elections

The terms for Mayor of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough are all up this year, as well as seats on Chapel Hill Town Council, Carrboro Board of Alderpersons, Hillsborough Town Board and Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Board. Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle, Carrboro Alderperson Damon Seils, and Hillsborough Board Member Matt Hughes have all announced they will be running for election to their current positions. There are challengers for some of the seats up for election; so far they are Tai Huynh (CHTC), Jeff Charles (CHTC) and Susan Romaine (CBOA). See below for more information on who is up for re-election and what we know so far.

I've seen online comments like this one on the CHALT blog:

"Only 20% of registered voters actually voted. There are nearly 106,000 registered voters in Orange County. For this primary, fewer than 20,000 voted. Less than 20%! Surely more than 20% care about our schools, law enforcement, and the county budget."

While it's surely true that 20% is a disappointing primary turnout, let's compare off-year (non-presidential) primary turnout, and remember that 2018 was the first primary since 1958 where there was NO state-wide race or state-wide referendum on the ballot to drive turnout -- and it turns out that 2018 had an unusually HIGH Democratic primary turnout.

Organizational endorsements are rolling in, and early voting will begin soon. The spreadsheet below provides a summary of this year's endorsements. (We'll add others as they are announced.) Now it's time for the most important endorsements: yours!

I love Chapel Hill, its beautiful tree-lined avenues, its festivals and celebrations, its Tar Heel pride and progressive, forward-thinking residents. I am seeking a second term on the Chapel Hill Town Council because I believe even a great community can be better. I believe we can make Chapel Hill better than it’s ever been.