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CONTENTS
NEWS
5 Raleigh will elect a new mayor and potentially new city council members in several competitive districts and seats. Will residents choose change or vote to stay the course? BY JASMINE GALLUP
8 The closure of Russell's Pharmacy this week will leave a hole in the East Durham community. BY CHASE PELLEGRINI DE PAUR
9 Meet the two candidates running in a special election for a vacant seat on the Carrboro Town Council. BY CHASE PELLEGRINI DE PAUR
FEATURE
22o4
13 The INDY's 2024 General Election Endorsements and Clip-Out Voter Guide. BY INDY STAFF
22o4
CULTURE
28 The latest album by Durham musical collective DUNUMS is a dialogue between a Palestinian father and his daughter. BY DYLAN ANGELL
30 Incoming! Halloween special scary movie edition. BY GLENN MCDONALD
THE REGULARS
4 Op-ed 32 Culture calendar
Sijal Nasralla performs with DUNUMS. (See story, p. 28)
PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
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Connecting Durham
We, the members of the Durham City Council, encourage Durham voters to say yes to both municipal bonds on their ballots this year.
BY NATE BAKER, JAVIERA CABALLERO, CHELSEA COOK, DEDREANA FREEMAN, MARK-ANTHONY MIDDLETON, CARL RIST, LEONARDO WILLIAMS backtalk@indyweek.com
Durham is a beautifully diverse city, but one thing many Durhamites agree on is our hope for the city to be more connected. Specifically, most of us want safe and accessible streets for walking, biking, driving, rolling and riding the bus, and we want public parks that reflect the vibrant and inclusive nature of our city. These goals support a more cohesive, affordable, and attractive environment where all residents can not only study or work but also can play, relax, and gather together.
This year, in a historic response to these longstanding resident desires, Durham’s City Council members voted unanimously to put two referendums on the November 5th ballot that we’re calling the “Connecting Durham” bonds. If both are passed, they will fund $200 million in critical improvements to our city’s sidewalks, streets, and parks - improving access to bus stops, schools, and jobs and creating new joyful spaces in our parks. This funding would accelerate the completion of these projects in the least expensive way available.
The Projects That Would Be Built
The sidewalks and streets bond referendum would provide $115 million to complete 12.4 miles of new sidewalks and multi-use paths and 20 miles of sidewalk repairs, to repave 100 miles of streets with opportunities for traffic calming, and to pave nearly 11 miles of gravel streets.
Two examples of projects that this bond would fund are a multiuse path along Hillandale Road where Seth Vidal was killed while riding his bike in 2013 and sidewalks along East Club Boulevard providing access to GoDurham Route 9 that the Bragtown Community Association has advocated for many years.
The sidewalk and streets projects are spread throughout the city and have been selected because they are the furthest along in development (design and rightof-way acquisition is complete or nearly so) or they are most in need of repair, prioritizing areas of historic disinvestment. These projects will all be ready to move to construction in the next 1-3 years.
The parks bond referendum will provide $85 million to rejuvenate East End and Long Meadow parks and to build a new aquatic center at Merrick-Moore Park next to the Wheels Roller Rink. Residents in east Durham specifically asked for a new pool to replace the permanently closed pool at Long Meadow Park and wanted other updates to both East End and Long Meadow Parks.
The park projects selected were developed with the feedback of thousands of Durham residents who told Durham Parks and Recreation the features that they want in their local parks. The new and newly renovated parks will be the model
for future park development in the city providing public spaces for sports, community gatherings, aquatics, and play.
You can learn more about all of the projects that would be funded if the bond referendums pass at www.durhamnc.gov/bonds.
The Cost to Residents
If you agree with us that these projects are important to complete, then you will want to vote yes to both because bond-funding would be the least expensive way to pay for the projects.
The principal and interest on the bonds will, like all City improvements, must be paid by taxpayers. The highest possible tax increase is a 3.46 cent tax rate increase for each $100 of assessed value on your home. For the average valued home in Durham, that means up to an extra $9 a month if both bonds pass. Because of the City of Durham’s AAA credit rating, it likely will cost less because we are well positioned to borrow at a lower interest rate. Plus, we will be able to take advantage of lower costs of building, getting new infrastructure before construction prices rise.
Say Yes to Both Bonds
Durham residents have already shown that we support investing in our community, coming together in recent years to overwhelmingly support bond referendums for more affordable housing, public schools, the library, the Museum of Life and Science, and Durham Tech.
Now, together we, the voters in Durham, have the chance to make a choice for connecting our community through public spaces built for everyone to thrive. We must come together, flip our ballots, and vote yes to both bonds. Together they will not only connect and improve our neighborhoods, but bring more comfort, joy, and safety to this City we call home, for years to come. W
The Durham City Council
Leonardo Williams, Mayor
Mark-Anthony, Mayor Pro Tempore & Ward
2 Council Member
Nate Baker, At-Large Council Member
Javiera Caballero, At-Large Council Member
Chelsea Cook, Ward 3 Council Member
DeDreana Freeman, Ward 1 Council Member
Carl Rist, At-Large Council Member
Durham City Council members PHOTO BY JUSTIN LAIDLAW
Change or Stay the Course?
As the Raleigh City Council election nears, voters will choose a new mayor and, in several other races, decide whether to stay the course with incumbents or vote for change.
BY JASMINE GALLUP backtalk@indyweek.com
Hundreds of people flowed into a Baptist church in Southwest Raleigh on Thursday, not to hear a sermon but to demand affordable housing from the next Raleigh City Council.
Elderly white homeowners sat alongside young Black renters in a gathering of community members that has become a powerful lobbying force in Raleigh and Wake County elections. Packed shoulder to shoulder in church pews, residents of all ages, races, and religions quizzed city council candidates on their commitment to helping low- and middle-income residents stay in their homes. The candidate forum—hosted by ONE Wake, a grass-
roots campaign for affordable housing—is representative of the larger anxieties of Raleigh residents. Questions about how residents will afford increasing rents and property taxes have dominated the narrative in the last several elections, and housing is once again the top priority for many voters as the next city council election approaches. With a new mayor set to take the reins, however, this year’s election could lead to a shift in Raleigh policy. Of the five mayoral candidates, two have emerged as apparent front-runners: Janet Cowell, former state treasurer and former CEO and president of the nonprofit Dix Park Conservancy, and Terrance Ruth, an NC State University
professor who’s running for mayor once again this year. Additionally, several other districts—including Districts A, C, and E—and the at-large seats feature competitive races between incumbents and candidates offering change.
As a mayoral candidate, Ruth gained momentum in the 2022 race with promises of increased transparency and community engagement. He netted 40.6 percent of the vote, placing just six percentage points behind Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin’s winning finish. In his campaign this year, Ruth is prioritizing community-led development. Cowell is slightly more moderate on growth, campaigning on practical housing solutions.
A safe choice?
Cowell may seem like a safe, establishment choice, but she says she’s determined to move Raleigh forward. Cowell is passionate about preserving green spaces, as you might expect from her former role at the Dix Park Conservancy. When she served on the city council in the early 2000s, she helped establish a stormwater policy that prevented building in watersheds and protected residents from flooding. Now, her environmental consciousness may be especially appealing to voters in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
“‘Stormwater’ is not a sexy word, but it’s essentially ‘How do you protect against flooding? How do you have a resilient city?,’” Cowell says. “That intersects with trees, green infrastructure. How do you use native plants and natural floodways as opposed to concrete structures?” Cowell’s goals include preserving and expanding Raleigh’s tree canopy, incentivizing green development, and enhancing creeks and natural waterways to reduce flash flooding. Where waterway restoration is expensive, Cowell says enhancing waterways—also known as daylighting—reintroduces elements of a natural creek system as well as native plants that help absorb and slow flowing water.
She notes that most of Raleigh’s creeks are preserved through the city’s greenway system and that the city is already investing in daylighting creeks such as Pigeon Branch Creek, sections of Crabtree Creek, and Rocky
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE PAJOR MOORE
Branch Creek, for which the city just received state funds to continue daylighting work.
“You’re creating an amenity for the public, where you’ve got a creek that’s much more accessible for people who actually interact with water and enjoy nature,” Cowell says. “But you’ve also got a much more effective facility.”
When it comes to housing, Cowell generally supports the current city council’s policies, saying “diversification and deregulation around zoning is overall positive.” She adds, however, that she’d like to have a more open conversation about potential changes to housing policies like “missing middle,” now that the city is seeing the policy in action and has a better idea of its effects.
As a former city council member and longtime politician, Cowell is pragmatic when it comes to housing. While many are calling for housing reserved exclusively for low-income residents, Cowell says she “remembers those massive public housing complexes of deep affordability that were viewed to be not a best practice”—otherwise known as housing projects.
Mixed-use and mixed-income development, like the kind planned for the old DMV headquarters, is the best way forward, Cowell argues. Affordable housing requires a significant subsidy, so without millions of dollars in the bank, paying for it requires profitable market-rate housing.
“That’s where reality hits the road, where people are thinking, ‘Oh, we’re just going to build X number of affordable
units, and somehow we’re going to pay for that,’” Cowell says. “It’s going to be a more urban model of affordable units, and it’s going to be mixed income. And you’re going to have to use the market to pay for it, which means you’re going to have to have a fairly aggressive growth and development model.”
Cowell’s vision for the future includes more than existing city council strategies, though. One new policy she wants to explore is tax increment financing, which would use property tax increases imposed on gentrifying communities to protect and reinvest in those same communities, she says. She’s also committed to working with ONE Wake.
“Let’s think about the trust that churches have with people,” Cowell says. “Because if I’m sitting here as a home builder and I go to somebody, they’re not going to trust. So many of these communities have been targeted … cheated, lied to. Having the trust that comes with the church community to work with finance builders on programs could be one of the most fruitful and productive partnerships.”
An aspirational choice?
Where Cowell is pragmatic, Terrance Ruth is aspirational. Ruth’s campaign represents a significant group of Raleighites who want change, particularly when it comes to the way the city does (or doesn’t) engage with its residents.
For years, the city council has been
dogged with accusations of ignoring resident feedback and making less-than-transparent decisions. In 2020, the city council disbanded community advisory councils (CACs) in a surprise vote. In 2021, it made significant changes to local elections behind closed doors. And throughout the years, some residents have felt blindsided by major development projects.
Ruth supports the city’s Office of Community Engagement and its manager, Tiesha Mosley, whom he calls “dynamic.” But his plan for community engagement goes far beyond the modest steps the city council has taken in the last few years.
