidate who filed to replace another former CHCCS board member Mia Burroughs, who chose not to seek re-election.
District 2 voters in northern Orange County will be choosing between incumbent Earl McKee and challenger Tommy McNeill.
Early voting is continuing Friday and Saturday for this year’s primary – where this race will be decided. Election Day is May 8.
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