Ward 3 incumbent Don Moffitt has mostly been a good council member. He asks good questions about city finances and wants to leverage city property for affordable housing. But in this year’s contest, we think Vernetta Alston better reflects Durham’s values and identity.
To put it simply, Moffitt hasn’t been as bold a leader as we believe Alston would be. As a queer woman of color andin her day job as an attorney for the Center for Death Penalty Litigationan advocate for the wrongfully convicted, she would invigorate the council with new and often-absent perspectives. Throughout the campaign, Alston has demonstrated an ability to organize and energize voters with a platform centered on immigrant and LGBTQ advocacy, fair policing, and responsible growth, all rooted in a fundamental understanding of why inequality exists in Durham today.
“Durham must be the standard-bearer for our progressive values,” she writes. “The only way we can accomplish that is by electing progressive leaders to our city council.”
We couldn’t agree more.