If elected, Ruth says he will organize weekly town hall meetings in each district. He also wants to touch base with residents weekly or biweekly, so people can ask questions or make comments without waiting for a city council meeting.
“This is not new, it’s just valuing talking with residents, so they don’t feel the mayor is distant from them,” Ruth says. “I don’t only want to hear concerns, I want to hear the dreams and hopes of residents. I want them to feel like they’re a part of this journey.”
Ruth plans to reorganize the city’s commissions and committees to reduce member turnover, make the selection process more transparent, and make it easier for people without privilege to participate. Currently, these committees don’t value “the voice of lived experience,” he says.
For Ruth, community engagement is the cornerstone of good public policy. Missing- middle housing and Bus Rapid Tran-
sit (BRT) are generally good initiatives, he says, but the lack of communication has caused indirect harm to communities.
“Policy often starts with good intentions. Implementation is often where it goes wrong, or right,” Ruth says. “The way forward is by maximizing the feedback we get from residents, period.
“We have these tools, but we’re not using them.”
Ruth is a critic of the city council’s current housing initiatives. He says despite the $80 million housing bond and implementation of missing middle, progress on affordable housing has been “meager.” The city should be more aggressive when it comes to land banking, he says, as well as “enacting [zoning] protections around areas we know will be hit hard in the future.”
Ruth cites the New Bern Avenue BRT line as an example. It has already gentrified parts of Southeast Raleigh and displaced some longtime residents, he says. When it comes to public transportation, the city needs to protect the people who are using that transportation, Ruth says. With the highest bus ridership in Southeast Raleigh, preservation of existing affordable housing in those neighborhoods is paramount.
Ruth also speaks passionately about building ladders for people to move from renting to home ownership, as well as closing the racial wealth gap. The City of Raleigh is in a powerful position to create generational wealth by contracting Blackowned businesses, he says.
“We need to make sure that people can
“I want to see us be a city that plans and develops for working-class people. I have not seen that be part of our vision, at least in the last five years. We have a huge working-class population that cannot live here. ”
L: Janet Cowell PHOTO VIA CAMPAIGN WEBSITE, R: Terrance Ruth PHOTO BY WILSON
actually be prepared to take on some of these dollars that are flowing through the city,” Ruth says. “We attract six-figure people, but we don’t grow six-figure people. So you’re literally born and [you] die in your rental …. I want to recenter the human being that’s in the home, so that we don’t just stop at you being in an affordable home but [help] you actually move from rental to [home] ownership.”
A vote for change or stay the course?
With a new mayorship on the horizon, there’s a lot of energy surrounding the Raleigh City Council election this year. The contests for the at-large and District C seats are particularly crowded, even as three incumbents—Jonathan Lambert-Melton, Stormie Forte, and Corey Branch—run for reelection.
In the at-large race, Reeves Peeler, an activist and member of the Raleigh Planning Commission, is a vocal advocate for unions, labor rights, and equitable development. If elected, he wants to create better relationships with city unions, including the Firefighters Association. The city fire department is severely understaffed, and firefighters are struggling to cover the cost of living after retirement, he says. Implementing a living wage for all city staffers is another big priority.
“I want to see us be a city that plans and develops for working-class people,” Peeler says. “I have not seen that be part of our vision, at least in the last five years …. We have a huge, huge working-class, middle-class population that cannot live here. A lot of our planning and housing initiatives really focus only on a market-filtering concept and not really at all on integrat-
ing neighborhoods across income levels, across class.”
If the 2022 election is any indication, Peeler and other newcomers have a solid chance of winning votes from residents who are frustrated by what they see as a lack of progress. On the other hand, incumbents say consistency in leadership is important.
If reelected, Melton would focus on ushering the big policy initiatives of the last few years “across the finish line,” he says. The council member supports the city’s missing-middle policy, BRT, and alternative response program, which he says are finally starting to take shape.
“A lot of the work we’ve done on zoning reform, to make it easier to build different types of housing affordable to folks at different stages in life—we’re just starting to see the benefits of those policy changes,” Melton says. “And, likewise, I’m starting to see some areas where I think we can tweak it a little. So I want to stay around at least one more term to help these big initiatives through.”
As a new leader takes the reins—and new city council members are, potentially, elected—Melton says he expects the biggest shift to come in the feel of city council meetings.
“The biggest change is just going to be personality,” he says. “The mayor sets the tone, runs the meetings, is the face of the city, coordinates closest with staff, and that tone will change. And sometimes how you do something is just as important as what you’re doing. Regardless of who gets elected, there will be a different person managing the how.” W
This is the final story in a four-part series on the Raleigh City Council leading up to the municipal election this fall.
Meet the Raleigh Mayoral Candidates
On the conservative side of the spectrum is mortgage broker Paul Fitts, who champions an expansion of the police force and restoration of Raleigh’s economy post-COVID. (Fitts earned 1.4 percent of the vote in 2022 as a write-in candidate.)
A little farther to the left is Eugene Myrick, who, in addition to promising a “livable wage” for firefighters and police officers, calls for increased community engagement (namely CACs) and a “balanced approach to growth” that will reduce gentrification.
Finally, there’s pre-law student James Shaughnessy IV, who supports many of Mayor Baldwin’s affordable housing strategies— including restructured zoning laws and streamlining development. Shaughnessy also prioritizes investment in mental health and public transportation.
A Community Closure
The closure of Russell’s Pharmacy & Shoppe in East Durham comes as independent pharmacies struggle against the outsized power of healthcare conglomerates.
BY CHASE PELLIGRINI DE PAUR chase@indyweek.com
“Iwant [patients] to feel like they’re walking into my house,” Darius Russell says of Russell’s Pharmacy & Shoppe, the independent pharmacy that he has run with his wife, Terensia, since 2018. “We want people to feel like they’re a part of our family.”
Located at 2116 Angier Avenue in East Durham, the Russell’s pharmacy—with its homey small shop, lounge area, and “Health in The Community” mural—is indeed a far cry from the impersonal commercial space of a Harris Teeter or CVS.
But now, suffering financially from what advocates call “one of the gravest professional threats in the history of healthcare,” the pharmacy is set to close this month.
“We love being able to help the community,” Russell told the INDY, “but if we can’t really afford to stay here, can’t afford to pay our bills and keep food on our own table…this is not working and we can’t continue like this.”
Local pharmacies across the country are feeling the same pressure that pushed Russell’s out of business. In a recent report, the News and Observer reported that between January 2022 and July 2024, 100 community pharmacies in North Carolina closed.
Part of the squeeze comes from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the obscure intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers, and the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the drugs.
A recent New York Times investigation found that PMBs are not paying independent drugstores enough to cover costs. “Small pharmacies,” the report read, “have little choice but to accept these lowball rates because the largest P.B.M.s control an overwhelming majority of prescriptions.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also reported that PBMs associated with pharmacies have reimbursed the pharmacies that they’re associated with at higher rates than independent pharmacies. Late last month, the FTC filed a complaint against the three dominant companies with PMB units—CVS Health, Cigna, and UnitedHealth
Group—over alleged anti-competitive practices that have inflated the cost of insulin.
Another recent federal change, meant to decrease consumer costs, essentially caused pharmacies to receive less money upfront from insurance companies. In trying to keep expensive drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy in stock, Russell’s was increasingly bearing more upfront costs than ever before.
Its closure will leave a gaping hole in a neighborhood that has come to rely on it.
Darius Russell graduated from UNC’s School of Pharmacy in 2006 and spent years working in the industry before he and Terensia decided to realize the longtime dream of opening a family pharmacy.
When they first started looking for a storefront, the couple knew they wanted it to be in East Durham.
“We saw that there was a huge need,” says Russell. “A lot of people who don’t have transportation don’t have anywhere that they can viably get to a pharmacy.”
Through a friend from church, the Russells learned about Self-Help Credit Union’s Angier Business and Children’s Center, an $11 million investment in the historic buildings in the heart of East Durham. One of the advisory committees had overwhelmingly decided that a pharmacy should go there.
“We feel like it was divine intervention,” says Russell of the opportunity.
East Durham, an area with a limited number of grocery stores, has been labeled a food desert for years. With Russell’s closing, it may also be a pharmacy desert. East
Durham residents without transportation will have their pick of a pair of Walgreens—each over a mile away from Russell’s—or the independent Gurley’s on Main Street, about two miles away downtown. Upon closing, Russell’s will transfer its remaining patients to Gurley’s.
In its six years of being open, the personal touch of Russell’s pharmacy has not gone unnoticed in Durham. The pharmacy’s Instagram account has several hundred followers, and, especially in past years, has featured community information and health events.
Online reviews, often a space for disgruntled customers to post typo-ridden diatribes after a subpar experience, read like a dream for the pharmacy.
“This is a great pharmacy, and I’m so happy to have it in my neighborhood! I love that my pharmacist knows me by name and takes the time to help me with my medicines. Everyone who works in the shoppe is friendly and makes you feel like a real person and not just a number in the books,” wrote one customer in 2019.
“I can’t believe I’m excited about a pharmacy,” another review goes, “but this one is special.”
Terensia’s parents also worked at the pharmacy, delivering meds around the Bull City. And on their birthdays, patients would receive a voicemail of the Russells singing to them.
“I had one patient… who said, ‘Thank you, nobody else called me on my birthday,’” says Russell. “It does your heart good—this is the reason why we’re here.”
Russell’s Pharmacy’s last day will be Thursday, October 19. W
(From left) Jaida Scott, a pharmacist technician, and Dr. Darius Russell at work. PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
Carrboro
A Special Election
Candidates Cristóbal Palmer and Isaac Woolsey square off for an open seat on the Carrboro Town Council.
BY CHASE PELLIGRINI DE PAUR chase@indyweek.com
Hey, Carrboro voters …
When you’re at the polls in the next few weeks, after you excitedly mark your ballot with your pick for president, after you agonize over your pick for governor, after you wonder what the state auditor does, after you bubble your way through the sea of judges, and maybe even after you vote for the only candidate for Orange soil and water conservation district supervisor …
Don’t forget to turn your ballot over and vote in the most local race this cycle: the town council special election to fill Barbara Foushee’s former council seat, which she vacated after assuming the mayorship. The winner of this election will serve for only one year but, as an incumbent, would be in a prime position to pursue a full term in the 2025 election.
The candidates, Cristóbal Palmer and Isaac Woolsey, seem to have more policy overlap than disagreements. Both are hitting the proper Carrboro notes, touting their support for improving transit access, making housing more affordable, and doing something—anything—about the impending doom of the climate crisis.
