Mayor: Nancy McFarlane After some suspense, Charles Francis announced Sunday that he would seek a runoff against three-term incumbent Nancy McFarlane. “The results did not produce a decisive outcome,” he told reporters. (True, as McFarlane got 48.5 percent of the vote, not 50 percent plus one.) “A runoff election is not divisive,” he continued, “it’s […]
The INDY Editorial Board
Posted inElections
The INDY Endorses Ed Harrison, Hongbin Gu, Rachel Schaevitz, and Karen Stegman for Chapel Hill Town Council
Chapel Hill voters will pick four candidates out of seven choices (plus some write-ins). Harrison, an incumbent, deserves reelection. He’s smart, versed on the challenges facing the city, and is willing to make difficult decisions on issues like affordability and growth. After that, though, the decisions become more difficult, as there are several qualified candidates. […]
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The INDY Endorses Jennifer Robinson for Cary Town Council District A
The District A race pits incumbent Jennifer Robinson against Majid Mohadjer and Radha Ravi Varma. Mohadjer hasn’t raised any money and doesn’t appear to have a significant campaign presence. Varma, a software developer and self-described conservative who has lived in Cary for four years, wants to end “aggressive overdevelopment” in west Cary and ban new […]
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The INDY Endorses DeDreana Freeman for Durham City Council Ward 1
Earlier this year, Cora Cole-McFadden, the longest-serving city council member, passed up an expected mayoral bid to seek reelection. She deserves credit for being a voice for equity, both on the council and in her previous job as the director of the city’s Equal Opportunity/Equity Assurance Department. She was a trailblazer, the first African-American woman […]
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The INDY Endorses Corey Branch for Raleigh City Council District C
In 2015, Corey Branch scored the biggest upset of the Raleigh municipal election, defeating incumbent Eugene Weeks by fewer than three hundred votes. This year, he’s up against two main challengers: Libertarian Olen Watson, a construction company owner who is flush with unconventional but intriguing ideas, including increasing density zonings throughout the city and implementing […]
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The INDY Endorses Edward Yerha for Cary Town Council At-Large
Edward Yerha has ably served on the Cary Town Council since 2012 and was a proud proponent of the Cary Community Plan the town council passed earlier this year. He argues that Cary is headed in the right direction. But in the years to come, he says, town officials must “make effective use of Cary’s […]
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The INDY Endorses Dickie Thompson for Raleigh City Council District A
Two years ago, Dickie Thompson eked out a win in the city council’s only runoff election, besting Republican Eddie Woodhouse by a little more than a thousand votes. A Democratic ally of McFarlane and chairman of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Authority, Thompson is a Raleighite through and through. He’s generally a pro-business vote, but he […]
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The INDY Endorses Russ Stephenson and Nicole Stewart for the Raleigh City Council At-Large Seat
We’ll get the easy one out of the way: longtime council member Russ Stephenson, an architect and urban planner, has more than earned reelection. He is smart, engaged, and progressive, and has long been a champion of equity. Now the hard part. With incumbent Mary-Ann Baldwin bowing out, six newcomers join Stephenson in seeking two […]
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The INDY Endorses the Raleigh Transportation Bond
In June, the city council voted unanimously to place a $206 million transportation bondpaid for by an annual property tax increase of $26 for a $200,000 homeon the ballot. City officials are pitching this as a way to keep up with Raleigh’s rapid growth, and they’re right. Yet another tax increase may be somewhat unpalatable, […]
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The INDY Endorses Stef Mendell for Raleigh City Council District E
The label “Midtown” fits comfortably now on Raleigh’s North Hills area, though it may have seemed a stretch when it was first introduced. Its chief presence in elective office is council member Bonner Gaylord, who’s running for a fifth term. Gaylord works as general manager of the former shopping mall known as North Hills, which […]