Woodard has served as a state senator in a district covering Durham since 2012, following seven years on the city council. He faces a primary challenger, Sophia Chitlik, on March 5.
Justin Laidlaw
Justin Laidlaw is a reporter for the INDY, covering Durham. A Bull City native, he joined the staff in 2023 and previously wrote By The Horns, a blog about city council.
Durham Council Selects Legal Aid Attorney Chelsea Cook to Fill Vacant Seat
The council voted unanimously Tuesday morning for Cook to fill the Ward Three seat that was left open following Leo Williams’s election as mayor.
Exclusive: A Q&A With Sophia Chitlik, Candidate for Durhamโs NC Senate District 22 Seat
The Democrat is challenging longtime state Senator Mike Woodard in the March 5 primary. .
A Durham League of Their Own
Through an upstart recreational league, hundreds of basketball players come together for the love of the game.
Durham Council Opts Out of ShotSpotter, For Now
Over the next three months, city staff will enlist experts at Duke to study data collected from the gunshot detection technology during the cityโs year-long ShotSpotter pilot program.ย
A Look Ahead: Five Questions for Durham’s New City Council
Will the council vote to raise taxes? Will all the members get along? Here are five questions the new city council will have to address in its upcoming term.
Durham’s New City Council Sworn in Monday
Three outgoing council members left the chamber to a standing ovation, and a new chapter in Durham politics began.
With Ambitious New Programming, WUNC Continues to Expand Southern Storytelling
This fall the station has launched a new podcast, The Broadside, and a daily broadcast, Due South, bringing renewed energy to the void left by The State of Things.
In Divided Vote, Durham Council Adopts Most SCAD Text Amendments
After hearing hours of comments from the public, the council voted 4-3 to adopt SCAD, excepting some of its most controversial proposals.
15 Minutes: Khalisa Rae
Khalisa Rae, co-founder of the Griot & Grey Owl Black Southern Writer’s Conference.