Both also seek to bring their own lived experience to governance. Palmer, who is a white Latino, emphasizes antiracist training, while Woolsey, who is disabled and autistic, emphasizes prioritizing ADA requirements.
It’s not exactly a blockbuster election. The winner will have only one vote on a seven-member body that tends to value consensus-building and collaboration and works hard to avoid split votes. And the council doesn’t set, say, education or health care policy.
But the council does make the decisions that impact people in their daily lives: Should parking downtown remain free? How should the town grow over the next 10 years? What should the town do about the predatory towing at Carr Mill Mall? How can Carrboro procure more affordable housing?
The election is nonpartisan, so neither candidate’s party is listed on the ballot, but Palmer is a longtime Democratic volunteer running with the support of the local
party. His candidacy is “a logical extension of the sort of advocacy work and the sort of showing up that I’ve done in the past,” he tells INDY
“I have a history of showing up for volunteer work and different nonprofit boards, specifically the Triangle Linux Users Group and the Carrboro Bicycle Coalition,” Palmer says.
Woolsey recently changed his voter affiliation from Republican to No Labels. That hasn’t exactly endeared him to the voters of Carrboro, a town in which Joe Biden’s worst 2020 precinct result was about 90 percent of the vote.
“There’s a lot of bigotry because I don’t have ‘Democrat’ carved into my forehead,” Woolsey tells the INDY. “I only registered as a Republican for primary purposes to vote against Trump.”
Woolsey adds that, despite a recent dustup with local grassroots media outlet Triangle Blog Blog over his affiliation, he’s not “some far-right moron” and is “an independent at heart” because he has problems with both major parties.
On the issues, though, both candidates have ideas that fit in well with the perspectives of those already serving on the council.
Local governments don’t have a lot of power when it comes to state-owned routes, like NC Highway 54, but Palmer says that the council could work with regional and statewide bodies like the Department of Transportation to make all of Carrboro safer for pedestrians and bikers.
“We have a legacy of transportation policy—national, state, local level—that prioritizes cars, that essentially
subsidizes being in a car,” Palmer says. “But it has come at the expense of the most vulnerable: kids, elders, renters, low-income folk.”
Woolsey was inspired to run because Chapel Hill Transit, which serves both Chapel Hill and Carrboro, cut hours during the pandemic and still hasn’t scaled back up. Because he can’t drive, he’s dependent on public transit to get him to work, doctor’s appointments, and other commitments, he says. On council, he would push to change the town’s bus driver training program, in hopes of better staffing Chapel Hill Transit.
Both also think the town could help address the affordable housing crisis.
“The tool that we have at our disposal is land use ordinance policy,” Palmer says. “Carrboro can’t change the federal funds rate [or] interest rates from home mortgage institutions, but what it can do is change its land use policy to incentivize the building and redevelopment of the kinds of housing that people want to actually rent and buy.”
Woolsey, through conversations with residents, has developed a plan to use council funds to help first-time home buyers with some of the fees involved. These owners would also not be allowed to turn their homes into short-term rentals (through Airbnb or Vrbo). He says he hopes that the council could also help “keep out predatory investors who are running people out of town.”
Election Day is November 5, and early voting begins on Thursday. W
Cristóbal Palmer (left) and Isaac Woolsey PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE PAJOR MOORE
Weekdays
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Field Guide: Our rundown of cultural news and events around the Triangle.
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Events: Your guide to a wide range of the coming weekend’s events.
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indy’s 2024 general election
Voter Guide & Endorsements
BY INDY STAFF backtalk@indyweek.com
Dear INDY readers and voters,
In the following pages, you’ll find our 2024 general election endorsements for all local races on voters’ ballots. Our endorsements in this election follow a 40-year history of the INDY making candidate recommendations to voters, and we are happy to be able to continue the paper’s longstanding tradition. These include races for U.S. congressional districts that cover the Triangle, state house and senate seats in Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties, the local judiciary, county commissioners, school board members, a special election in Carrboro, and in Raleigh, mayoral and city council seats.
There are other important offices and considerations on voters’ ballots as well: registers of deeds and soil and water conservation district supervisors, plus numerous municipal and county bond referenda. We’ve weighed in on them all.
As always, we’ve adhered to a rigorous process when making these endorsements. INDY’s team of writers and editors rely on our own reporting, public records, and other publicly available information to make these decisions. When endorsing candidates, we consider factors such as individual skill sets, past experience in governing and civic life, incumbents’ achievements while serving in office, and volunteer experience. We work hard to recommend the best candidates for the job.
It’s no doubt been impressed upon you by now that this is a crucial election. While we are no longer making endorsements
in statewide and national races, we urge voters to seek out good information on topof-the-ticket candidates to help inform their decisions.
Early voting begins this week on Thursday, October 17, and runs through November 2. While voters must be registered to vote before Election Day on November 5, voters can still register to vote during the early voting period. They may cast ballots at any early voting location in their county of residence.
Additionally, voters will need to bring a photo ID to the polls: a driver’s license, a passport, a DMV-issued state ID, a county board of elections–issued photo ID card, an approved college- or university-issued student ID, or an employee ID for state or local government or a charter school.
Included with this endorsements package is our clip-out voting guide, a list of every candidate we’ve endorsed this election. Cut it out and bring it with you to the polls. All of our election reporting is available in our 2024 Voter Guide on our homepage at indyweek. com. There you will find reported stories, candidate questionnaires, endorsements, and more. On election night, we’ll host a live blog on our site to bring you results and scenes from around the Triangle in real time.
We urge all of our readers to make a plan to vote in the next few weeks and get out to the polls. Thank you for looking to the INDY to help inform your decisions this election cycle.
Jane Porter Editor in chief
Registration
In-person early voting begins
General election day
ballot request deadline
Register in person at any early voting location October 17–November 2
You must provide an accepted ID document to an election official at an early voting location to verify your name and address.
Early Voting
On Election Day, voters must vote at their assigned polling place, and anyone in line at 7:30 p.m., when polls close, will be allowed to cast their ballot.
You can vote early at ANY early voting site in your county. Find your county’s early voting sites at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/EVSite/ Don’t Forget Your Photo ID! North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. All polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Absentee
U.S. CONGRESS
U.S. House District 2 W
Deborah Ross (D)
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Voter Guide
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE
NC House District 2 D
Ray Jeffers (D)
NC House District 11 W
Allison Dahle (D)
NC House District 21 W
Ya Liu (D)
NC House District 41 W
Maria Cervania (D)
NC House District 49 W
Cynthia Ball (D)
NC House District 50 O
Renée Price (D)
NC House District 56 O
U.S. House District 4 D O
Valerie Foushee (D)
U.S. House District 13 W
Frank Pierce (D)
NORTH CAROLINA SENATE
NC State Senate District 13 W
Lisa Grafstein (D)
NC State Senate District 14 W
Dan Blue (D)
NC State Senate District 15 W
Jay Chaudhuri (D)
NC State Senate District 16 W
Gale Adcock (D)
NC State Senate District 17 W
Sydney Batch (D)
NC Senate District 18 W
Terence Everitt (D)
NC Senate District 20 D
Natalie Murdock (D)
NC House District 29 D
Vernetta Alston (D)
NC House District 30 D
Marcia Morey (D)
NC House District 31 D
Zack Hawkins (D)
NC House District 33 W
Monika Johnson-Hostler (D)
NC House District 34 W
Tim Longest (D)
NC House District 35 W
Evonne Hopkins (D)
NC House District 36 W
Julie von Haefen (D)
NC House District 37 W
Safiyah Jackson (D)
NC Senate District 22 D
Sophia Chitlik (D)
NC Senate District 23 O
Graig Meyer (D)
NC House District 38 W
Abe Jones (D)
NC House District 39 W
James Roberson (D)
NC House District 40 W
Joe John (D)
Allen Buansi (D)
NC House District 66 W
Sarah Crawford (D)
DURHAM COUNTY
Durham County Commissioners, voters select up to 5
Wendy Jacobs
Mike Lee
Stephen Valentine
Nida Allam
Michelle Burton
NC SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE
District 16A Seat 01
No endorsement
NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
District 16 Seat 07
Kendra Montgomery-Blinn, uncontested
Durham County Register of Deeds
Sharon Davis
Durham County Soil and Water
Conservation District Supervisor
Ja’Nell Henry
Durham Infrastructure Bonds: VOTE YES
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ORANGE COUNTY
Orange County Board of Commissioners, District 1 (2 seats)
Jean Hamilton
Marilyn Carter
Orange County Board of Commissioners, District 2
Phyllis Portie-Ascott
Orange County Board of Commissioners, At-Large
Amy Fowler
Carrboro Town Council Special Election
Cristóbal Palmer
Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor
Gail McKee Hughes
NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
District 18 Seat 02
Samantha Cabe
District 18 Seat 03
Hathaway Pendergrass
District 18 Seat 04
Sherri Murrell
District 18 Seat 05
Joal Hall Broun
Orange County Schools/Chapel HillCarborro City Schools Bonds: VOTE YES
Chapel Hill Municipal Bonds: VOTE YES
WAKE COUNTY
Wake County Commissioners, District 4
Susan Evans
Wake County Commissioners, District 5
Tara Waters
Wake County Commissioners, District 6
Shinica Thomas
Wake Board of Education, District 3
Jordyne Blaise
Wake Board of Education, District 4
Toshiba Rice
Wake Board of Education, District 5
Lynn Edmonds
Wake Board of Education, District 6
Sam Hershey
Wake Board of Education, District 8
Lindsay Mahaffey
Wake Register of Deeds
Tammy Brunner
Wake County Soil and Water Conservation
District Supervisor
Mark Boone
RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
Raleigh Mayor
Janet Cowell
Raleigh City Council At-Large (choose 2)
Jonathan Melton
Stormie Forte
Raleigh City Council, District A
Mitchell Silver
Raleigh City Council, District B
Megan Patton
Raleigh City Council, District C
Corey Branch
Raleigh City Council, District D
Jane Harrison
Raleigh City Council, District E
Christina Jones
NC SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE
District 10C Seat 01
Sean Cole
District 10F Seat 01
Jennifer Bedford
NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
District 10A Seat 02
No endorsement
District 10A Seat 03
Cindy Kenney
District 10B Seat 02
Ashleigh Parker
District 10B Seat 03
Julie Bell
District 10C Seat 01
Mark Stevens
District 10C Seat 02
Christine Walczyk
District 10C Seat 03
Renee Jordan
District 10D Seat 03
Kevin Boxberger
District 10D Seat 04
Rhonda Young
District 10D Seat 05
Blair Williams
District 10E Seat 03
Crystal Grimes
District 10F Seat 02
Damion McCullers
District 10F Seat 03
No endorsement
Wake County Library Bond: VOTE YES
C ary Municipal Bonds: VOTE YES
2 2 o 4
U.S. CONGRESS
U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 2 W
Deborah Ross (D)
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that would require the EPA to study the effects of forest biomass consumption.
