Rani Dasi appears poised to succeed the late Jamezetta Bedford on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, after the Chapel Hill and Carrboro leaders of the Orange County Democratic Party voted for her selection on Monday night.
The executive committee members of the local party picked Dasi out of a group of six applicants to the District 1 seat — a necessary step after Bedford won March’s Democratic primary but died suddenly on June 21. The selection means Dasi, a veteran member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, will replace Bedford as the Democratic nominee in this fall’s general election. Bedford was running unopposed by any Republican candidates, putting Dasi in a strong position to be elected to a four-year term to the county board.
“Thank you so much to everybody,” Dasi said following the results. “I am so incredibly honored and I do not take this lightly. I bring my personal experience to this, commitment to continuing to listen, engage and learn. To the other candidates, I appreciate you. It was great hearing your comments, and your passion and commitment to Orange County.”
Dasi earned 66.9% of the votes over a pool that included former Chapel Hill mayor and former Orange County commissioner Pam Hemminger; Bedford’s primary opponent and retired faith leader María Palmer; former Chapel Hill Planning Board member Erik Valera; former Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Advisory Board member Renuka Soll; and property manager Leah Bergman. Dasi also earned 53% of the vote by the party to earn its recommendation to the sitting Board of County Commissioners for the short-term appointment to Bedford’s seat through December 7.
Dasi has served on the CHCCS Board of Education since 2015, earning election twice. She served as the board’s vice chair from 2016-2017 and the board chair from 2017-2018, leaning on her experiences as a parent and professional background in finance to help drive her decision-making on the elected body. Dasi helped lead the district through difficult decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the return to classrooms, challenging finances compounded by the pandemic and lack of state budget, and most recently the decision to close an elementary school amid waning enrollment numbers. Her application and pitch to the Orange County Democrats included highlighting her financial and strategy planning background as a strength to help address the local government’s needs — while saying easing the tax burden on homeowners, fostering economic development and providing support to vulnerable residents are among her top policy priorities.
On Monday night, Dasi told the Orange County Democratic Party voters and meeting attendees she believes recent federal and state government cuts put the onus on the local governments to carry some of the most important programs and operations. With a major of Orange County’s tax revenue coming from homeowners, Dasi said it’s clear that “what got us here is not what is going to take us forward sustainably” — and her professional background means she is prepared for this environment.
“We’re going to have to make hard decisions,” she said. “I’ve already worked with the Board of County Commissioners on tough issues and complex choices, and I look forward to learning the expertise of the current board members and county staff as we navigate what comes next.
“I don’t have all the answers today,” Dasi added, “but I’m a quick learner. And I think what matters most is the intention to work collaboratively, to engage honestly, and to make choices grounded in the best interests of the community. That’s the commitment I bring, and it’s shaped by lived experience, professional training and years of public service.”
Upon her formal appointment and election, Dasi will become just the latest elected official to make the jump from CHCCS’ Board of Education to the Board of County Commissioners. Not only did the late Bedford serve on both bodies, but current commissioners Jean Hamilton and Amy Fowler also did, as did Hemminger before she went on to run for Chapel Hill mayor.
With Dasi’s term on the school board set to expire in December 2027, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district will now undergo its own process to fill a vacancy. State law does not specify how, making it up to the remaining Board of Education members to decide. Most recently in 2014 and 2020, the board filled vacancies by voting to conduct an open application process with candidate interviews and a majority vote by the board confirming its selection.
While Monday night’s selection determined the long-term solution to Bedford’s seat vacancy, North Carolina law requires a county government seat to not go unfilled for 60 days. The Orange County Board of Commissioners is set to meet on Tuesday, July 28 to make its own selection for who to appoint for the remaining four months. The Orange County Democratic Party voted to recommend Dasi for that role as well on Monday, which would give her a few months in the role before take the oath for a four-year term in December. The county Board of Commissioners verbally agreed to only consider applicants in the Democratic party’s selection process.
Dasi will be one of three newcomers to join the board this winter. In the District 2 primary, first-time candidate Beth Bronson upset longtime Commissioner Earl McKee. And in a race for an at-large seat, Democrat Karen Stegman will face Republican Jeffrey Hoagland for the chance to succeed Commissioner Sally Greene, who did not seek re-election for a third term.
Featured photo via Dasi for School Board.
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