Last night was incredible! I’m so honored to have been chosen to serve a second term on the Durham City Council. This work is so very important to me, and I’ll continue to work hard to make the city we all love a better place for all of us.
First, I’m so thankful to the 19,704 Durham residents who chose to support me with their votes in this election. For the last four years I’ve worked hard to move our city in a more inclusive and equitable direction. I’m so glad that the voters chose to support that work and my vision for Durham and allow me to keep serving in this role. I also want to offer my appreciation to Joshua Gunn, Jackie Wagstaff, and Daniel Meier for their campaigns and their willingness to serve the City of Durham.
Second, I could never have done this without the unwavering support of my family: my partner, Paul, our two fabulous kids Elias & Langston, my MIL Susie, father Ron, and grandma Zeola. Paul in particular has taken on the incredible weight of this campaign this year in so many ways, from coping with my endless evenings away to running his own personal GOTV effort from our dining room table. He’s the best partner anyone could ask for. In the four years since my last campaign, we sadly lost my mother, Robin. The memories of her huge grin at my first election watch-party and swearing-in are always with me.
I’m so thankful to my fabulous campaign staff. Rochelle Sparko, Luke Hirst, & Marion Johnson for their committment of endless energy to my campaign and the many, many hours of labor they did to bring my campaign to the finish line. Many thanks to Bull City Together’s fabulous volunteer coordinator, LeVon Barnes, for getting people out in the streets to support us, and thanks to our two amazing interns – Isabella Dorfman and Darren Janz, who helped us get our campaign off the ground over the summer. Deep thanks to all the donors who made this campaign financially possible. Finally, many thanks to all the volunteers who helped with door-knocking, phone/text banking, events, yard sign distribution, poll standing, and much more. This win is yours.
The many organizations that endorsed me and my colleagues were critical to building our campaign. Many thanks to Durham Association of Educators, Durham for All, Equality NC, IndyWeek, LGBTQ Victory Fund, Muslim American Public Affairs Council, NC AFL-CIO/Triangle Labor Council, Next Up Victory Fund, People’s Alliance PAC, Sierra Club, Triangle Apartment Association, UE Local 150, Working Families Party. The many Durham leaders who took the time to make and promote endorsements of the campaign will always have my gratitude. They are Vernetta Alston, Steve Schewel, Pierce Freelon, Wendy Jacobs, Heidi Carter, Bryan Proffitt, Bettina Umstead, Natalie Beyer, Michelle Burton, Yesenia Polanco, Mercedes Jaramillo-McCurley, Bro Ray Eurquhart, Marc Lee, Kaaren Haldeman, Sendolo Diaminah, Sandra Polanco, & Manju Rajendran. Thank you so much for your support and your commitment. A special thanks goes to my colleagues Mayor Steve Schewel and Council Member Vernetta Alston for their early endorsements and continuing support.
I have been so fortunate to work with fabulous colleagues in my time on City Council and to run for re-election with two of them – Javiera Caballero & Charlie Reece. Javiera and Charlie are two of the hardest-working, smartest, and most committed people I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. They keep me grounded, challenged and supported every day. I’m lucky to be in this with the two of them and I literally wouldn’t be here without them.
Finally, I want to thank the Local Progress network for all the amazing knowledge, skills, and support they’ve provided over the last four years to help me learn to govern as a progressive. Congratulations to all the LP members who won their re-elections yesterday. I’m so glad to be fighting with all of you!
This election was hard fought, and in the end, hard won. I’m proud of the work I’ve done on City Council thus far and my policy proposals for the next four years. The ability to do the work that’s happening in Durham now, to implement new democratic initiatives like participatory budgeting, build programs to restore drivers licenses and expunge old criminal charges, raise wages, support local businesses, dramatically increase affordable housing investment, create effective sustainability initiatives, build a successful community safety task force, engage Latinx residents, and much much more depends on having a strong and effective governing coalition on City Council. I’m asking all Durham residents who believe in this work and want to see it move forward to support and defend that coalition.
It won’t be long before we head back to the polls again for the 2020 primary election. I was so excited to see the results in the Virginia House of Delegates race last night. We have the same opportunity to take the majority of seats from the right-wing here in NC next year, and I hope you’ll all join me in working hard for that change. The success of our city depends on the success of our state and our nation, and many of the investments and policies our city deeply needs depend on action from the state and national governments.
Durham, North Carolina (pop. 275,000) is the best city in all the world. Thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve our city and community.