Like her colleague Deborah Ross, Foushee has brought federal money to the district. This summer, she helped secure a $12 million grant to fund improvements to Durham roads. And just this month, in partnership with Durham Tech, Foushee announced more than $600,000 to pay for a new affordable housing initiative.
NC SENATE AND HOUSE
This election cycle features eight competitive state Senate seats and 12 competitive state House seats across Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties. Several more House and Senate races are not competitive—see our clip-out voter guide for our endorsements.
DEBORAH ROSS has been a force in North Carolina politics since 2002. From her decade-long tenure in the state house, where she worked to protect voting rights, fund transit and transportation projects, expand access to affordable housing, and raise the minimum wage, to her current position representing the 2nd Congressional District, Ross has consistently fought for the values that are important to her progressive constituents.
In Congress, Ross has sponsored bills advocating for women’s health and safety, bolstering cybersecurity, protecting child abuse survivors, and assisting veterans. Her first term has seen several legislative successes: 11 bills she introduced were signed into law, including legislation that increased funding for sexual assault nurse examiners and boosted North Carolina’s offshore wind energy potential. Ross has also helped secure millions of dollars for the district—for RDU International Airport, a new transit hub in the Research Triangle Park, and a $400 million EPA grant to address the climate crisis and support conservation in the state.
We endorse Ross for another term.
Other candidates: ALAN SWAIN (R), MICHAEL DUBLIN (G)
We have qualms with Foushee’s decision to visit Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this spring without disclosing the trip to constituents beforehand. But Foushee is the clear choice in this race over her Republican challenger, Eric Blankenburg, who has no prior experience in local or state politics and perennial Libertarian candidate Guy Meilleur.
Other candidates: GUY MEILLEUR (L), ERIC BLANKENBURG (R)
U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 13 W
Frank Pierce (D)
FRANK PIERCE, a Democrat and owner of a landscaping company who grew up in Southeast Raleigh, is trying to win a previously competitive district now drawn into one that’s largely conservative.
We like Pierce’s focus on education—he says the federal government needs to keep its promise to fully fund its Title 1 obligations to special-needs students and teachers. We agree! And we like Pierce’s commitments to protecting reproductive freedom, defending voting rights, and ending gerrymandering.
NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 13 W Lisa Grafstein (D)
A longtime civil rights attorney, LISA GRAFSTEIN brings a wealth of experience in advocating for marginalized communities to her role in the state senate. In the last legislative session, Grafstein sponsored 25 bills, including legislation codifying the right to use contraception and enabling local governments to enact rent control. Grafstein has also introduced legislation to strengthen consumer protections and improve access to mental health services, and her platform prioritizes women’s health care and reproductive freedom, workers’ rights and fair wages, expanded access to affordable housing, and support for public school teachers and students.
U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 4 D O
Valerie Foushee (D)
A Chapel Hill native, VALERIE FOUSHEE spent decades advocating for public education, environmental protections, criminal justice reform, and civil rights—as a school board member, a county commissioner, and a state legislator—before joining Congress in 2022. In her first term as a congresswoman, Foushee has continued that work, sponsoring bills to fund gun violence research and introducing legislation
We don’t like that Pierce’s opponent, Republican Brad Knott, is unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump’s election lies and spent his primary trying to prove to voters that he was the most conservative option. We find it funny (though not for Knott’s potential future constituents) that he doesn’t even live in the district. A former federal prosecutor, Knott also voted from an address—his childhood home—at which he didn’t live for 13 years. He calls it an oversight; NC General Statutes call that a felony. To echo one of his primary opponents: he’s simply Knott a good choice.
We endorse Frank Pierce.
Other candidate: BRAD KNOTT (R)
Grafstein’s challenger Scott Lassiter, a vice chair of the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District and former Apex Town Council member, works as assistant principal at the Raleigh middle school Connections Academy. Lassiter recently spent a month suspended without pay as officials investigated his role in intervening in a fight between students. He was reinstated last week but is now taking “vacation time,” as The News & Observer reported, and Wake County Public Schools has said that it disputes Lassiter’s account of the events.
That mess, plus Lassiter’s support of extremist candidates Michelle Morrow and Mark Robinson, add up to a hard pass. We strongly endorse Grafstein.
Other candidates: SUSAN HOGARTH (L), SCOTT LASSITER (R)
NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 14 W
Dan Blue (D)
A fixture in North Carolina politics for more than four decades, DAN BLUE served as state house speaker in the 1990s and is currently the senate
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Democratic leader after joining the higher chamber in 2009. Blue has been a consistent champion of public education, economic growth, and health care accessibility. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, Blue sponsored a bill to codify Roe and Casey maternal health care protections into state law, and he’s said that stopping the expansion of private school vouchers is his top priority. Blue works hard for the district, too. Last year, he sponsored a local bill that would allocate more than $4 million for public projects in Wake County.
Wake Forest resident Angela McCarty’s top priority if elected is “school safety pertaining to gun violence and drugs,” and posts on her campaign Facebook page emphasize “school choice.”
Blue’s record of leadership—he cites as recent achievements expanding Medicaid, reopening schools safely following the COVID pandemic, and passing legislation to reduce carbon emissions—makes him the obvious choice in this race.
Other candidates: ANGELA MCCARTY (R), SAMMIE BROOKS (L)
NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 15 W Jay Chaudhuri (D)
NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 17 W
Sydney Batch (D)
NC SENATE DISTRICT 20 D Natalie Murdock (D)
SYDNEY BATCH represented House District 37 before losing the seat to Republican Erin Paré in 2020. Governor Cooper then appointed Batch to the state senate seat in January 2021 following Sam Searcy’s resignation. A family law attorney, Batch’s legislative priorities include advocating for increased funding for public schools and affordable health care. While in office, Batch has worked on legislation related to child welfare, public safety, and support for families and small businesses. She sponsored legislation that would provide paid family leave insurance to every North Carolinian and was successful in getting a bill to protect children from abuse signed into law in 2021. Batch has a proven record as someone who will support the most vulnerable North Carolina residents. She is the clear choice in the race.
Other candidate: PATRICK BOWERSOX (L)
NC SENATE DISTRICT 18 W Terence Everitt (D)
A state senator since 2016 and the current Democratic whip, JAY CHAUDHURI is focused on supporting public education and economic innovation. He has championed legislation to expand pre-K programs, study cell phone use in schools, and increase funding for renewable energy projects. Before joining the senate, Chaudhuri served as special counsel to then attorney general Roy Cooper and led a nationwide coalition of attorney generals to protect minors on social media sites Facebook and MySpace. Additionally, he served as special counsel and senior policy adviser to former treasurer Janet Cowell and, in that role, recovered almost $100 million for pension funds and helped establish the state’s first Innovation Fund to support and invest in North Carolina businesses. Chaudhuri also has a record of bipartisan cooperation, sponsoring a bill with Republicans that required high school students to take financial literacy and economics classes as a graduation requirement.
Chaudhuri’s opponent David Bankert is a retired electrical engineer who describes himself as a conservative constitutionalist. His priorities include working for “transparency and accountability in government and media” and “bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.”
We endorse Chaudhuri for another term.
Other candidates: KAT MACDONALD (L), DAVID BANKERT (R)
NATALIE MURDOCK, who’s running for her third term in the state senate, is one of the hardest-working lawmakers in the general assembly. She was the primary sponsor of 30 bills in the most recent legislative session, including several local proposals to fund roads and facilities in her Durham district and bills supporting women and mothers, including the MOMnibus Act to support maternal health care and legislation to provide funds to local Diaper Banks to distribute menstrual care products to those in need.
Christopher Partain, the Republican candidate, served as a police sergeant in Cabarrus County and has a platform that emphasizes deregulating alcohol distribution and legalizing marijuana, distinguishing his priorities from those of his party. Those Libertarian-leaning ideals won’t be enough to unseat Murdock. She has been a steadfast supporter of issues Durham voters care about, such as expanding access to public transportation, strengthening economic development initiatives, and bringing down the costs of health care. We endorse her for another term.
Other candidate: CHRISTOPHER PARTAIN (R)
TERENCE EVERITT has served in the state house since 2019 and, in that role, he’s advocated for preserving access to reproductive rights, government transparency, public education, and criminal justice reform. In the last legislative session, Everitt cosponsored a bill to codify the reproductive freedom protections of Roe and Casey and introduced legislation to make lawmakers’ documents public record, ensure that there’s a nurse in every public school, and clarify the law around felons’ voting rights.
Ashlee Adams says she would “champion fiscal conservatism and the importance of strong familial bonds.” She has no political experience and no concrete plans for her time in office but is running on a boilerplate GOP platform: school choice, limited government, and “conservative values.”
Everitt might be best remembered from this past session for being relegated to a janitor’s closet in the legislative building after asking the Wake County DA to investigate house speaker Tim Moore for allegedly having an affair with a state employee. We applaud Everitt for making the best of that situation, but mostly for his work on the issues we care about. We endorse him for the state senate seat.
Other candidates: BRAD HESSEL (L), ASHLEE ADAMS (R)
NC SENATE DISTRICT 22 D Sophia Chitlik (D)
SOPHIA CHITLIK toppled a political behemoth when she unseated longtime state senator Mike Woodard in the March Democratic primary. Now, she looks poised to inherit a seat that has largely gone unchallenged since Woodard first occupied it in 2012. This year, there is no Republican challenger and Chitlik’s Libertarian opponent, Ray Ubinger, has never won more than 3 percent of the vote since he first ran for public office in 2018. During her campaign, Chitlik ran on a platform focused on supporting maternal health care and affordable childcare, important issues in a state where women’s access to both is often in jeopardy, and important issues to her personally as an investor in women-led companies and nonprofits.
Once in office, Chitlik will need to work across the aisle if she wants to move the needle on her detailed progressive platform. If she’s as good at talking to Republicans as she is to the voters of Durham she convinced to elect her in the primary, she’ll be able to make a difference again. Chitlik has our endorsement.
