Come December, Durham County’s five-member Board of Commissioners will be composed entirely of women.
With 90 percent of precincts reporting, newcomer Nimasheena Burns was leading all vote-getters, followed by incumbents Wendy Jacobs and Heidi Carter, newcomer Nida Allam, and finally, incumbent Brenda Howerton.
Incumbent James Hill, the board’s vice chair, was second to last in the 15-person field.
The Board of Commissioners was rocked by county manager Wendell Davis’s election-season accusation that Commissioner Carter was racially biased against him and other people of color. Carter denied his allegations, and Davis’s critics said he had an ulterior motive: His contract comes up for renewal next year, and with Carter gone, it might have stood a better chance at renewal.
In other Durham County news, school board incumbent Steve Unruhe was soundly defeated by People’s Alliance-endorsed challenger Alexandra Valladares.
Also, Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Natalie Murdock has beaten Pierce Freelon and Gray Ellis to win the primary for state Senate District 20, a seat vacated by Floyd McKissick Jr. earlier this year. As the seat is currently vacant, the county’s Democratic Party will likely install her before the next legislative session.
Contact editor in chief Jeffrey C. Billman at jbillman@indyweek.com.
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You may wish to change this article. This eat was vacated by Mr. McKissick,but it is not vacant now. Sen. Michaux is the current incumbent. He will probably resign so that the party may put Ms. Murdock in.