ORANGE COUNTY – One of your Orange County Commissioners says it’s time to ‘Step Up or Give Up’, and she wants to step up to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Bernadette Pelissier has served on the Board of Commissioners since December 2008. Sunday she announced she will seek the appointment to the House seat representing District 50.

Pelissier joined Ron Stutts on the WCHL Monday Morning News to express her intention to seek the House 50 seat.

***Listen to the Interview***

Pelissier said in a press release that “we can either Step Up of Give Up”. She referred to education as one of her main points of focus saying she intends to help provide access to quality education for all. She also said strong business growth in the state netting many new jobs, and a transparent government are at the heart of her plans.

Pelissier is the daughter of French parents and was born in Senegal, Africa. However, she moved to the United States when she was young and spent most of her early years in New Jersey. She returned overseas when she was a teenager as her father worked for the United Nations in Damascus, Syria.

Pelissier’s time in Orange County began in 1975 when she attended UNC. She received her Ph. D. in Sociology in 1980. Her work outside politics includes Director of Research and Evaluation for the Durham County Community Mental Health Center in the early ‘80s. She was also the Chief of Research at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner where she retired in 2006.

Other than her most recent election to the Board of Commissioners where she served as chair, Pelissier has served on the Orange County Planning Board, the Commission for the Environment, the Special Transit Advisory Committee, she was the chair of the Orange Chatham Sierra Club two times, chair of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), and chair of the Partnership to End Homelessness, among other boards and commissions.

Pelissier joins four other people who have announced their intention to seek the House 50 seat: Orange County’s Laurin Easthom, Tommy McNeill, Graig Meyer, and Durham County’s Drew Nelson.

Related Stories
‹
2024 Candidate Introductions: North Carolina House Districts 50 and 56
Orange County is represented by two districts in the North Carolina House: District 56 (Chapel Hill and Carrboro) and District 50 (the rest).
District 50 Rep. Renée Price Set to Run for Re-Election in 2024
Rep. Renée Price, who represents Orange County and Caswell County, announced her run for re-election during a birthday and fundraising event.
Price Earns Election to NC House District 50, Representing Orange and Caswell Counties
Orange County Commissioner Renée Price is the projected winner in the North Carolina House District 50 race on Tuesday night.
Candidate Intros: NC House District 50
Charles Lopez (R) and Renée Price (D) are both running to claim the District 50 seat that covers much of Orange County and Caswell County.
Rep. Meyer Preparing for Re-Election Campaign, Urges Other Democratic Candidates to Run
On the day filing opened for state house and senate representatives, House District 50 representative Graig Meyer filed for re-election to his fifth term. Meyer, who represents most of Orange County except for Chapel Hill and Carrboro, has been in North Carolina’s House of Representatives since 2013. He says he’s motivated by his hope to […]
Task Force Considers NC Teacher Pay Incentives, Rep Meyer In Attendence
General Assembly talks about recruiting and retaining teachers, they have to remember there is a third ‘R.’ That is respecting teachers," Meyer said.
New House Rep. Meyer To Be Sworn In Thursday
CHAPEL HILL – Newly-appointed State House Representative Graig Meyer will take his oath of office Thursday, and State Senator Valerie Foushee, the last to hold the position, will swear him in. Meyer takes Foushee’s place representing House District 50, which covers most of rural Orange and Northern Durham counties. He was appointed by a committee of […]
OC Resident, Marcoplos, To Seek BoCC, Not House 50
Chapel Hill resident Mark Marcoplos says he will not seek to represent you in the North Carolina House of Representatives District 50 seat despite a campaign by locals to get him to seek the post.
Foushee To Be Sworn In Wednesday
Judge Beverly Scarlett will swear in Valerie Foushee to the North Carolina Senate District 23 seat at 2:00 p.m. at the Chatham Courthouse.
Nelson To Focus On Education If Appointed To House
North Carolina have dropped faster than in any other state,” Nelson says.
›