Other candidate: RAY UBINGER (L)
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NC SENATE DISTRICT 23 O
Graig Meyer (D)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 11 W Allison Dahle (D)
It’s tough being a progressive Democrat when the GOP has a supermajority in the legislature, but GRAIG MEYER, who was first elected to the state house in 2013 and joined the senate in 2022, has become a formidable advocate for various causes, including increasing government transparency and legalizing marijuana. Meyer was the primary sponsor of more than a dozen bills in the most recent legislative session; most of those stalled in committee, but when cannabis is legalized in North Carolina in the next few years, Meyer will have had a lot to do with it. The sponsor of the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act with Senators Chaudhuri and Murdock, Meyer is clear-eyed about how drug prohibition criminalizes minority and working-class North Carolinians. And when his GOP colleagues gave themselves the power to conceal records from the public, Meyer responded by releasing 140,000 of his emails, demonstrating a true commitment to transparency in conducting the people’s business. Meyer has successfully passed legislation that helps children and families, including bills that help families save money to care for children with disabilities and set up guardianships for aging adults, as well as legislation to reduce the cost of home mortgage processing.
Meyer has our endorsement over Laura Pichardo, the former treasurer of the Caswell Republican Party.
Other candidate: LAURA PICHARDO (R)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 2 D
Ray Jeffers (D)
Before RAY JEFFERS was elected to the state house in 2022, he served as a Person County commissioner for over a decade, experience that would have familiarized him with the needs of the largely rural district. One such need? Broadband, and as a county commissioner, Jeffers helped bring 52 miles of fiber to Person County. Jeffers continues that work in the state house, where he sponsored the Rural Broadband Transformation Act. He also sponsored bills to help struggling farmers, manage invasive species, and establish veterinarian telemedicine programs for livestock in the state’s Department of Agriculture.
Jeffers’s opponent, Jason Chambers, has no prior political experience. Chambers says he supports medical marijuana use, which is good, but also school vouchers, which siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools into private schools, which is not.
Jeffers has years of political experience and understands the unique needs of his District 2 constituency. We endorse him for another term.
Other candidate: JASON CHAMBERS (R)
ALLISON DAHLE has represented District 11, a reliably left-leaning district that encompasses NC State University’s campus, since 2018. The vice chair of the Elections and Ethics Law Committee, Dahle has been effective on legislation related to elections and voting, sponsoring the Bipartisan Elections Act in 2020, which ensured voting was safe during the COVID pandemic. This legislative session, Dahle sponsored a bill to make voting easier by expanding early voting hours and allowing online voter registration.
Philip Hensley, a Cary business owner whose qualifications, according to his website, include “Archon of Pi Kappa Phi–Kappa Chapter, the same fraternity of the young men who protected the American flag earlier this year during the UNC campus protests,” doesn’t have a detailed platform.
We endorse Dahle.
Other candidates: PHILIP HENSLEY (R), MATTHEW KORDON (L)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 21 W
Ya Liu (D)
long-serving District 33 Democrat Rosa Gill, who plans to retire this year. Like Gill, Johnson-Hostler is a staunch advocate for public education and, on the school board, she helped secure school construction bonds and spearheaded several student equity- and achievement-focused initiatives. As an advocate for survivors, Johnson-Hostler worked on policy at the federal level to protect victims of human trafficking and domestic violence and served on committees under former president Barack Obama and attorney general Eric Holder. She contributed significantly to the federal government’s 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. We’re excited to see what Johnson-Hostler could achieve in these areas in the house and endorse her over Libertarian Chris Costello.
Other candidate: CHRIS COSTELLO (L)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 34 W
Tim Longest (D)
YA LIU, a faculty member at Duke Law School with doctoral degrees in sociology and law, was first elected in 2022 after serving on the Cary Town Council for four years. Liu has an impressive résumé as a public servant, even for her short time in office, as a sponsor of more than 200 bills, with several signed into law. Notable achievements include legislation to keep siblings together in foster care and a bill supporting child advocacy centers.
As we noted in 2022, Liu also has a compelling personal story. She moved to the United States two decades ago with almost nothing and a limited command of English in pursuit of the American Dream.
We endorse Liu over Mary Miskimon, an Apex small business owner who says she “supports law enforcement” and an “all of the above approach to energy.”
Other candidate: MARY MISKIMON (R)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 33 W
Monika Johnson-Hostler (D)
MONIKA JOHNSON-HOSTLER, a current Wake County school board member of 11 years and executive director of the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NC CASA), is running to fill the seat of
Attorney TIM LONGEST is still getting his bearings in his first term in the state house, and we like where he’s focused his attention. Longest has sponsored bills expanding domestic violence protections, supporting working families, addressing PFAS in waterways, expanding tenants’ rights, and protecting sea turtles. And he spoke out on the house floor in favor of protecting the state’s redbud trees from clear-cutting for billboards during a veto override vote.
Libertarian Ed George doesn’t support paying public school teachers more—he says they should get only an adjustment for inflation—and says state money should follow students to private schools.
That distinction is more than enough for us to endorse Longest for a second term.
Other candidate: ED GEORGE (L)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 35 W
Evonne Hopkins (D)
Democrat EVONNE HOPKINS is a family law attorney with a record of advocacy for families and children navigating high-conflict situations. She owns her own law practice in North Raleigh, and we appreciate her platform of strong support for reproductive rights—protecting access to abortion, contraception, and IVF—and support for teachers and opposition to private school vouchers. We also appreciate that Hopkins says her top focus is on the needs of her district: infrastructure, housing, and the economy. Hopkins’s opponents are two men named Mike. Michael Oakes, the Libertarian candidate, has one of the worst positions on abortion we’ve ever heard (full ban, no
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exceptions), and Republican Mike Schietzelt helped write an amicus curiae brief pushing for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. No thanks, Mikes. Vote for Hopkins.
Other candidates: MICHAEL OAKES (L), MIKE SCHIETZELT (R)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 36 W
Julie von Haefen (D)
Luckily, there’s a strong opponent in SAFIYAH JACKSON, a former educator and current chief strategy officer for the NC Partnership for Children, a nonprofit that oversees the state’s Smart Start initiative. Jackson’s campaign centers on investing in North Carolina’s children: she wants to reinstate the state’s child tax credit, protect the environment for future generations, and bring the state into compliance with the Leandro decision.
We think Jackson is the better choice.
investing heavily in North Carolina—that was adopted. We appreciate Cervania’s focus on North Carolina’s economy and on its residents’ quality of life.
Libertarian Matthew Laszacs has ideas about an education overhaul, but we’re not convinced by his approach. We endorsed Cervania in 2020 and 2022, and we’re happy to do it again this cycle.
Other candidate: MATTHEW LASZACS (L)
A former PTA president who served as a substitute teacher amid pandemic-era staff shortages in Wake County schools, JULIE VON HAEFEN is a vocal advocate for public education who has worked to increase education funding, improve school safety, and expand access to early childhood education since joining the state house in 2019. She has also fought for Medicaid expansion and advocated for legislation that would hold corporate polluters accountable for environmental restoration efforts. As the fifth most likely lawmaker to vote against the majority Republican Party, von Haefen doesn’t have a ton of legislative achievements to her name. But she is visible, vocal, and fights for what she believes in, and we respect that.
Von Haefen’s challenger Becki Allen is a stay-at-home mom from Cary who wants to ban abortion and backs the “parental rights” movement. We’re endorsing von Haefen.
Other candidates: TRAVIS GROO (L), BECKI ALLEN (R)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 37 W
Safiyah Jackson (D)
Other candidates: ERIN PARE (R), CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON (L)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 40 W
Joe John (D)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 56 O
Allen Buansi (D)
A retired judge who spent more than two decades in North Carolina’s judiciary, and who also served four years as the director of the NC State Bureau of Investigation crime lab, JOE JOHN brings a valuable range of experience to the general assembly. Since he was elected in 2016, John has focused his energies on preserving the independence of the judiciary and abolishing partisan gerrymandering. A number of bills John has cosponsored have been signed into law this session, including a bipartisan bill to fund capital projects at UNC, bipartisan legislation to address predatory real estate deals, and a bipartisan bill to maintain adult developmental and vocational rehabilitation programs.
Erin Paré is the only Republican in the legislature’s Wake County delegation and an effective lawmaker. Last year, Paré successfully got a bill passed that changed the way Wake County commissioners are elected—from countywide to district-wide—upping Republicans’ chances of winning back seats on a board from which they’ve largely been shut out. This year, somewhat surprisingly, Paré single-handedly blew up the GOP’s mask ban bill. While that pleased those among us who understand how virus transmission works, voters shouldn’t be fooled—there’s nothing moderate about Erin Paré.
She voted for the 12-week abortion ban and was a primary sponsor on a bill banning trans students from playing sports. While she talks about wanting to raise pay for public school teachers and staff, she’s also a staunch supporter of private school vouchers (it’s pretty clear by now that we can’t actually have both). Most telling, perhaps, is that Paré pals around with Michele Morrow and Mark Robinson. “He’s a great man, powerful speaker, and outstanding person,” she said of the GOP gubernatorial hopeful. The constituents of House District 37 deserve better.
John’s challenger Jerry Doliner, a retired small business owner, specifically opposes building light rail in North Carolina (which is largely off the table anyway) and includes this on his campaign website: “Nationwide there were about 50,000,000 abortions from 1973-2011. Would we need illegal immigrants here if we had not killed 50,000,000 babies?” We think the choice here is clear: vote for John.
Other candidates: JERRY DOLINER (R), MIKE MUNGER (L)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 41 W
Maria Cervania (D)
A former member of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, MARIA CERVANIA has been putting in the work to represent her community for years. The one-term incumbent came out swinging this year when the UNC System Board of Governors voted to eliminate DEI programming, warning that the elimination would harm the state’s strength as a business hub. In the house, Cervania sponsored a resolution to encourage Congress to have a closer working relationship with Japan—a country that’s
As a freshman legislator, ALLEN BUANSI is still building his influence in the general assembly, but in the state house he’s working on many of the same issues he prioritized on the Chapel Hill Town Council. In his first term in the house, Buansi has cosponsored legislation to expand affordable housing options and strengthen tenants’ rights. His work on the House Judiciary Committee has focused on reforms to make the justice system more equitable and efficient. We endorse Buansi for a second term over Jeffrey Hoagland, an engineer who has twice unsuccessfully run for a seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council.
Other candidate: JEFFREY HOAGLAND (R)
NC HOUSE DISTRICT 66 W
Sarah Crawford (D)
The CEO of Raleigh’s Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, which serves children, adults, and families, SARAH CRAWFORD is running for her second term in the state house (she also served a term in the senate). In the house, Crawford sponsored a bipartisan bill to maintain adult developmental and vocational rehabilitation programs and a bill to make child advocacy centers eligible to receive state funds. Both were signed into law. Crawford has been a reliable supporter of women’s health care and access to abortion, sponsoring a provision to gather more detailed information from state-funded crisis pregnancy centers and consistently voting against the many Republican bills in the senate and house attempting to restrict access. Michael Nelson has unsuccessfully run for the state house in the last four elections. He supports school choice and abolishing the ABC licensing system and wants more affordable housing. We’re endorsing Crawford.
Other candidate: MICHAEL NELSON (L)
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DURHAM COUNTY
Durham Infrastructure Bonds: VOTE YES
The Durham City Council added two bonds to voters’ ballots for city residents to consider this November: one to improve Durham’s parks, and the other to improve Durham’s streets and sidewalks.
The sidewalk bond would provide $115 million to complete over 12 miles of sidewalks and 20 miles of sidewalk repairs, repave 100 miles of streets and add traffic-calming measures, and pave nearly 11 miles of gravel streets. The project areas are spread throughout Durham, but some target areas include funding a multiuse path along Hillandale Road, building sidewalks along East Club Boulevard, and bringing access to GoDurham’s popular Route 9 to the Bragtown community.
The parks bond would provide $85 million to rejuvenate East End and Long Meadow Parks and build a new aquatic center at Merrick-Moore Park next to the Wheels Roller Rink. The new pool would replace the pool at Long Meadow that closed.
The bonds are a good deal for residents. At the highest end, a possible tax increase would be 3.46¢ for each $100 of assessed value, which, for the average home in Durham works out to about nine dollars extra a month, or a little over $100 a year, if both bonds pass.
As Durham grows, its public infrastructure has to grow with it to ensure all residents can access green space and do so safely, no matter how they choose to get there. Improving parks and streets aligns with the city’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and provide recreational opportunities for Durham’s youth.
With little financial burden for Durham residents, we believe voting for both bonds is a win for the Durham community.
ORANGE COUNTY
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, DISTRICT 2
This is the only competitive race for a seat on the Board of County Commissioners this cycle. Two noncompetitive races are also on the ballot in which we have made endorsements (see the clip-out voter guide).
Phyllis Portie-Ascott
The Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously appointed PHYLLIS PORTIE-ASCOTT to a vacant seat on the board in February of last year after former member Renée Price was elected to the state house. The former vice chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, PortieAscott has done a good job so far leveraging existing
relationships with other local officials and engaging with the community on the vision for the Greene Tract. We like her ideas about bringing down home prices—incentivizing development with tax credits, supporting home buyers with down-payment assistance, and preserving existing housing—as well as her support for tenants’ protections. We are excited to see what Portie-Ascott would do with a full term.
Her opponent, H. Nathan Robinson (who lives in a renovated log cabin and supports bike lanes), seems like a fine person. A member of the Orange County Board of Adjustment, Robinson previously tried to get on the ballot as an independent in 2022. His campaign, on the Republican ticket this year, is focused on bringing attention to the fact that the Democrat-dominated board of commissioners doesn’t represent all of Orange County and would benefit from more discourse. Fair enough!
Still, we’re endorsing Portie-Ascott.
Other candidate: H. NATHAN ROBINSON
CARRBORO TOWN COUNCIL
Cristóbal Palmer
The special election to fill the seat left vacant by now mayor Barbara Foushee features two good candidates who both seem to have Carrboro’s best interests at heart. Both CRISTÓBAL PALMER and Isaac Woolsey have emphasized the need to improve transit, make housing more affordable, and address the climate crisis. In a town as liberal as Carrboro, the single vote on the seven-member council is unlikely to herald any major policy shifts.
But local governance matters, and for this seat we endorse Palmer. Palmer has been a Democratic volunteer for years, and—like any respectable candidate in the Triangle—has served on the board of a bicycle advocacy nonprofit. Palmer says he wants to make roadways in the town safer for those crossing busy streets to reach bus stops and he’s clear-eyed about how that will have to happen: by working with the state. He also has a deep understanding of the Carrboro Connects master plan and how the town needs to implement it.
We admire the determined transit and disability advocacy of his opponent, Isaac Woolsey. A Carrboro resident for five years, Woolsey relies exclusively on public transit to get around town and wants to see transit service expanded.
But we believe that Palmer’s strong community connections—he’s been a resident since 1994, and his mother, Maria Palmer, a former Chapel Hill Town Council member, was the first Latina to join the state board of education— make him the best pick for this seat.
Other candidate: ISAAC WOOLSEY
Durham Orange
Orange County Schools/Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Bonds: VOTE YES
If voters approve the bond referendum, the county could borrow $300 million—approximately $175 million for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and $125 million for Orange County Schools—to pay for school building replacements, renovations, and repairs. These include replacing Carrboro, Estes Hills, and Frank Porter Graham Elementaries in the CHCCS system and replacing Orange County Elementary and Middle Schools and a major renovation or addition in OCS.
The bond is projected to cost a property taxpayer $34.10 for every $100,000 of assessed property value, or about $136 annually for a home valued at $400,000.
Enrollment in OCS and CHCCS is on the decline, and if the public school system is losing students to private schools and homeschooling, that’s a cause for concern. These upgrades are long overdue and desperately needed, and the emphasis on replacing school buildings will mean minimal disruption to current students and school staff. Children are the future, and we like the idea of sending them to schools that aren’t falling apart. Vote yes on the school bond referendum.
Chapel Hill Municipal Bonds: VOTE YES
Imagine if the Town of Chapel Hill could:
• spend $15 million on affordable housing (build new, preserve existing, acquire property to build on, leverage state and federal funding, and create regional partnerships)
• spend $15 million on public facilities (replace Fire Stations 3 and 4 with new facilities)
• spend $7.5 million on streets and sidewalks (improve and expand connectivity and ADA accessibility on Fordham Boulevard and Ephesus Church Road and support sidewalk projects in areas near schools and transit)
• spend $4.5 million on parks and recreation facilities (replace artificial turf on Homestead Park playing fields, replace the community center climbing wall, build a splash bad, enhance pickleball courts, and more)
• and spend $2 million on open space and greenways (build the Bolin Creek Greenway Extension)
… all without raising property taxes.
It can—the town’s debt fund allocates money to pay debts and build future debt capacity—if you vote yes on the municipal bonds.
Each category is listed as its own referendum. Don’t overthink it. We suggest voting yes on all.
INDY's 2024 General Election Endorsements Wake
WAKE COUNTY
WAKE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, DISTRICT 6
This is the only competitive race for a seat on the Board of County Commissioners this cycle. Two noncompetitive races are also on the ballot in which we have made endorsements (see the clip-out voter guide).
Shinica Thomas (D)
WAKE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DISTRICT 4 Toshiba Rice
SHINICA THOMAS was elected to the board of commissioners in 2020 and has served as board chair for the past two years. In that time, she has worked to improve broadband access across Wake County and advocated for improved diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within county government. Thomas is an adept leader who runs some of the smoothest public meetings in Wake County. We think she’s earned a second term.
Her opponent is Republican Jacob Arthur, who says he wants to lower taxes, cut government spending and improve public safety in Wake County. We prefer Thomas, who wants to invest in public schools, transportation, and affordable housing rather than slash the county’s budget by 10 percent.
Other candidate: JACOB ARTHUR (R)
WAKE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DISTRICT 3
Jordyne Blaise
TOSHIBA RICE was appointed to the seat in February after her predecessor, Tara Waters, left to join the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Rice is the executive director of Track My Steps, a statewide education nonprofit dedicated to closing economic and racial achievement gaps. She’s also the CEO of a wellness consulting firm in Raleigh. In her first months on the school board, Rice supported federal Title IX updates that expand protections for LGBTQ students and voted against renewing the school system’s contract with its school resource officers, citing their unequal treatment of Black and brown students. We appreciate that she’s elevating that issue and are excited to see what she does with a full term.
Mike Williams is an education consultant who ran for the seat unsuccessfully in 2022. Sean Callan is a research and policy analyst. Neither have campaign websites or seem to be actively campaigning. We think Rice is the best choice.
Other candidates: MIKE WILLIAMS, SEAN CALLAN
WAKE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DISTRICT 5
Lynn Edmonds
As K-12 nonprofit Public Schools
to advocate for these issues and more—including staff pay raises and a Safe Gun Storage resolution. He’s also spoken out against book bans and attacks against LGBTQ students. Hershey is a Wake County Public Schools parent and former sports coach, and his personal stake in the school system’s success is evident in his work.
Josh Points, Hershey’s GOP-backed challenger, is a commercial real estate broker who says he wants to improve student performance in Wake schools. To do that, he’s suggested raising teachers’ pay in order to improve student proficiency. Points’s campaign website alludes to the Moms for Liberty–championed “parents’ rights” movement, and on social media, he’s expressed support for banning books that discuss sexuality and gender identity. Hershey’s public school credentials and policy positions make him the clear choice in this race.
Other candidate: JOSH POINTS
WAKE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DISTRICT 8 Lindsay Mahaffey
JORDYNE BLAISE’s past experiences as a high school English teacher and NC State University’s deputy Title IX coordinator make her a well-qualified candidate for this seat. On top of her education experience, Blaise is a lawyer and leadership coach. Chief among her laundry list of policy priorities are improving educational equity and closing student achievement gaps. She also wants to support teachers and staff with competitive salaries and professional development support, ensure financial accountability in the school budget, and strengthen community involvement in public education.
Wing Ng, the incumbent, consistently obstructs the school board’s day-to-day operations in service of a conservative agenda. He voted against bringing the school system into compliance with federal Title IX regulations and tried to block a grant program that helps teachers buy books that promote diversity for their classrooms.
Other candidate: WING NG
First NC’s director of outreach, LYNN EDMONDS has been a champion of the state’s Leandro plan to fully fund North Carolina’s public schools since long before she joined the school board in 2022. Edmonds’s staunch support for teachers—her advocacy to pay them more and support them better— cuts through the noise of the statewide “parents’ rights” movement. She’s a parent of two WCPSS graduates and a longtime volunteer within the school system. She’s also a Wake County library commissioner who uses her platform to elevate the importance of preserving the “freedom to read.”
Unlike Edmonds, Ted Hills has no substantive history with Wake County Public Schools. His platform makes veiled overtures to the school vouchers program and “parents’ rights” movement. Vote for Edmonds.
Other candidate: TED HILLS
WAKE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DISTRICT 6
Sam Hershey
In 2022, SAM HERSHEY campaigned on a pledge to address Wake County’s teacher shortage, remediate pandemic learning loss, and improve school funding. Since taking office, he’s continued
In her eight years on the school board, LINDSAY MAHAFFEY has proven herself as a strong advocate for students and teachers, successfully lobbying for the addition of eight new schools in her fast-growing district and the restoration of master’s pay for WCPSS staff. Mahaffey is a former teacher herself and the parent of three children enrolled in Wake County Public Schools. She brings those perspectives to the table in a thoughtful and compassionate way during conversations about student well-being and staff support. She’s a defender of public schools at a time when the state legislature wants to divert money away from them and into private school vouchers.
Mahaffey’s opponent, Elizabeth McDuffie, is the least immediately objectionable candidate out of the Wake GOP’s slate of school board picks. Her classroom experience—which includes 10 years teaching in Wake County Public Schools—gives her some credibility. But don’t be fooled: McDuffie spent the summer and fall campaigning with conservative school board members Wing Ng and Cheryl Caulfield and with Michele Morrow, the conspiracy-peddling GOP candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. We’re willing to bet that if elected, McDuffie would take many of the same obstructionist, anti-LGBTQ stances as Ng and Caulfield.
Other candidate: ELIZABETH MCDUFFIE
INDY's 2024 General Election Endorsements
WAKE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT SUPERVISOR
Mark Boone
NC SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, DISTRICT 10F SEAT 01
Jennifer Bedford
MARK BOONE looks to be the only candidate in the race for this very important nonpartisan position who’s actually qualified to hold it. A scientist and engineer, Boone has detailed thoughts about the role and says he’s passionate about “finding solutions for dealing with the tragedy of the commons.” Boone says caring for Wake County’s 77,000 remaining acres of farmland is a priority and that ensuring local farmers can continue to use their land for agriculture is key. He cites preserving wildlife and empowering residents to protect native plant species and deal with garbage responsibly as important issues and suggests specific policy changes to make it easier for residents to recycle. If elected to the position, Boone says he will prioritize county partnerships with groups like the Triangle Land Conservancy, the Sierra Club, and the Audubon Society and will work to ensure the conservation district is funded through grants.
Other candidates: BRIAN LEWIS, REESE WAMSLEY
NC SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, DISTRICT 10C SEAT 01
Sean Cole
Graham Shirley, the incumbent since 2016 after he was appointed to the seat by Gov. Pat McCrory, has a background in the military and in criminal and civil litigation.
We’re endorsing JENNIFER BEDFORD, a Wake County district court judge who worked as a nonpartisan committee attorney at the general assembly until Gov. Roy Cooper appointed her to her district court seat. As a single mother of two, we think Bedford will bring a unique and needed perspective to the local judiciary.
Other candidate: GRAHAM SHIRLEY
NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE, DISTRICT 10D SEAT 03
Kevin Boxberger
These are much-needed improvements that will help the public library system keep pace with Wake County’s soaring population growth. The bond would cost taxpayers $2.50 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year—a mere $10 increase on the annual tax bill for a home worth $400,000. That’s a small price to pay to make sure everyone in the county can access updated, well-resourced public libraries.
Some community members have raised concerns that the Green Road, Richard B. Harrison, and Southgate libraries were left out of this bond, save for about $2 million allocated to renovate Richard B. Harrison library. It’s worth noting that the exact spending breakdown for the bond is not set in stone—there’s room for changes after the referendum vote.
We support the bond and encourage readers to vote yes.
Cary Municipal Bonds: VOTE YES
A registered Republican, Justice Becky Holt, who’s held the seat since 2017, does a good job of keeping politics out of the courtroom. For example, last month she ruled that it was too late for presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to get his name removed from voters’ ballots after said ballots had already been printed and were ready to be mailed out to voters. We think Holt ruled correctly, but the GOPmajority NC Court of Appeals overruled Holt’s decision at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to taxpayers.
Democrat SEAN COLE, a personal injury lawyer, courtroom advocate, and legal studies teacher, says he believes that every person who comes before a trial court must be heard and understood. A volunteer writer for the Wake County Bar Awards, which raises millions of dollars for Legal Aid, Cole has received several recognitions for his volunteer and pro bono work in the legal profession. He’s also an actor, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. That’s the kind of caring, well-rounded person we want on the bench.
The third candidate for the seat, Stephanie Davis, has 21 years of trial experience in criminal and family law and says being unaffiliated aligns with the requirement that a judge be impartial. She makes a good point, but we’re endorsing Cole.
Other candidates: STEPHANIE DAVIS, BECKY HOLT
A military veteran and former City of Raleigh firefighter, KEVIN BOXBERGER received his law degree from NC Central University in 2013, where he studied shortly after he became a father to twins. Gov. Cooper appointed Boxberger to a district court seat following chief district court judge Ned Mangum’s retirement this May. Boxberger has worked in criminal defense for more than a decade, often representing indigent and juvenile clients, and he’s well respected in the local community for mentoring younger attorneys. Boxberger professes a commitment to fairness and competency on the bench, and we think the unique experience he brings will serve the residents of Wake County well.
Karl Roth, a licensed attorney since 2001, has practiced in the areas of commercial litigation and family and criminal law. Also a military veteran, Roth describes himself as a Ronald Reagan Republican who leans moderate on social issues.
We endorse Boxberger.
Other candidate: KARL ROTH
Library Bond: VOTE YES
The Wake County Public Library System plans to use this $142 million bond for new libraries ($67 million), expansions ($12.3 million), and renovations ($43.3 million). Projects include replacing the Athens Drive and Wendell community libraries, expanding the Fuquay-Varina community library into a regional library, and adding new libraries in Apex and Rolesville. Several other libraries across the county would also get large-scale renovations.
Cary voters will see two separate bonds on their ballots, one for housing and one for parks, together worth a combined $590 million. If voters approve the bonds, the town’s tax rate would increase by 9¢ (8.5¢ for parks and 0.5¢ for housing), staggered in 3¢ incremental increases in 2026, 2028, and 2030.
The housing bond, worth $30 million, will be used to preserve existing affordable housing, create new affordable units, and support homeowners and nonprofit partners. The parks bond, worth $560 million, will provide funds for six projects:
• A $300 million sports and recreation center in South Hills
• A $10 million Asian Garden
• A $60 million clubhouse and stadium at Cary Tennis Park and 25–30 new pickleball courts
• A $150 million community center at Mills Park
• A $10 milion 217-acre nature park with hiking trails on what was once farmland in Chatham County
• Expansion of the Walnut Creek greenway, which would link Downtown Cary Park, Fenton, WakeMed Soccer Park, and South Hills, at a cost of $30 million
We think these are important considerations and new amenities for Cary, with a population that has grown to nearly 200,000 residents over the past decade. We urge Cary voters to vote yes on the municipal bonds.
INDY's 2024 Raleigh City Council Endorsements
After five tumultuous years, the Raleigh City Council is entering a new era. A new mayor will guide the city into the second half of the decade, and seven council members will continue to make decisions about Raleigh’s future, not least with their work on the city’s next comprehensive plan that will chart how Raleigh grows beyond 2030.
It’s clear by now that Raleigh is no longer the sleepy capital it was at the turn of the century. Instead, it’s on track to becoming a 21st-century Southern city, rivaling the likes of Memphis and Nashville, certainly Charlotte, and even Washington, DC, Jacksonville, and Atlanta.
Whether or not you think the growth is good, it’s undeniable and inevitable. By 2050, Raleigh will add another 1 million people to its population of what’s now about half that. These are projections that leave us convinced of Raleigh’s need for more housing, strong public transit networks, a vibrant, prosperous downtown, world-class parks and greenways, and trusted leadership at the helm.
The city has made good progress on some of these accounts.
An affordable housing bond in 2020 has created hundreds of new units through public-private partnerships, allowed the city to buy land for more affordable housing, and helped home buyers and homeowners with assistance and repairs. We also support the city’s missing-middle policy, which has added more than 2,000 new units to Raleigh’s inventory that previously wouldn’t have been allowed. The city is becoming denser and rents are coming down. That’s good for residents and the environment.
We support the city’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which will be built out soon along the city’s eastern corridor into downtown. With the future of commuter rail in the region uncertain, Triangle towns and cities are increasingly looking to BRT as the means of moving their residents around. We can’t allow that progress to slow or stall.
Work on Dix Park is under way, with the Gipson Play Plaza scheduled to open next year. Voters approved a $275 million parks bond in 2022 that’s paying for 23 projects across the city, and city staff worked with the community to complete a parks plan for the next 10 years, promising the City of Oaks will retain its leafy moniker.
But it hasn’t all been sunny.
Downtown has had a tough five years following pandemic-inflicted loss of foot traffic and reports of rising crime. Voting to keep Red Hat Amphitheater downtown was ultimately a good move on the council’s part, but it’s the latest example in a pattern of how city leadership falls short in engaging residents about its proposals for their neighborhoods before presenting those plans as a done deal.
Then, there are deep concerns about the culture of the Raleigh Police Department. Raleigh has seen several officer shootings since 2020 and millions of dollars paid out to settle lawsuits for unconstitutional interactions with residents over the last decade.
Finally, a perception exists that the city council is leav-
ing vulnerable groups behind as it plans for growth and the future. Progress is good, but not when it comes at the expense of residents in historically Black and working-class neighborhoods who find themselves priced out of the city by rising property taxes and the increasing cost of living.
All of this erodes trust and city leaders will need to work over the coming years to win that trust back from residents.
With these issues in mind, and considering what’s at stake for Raleigh’s future, we don’t want to see momentum lost. Our main consideration in making these endorsements comes down to experience: experience in governing, experience in planning, and experience in engaging.
We want Raleigh to be a thriving, welcoming, sustainable city for the next generations. We’re recommending the candidates we feel will be best positioned as leaders to help realize this vision.
MAYOR
Janet Cowell
Fitts wants to hire 400 more cops, put a moratorium on new parks, bring a casino to Raleigh, and relocate Central Prison (which may not be a bad idea …).
We think the choice is clear: Cowell is the best candidate to serve as Raleigh’s next mayor.
Other candidates: TERRANCE (TRUTH) RUTH, PAUL FITTS, JAMES L. SHAUGHNESSY IV, EUGENE MYRICK
DISTRICT A
Mitchell Silver
JANET COWELL’s experience in government—she served on the Raleigh City Council before she was elected to the state senate and as the state treasurer from 2008 to 2015—plus her most recent role as CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy make her by far the candidate with the most political and civic experience in this race. We think it is experience that will serve Raleigh well.
On the council and as treasurer, Cowell ensured the city and state maintained their AAA bond ratings, overseeing taxation, spending, and debt. On the council, she helped establish a stormwater control program, which prohibited development in watersheds, protecting the city’s drinking water and protecting residents from flooding. She’s championed inclusivity and diversity on public and private boards. Cowell also promises to listen to residents and work with everyone in the community toward common goals.
Terrance Ruth, a professor in NC State University’s School of Social Work, is a strong candidate and an energetic, positive presence in the community. He also promises a collaborative approach but lacks Cowell’s leadership experience.
Eugene Myrick worked for Wake County Public Schools and the Dorothea Dix Mental Health Center. He’s committed to securing more affordable housing, restoring free bus fares to GoRaleigh, and preserving the city’s green spaces.
James Shaughnessy is 25 and a pre-law student at William Peace University. He lists procuring more affordable housing and alleviating traffic congestion as goals, but otherwise his platform is light on details.
Paul Fitts is embarking on his second run for mayor and fourth run for public office (he has not won an election).
There’s likely no other candidate running in this election who’s more uniquely qualified to serve on Raleigh’s city council than MITCHELL SILVER. The former New York City parks commissioner and Raleigh’s former planning director for a decade, Silver helped craft the guiding documents that have made Raleigh what it is today: its comprehensive plan and unified development ordinance.
While doing that visioning and planning work, Silver met regularly with residents across the city to hear their thoughts, perspectives, and concerns. Raleigh needs leaders who value transparency and have the ability to bring diverse stakeholders together to find consensus. We think Silver is that kind of leader.
We like Mary Black and endorsed her in the last election. As a young woman of color, a renter, community organizer, and environmental justice advocate, Black brings a valuable perspective to the city council. But from her two years representing District A, we’re not convinced that Black actually wants the job. She meets with constituents infrequently, isn’t especially active in district matters, and sometimes misses meetings when the council is taking key votes. It can seem like Black’s skills and passion might be better suited somewhere other than city government.
Whitney Hill is a small business owner who says increasing public safety and controlling Raleigh taxes are his top priorities. Hill ran for the seat in the last election cycle.
Other candidates: MARY BLACK, WHITNEY HILL
DISTRICT B
Megan Patton
Since she was elected in 2022, MEGAN PATTON, a former teacher, has immersed herself in learning the ins and outs of city government policy, lawmaking, and crafting budgets that reflect the city’s values.
She’s a cautious, thoughtful member of the council who does her homework on every issue, proposal, or rezoning case that comes before it, whether the issue directly
INDY's 2024 Raleigh city council endorsements
impacts District B or not.
Patton is also committed to listening to and engaging with the public. She says she responds to every single constituent email and holds regular office hours at local businesses in the district. She has good ideas about ways the city can get better feedback from residents who aren’t typically the most vocal.
Jennifer McCollum is a lifelong Raleigh resident whose priorities include improving public safety and raising wages for first responders, decreasing the city’s debt, broadening the city’s tax base, supporting small businesses, and procuring more affordable housing. She’s a former communications professional who currently works in the health care industry. She doesn’t appear to have any experience in politics or city government.
Other candidate: JENNIFER MCCOLLUM
DISTRICT C
Corey Branch
COREY BRANCH has represented
District C for nearly a decade, and the district is the better for it.
A leader on transit, Branch was instrumental to ensuring that the city’s BRT system buildout began in Southeast Raleigh, an area in which the city has historically underinvested and one in which residents rely heavily on public transit to get them to school and work. The current vice chair of the Raleigh Transit Authority, chair of the city’s Transportation and Transit Committee, and the Raleigh representative to the GoTriangle board, Branch has played a crucial role in ensuring that the city will have the modern and reliable transit system it needs in the future. His vision for the city’s first BRT transit corridor includes bringing more amenities to the district: grocery stores and dense housing.
Branch engages with residents in the district in ways that matter as well. One of only two council members to vote against disbanding citizens advisory councils (CACs) in 2020, Branch has supported the Southeast and Mordecai CACs during his time on the council and recognized the value that residents place on the CAC system. Additionally, Branch has fostered community conversations, including with the police department, in order to build trust.
Finally, Branch has been a leader on affordable housing. The council has approved more affordable housing projects in District C than in any other district during his time on the council.
Tolulope Omokaiye received an endorsement from the Wake County Democratic Party. A community leader, business owner, and former chair of the Raleigh Transit Authority, Omokaiye’s qualifications are strong. But we have concerns about her commitment to BRT. Her worries about gentrification and displacement are valid, and
the city should take steps to minimize disruption and preserve historically Black communities. But pausing on the city’s transit plans, as Omokaiye has called for, would be disastrous.
DaQuanta Copeland, Jared Ollison, and Portia Rochelle are all solid community leaders and worth a look from voters. While Copeland and Rochelle have run for public office before, neither has experience in city government. Ollison is making his first run for elected office.
You can read more about the District C candidates in our September 18 paper or online at indyweek.com.
Other candidates: TOLULOPE OMOKAIYE, PORTIA ROCHELLE, DAQUANTA COPELAND, JARED OLLISON, DANIEL GRANT-KING, TOMARA DECOSTA
DISTRICT D
Jane Harrison
Residents of District E, the city’s most volatile district, have seen four different city council members in as many election cycles. We think Christina Jones has done the work to earn another term and hope she’ll bring some stability to the district.
Other candidate: JOHN CERQUEIRA
AT-LARGE
Other candidates: JAMES BLEDSOE, JOSHUA BRADLEY, REEVES PEELER, ROBERT STEELE JR.
Stormie Forte
JANE HARRISON is running unopposed in District D, which means she must be doing something—or a lot of things— right. We admire Harrison’s commitment to listening to her constituents, voting her conscience on development projects, and dedicating herself to environmental stewardship. Harrison has earned our endorsement for another term.
DISTRICT E
Christina Jones
A thoughtful, typically quiet presence on the city council, STORMIE FORTE, a licensed attorney, realtor, and mediator, was the top vote-getter in the 2022 at-large race. She has a strong base of support and is known for her willingness to meet with and listen to residents, especially over controversial development cases, and for her ability to work with diverse groups to seek compromise. We’re endorsing Forte again for her dedicated focus on procuring more affordable housing (she notes Raleigh’s deficit of about 60,000 units and says Raleigh needs another affordable housing bond on the ballot in 2026) and her vision for BRT in the New Bern Avenue corridor. Forte supports growth with density where it makes sense and advocates for taking a more gentle approach in historic and long-established areas. Raleigh needs Forte’s insight, skills, and experience on the council.
Jonathan Lambert-Melton
When she ran for the District E council seat in 2022, she seemed a little green, but CHRISTINA JONES has used the past two years serving on council to immerse herself in the issues pressing Raleigh and to advocate for the causes most important to her. She’s an active and energetic presence in the district, seemingly always ready to meet with constituents personally, listen to their concerns, and explain her decision-making processes.
A champion of community engagement, Jones spearheaded the successful effort to restore city support for CACs. She fought to bring affordable units to her district in a decision that rankled some environmentalists. She led the Great Raleigh Cleanup initiative, which sees homeless residents paid a living wage to beautify the city. And she has been a steadfast advocate for raising city workers’ wages. Jones’s opponent, John Cerqueira, a change management consultant, has run a campaign prioritizing smart growth and sustainable development, public safety, and community engagement. Cerqueira is well known in the local community and helped bring the Skate Raleigh skate park to downtown. He is a recipient of the Order of the Longleaf Pine, one of the state’s highest honors, for his acts of bravery on 9/11.
We also endorse incumbent JONATHAN LAMBERT-MELTON, a family law attorney. Well-versed in city policy, Melton has a pragmatic approach to addressing issues facing the city, particularly around transit and transportation. Melton understands that for many Raleigh residents, public transit is a lifeline to work, retail, and services; increased investment in transit will ensure higher-frequency bus service, better bike lanes, and more sidewalk improvements. He emphasizes the importance of the city sticking with its plans to complete all the BRT routes. Melton also chaired the city’s Economic Development and Innovation Committee, which helped a struggling downtown with initiatives such as the social district and street eateries. Melton has earned another term. Reeves Peeler, a member of the city’s Planning Commission for the past year, is an interesting candidate and has seen a groundswell of grassroots support. We like Peeler’s commitment to lifting up working people and rejecting corporate influence in the local elections, as well as his community organizing experience. With a few more years of experience in city government, we think Peeler would make a good addition to the council, but this year, we’re supporting the incumbents.
Punk Lullabies
The latest album from Durham-based collective DUNUMS follows a dialogue between a Palestinian American father and daughter.
BY DYLAN ANGELL music@indyweek.com
The new album from Durham-based collective DUNUMS does not begin with the bombastic swelling of guitars, drums, or the chorus of voices often heard at the band’s live shows. Instead, I wasn’t that thought—released October 4 from Sleepy Cat—begins with a child’s voice: “All of the people are sad because their houses are broken.”
The statement is spoken within a cleareyed and innocent monologue that questions white supremacy, police brutality, and colonization. As Tasneem, the four-year-old daughter of DUNUMS songwriter Sijal Nasralla, speaks, her father listens: “Tell me more, baby.”
Guitars and drums soon enter and the opening track, “binti,” begins. Sung in Arabic (binti translates to “daughter”), the rollicking rock song feels instantly anthemic, a shifting force that at once recalls classic emo and free improvisation. Thus begins an album that was written, conceived, and now exists as a dialogue between a Palestinian American father and his daughter.
When writing “binti,” Nasralla says he was inspired by four Palestinian children who survived a massacre by Israeli forces in 2009. The children—Amal, Kanaan, Mouna, and Mahmoud Samouni—later made an animated video to tell their story. Their art, Nasralla recalls, was a “practice of hope amidst overwhelming pain.”
It’s a sentiment that speaks to Nasralla’s own approach to writing and performing: While DUNUMS often addresses that which can be hard to face, the music of
DUNUMS is hopeful, celebratory, cathartic, and anything but woeful.
“We’re family; our instruments seem secondary to our energy and relationships,” says musician Kym Register, who plays saxophone in the band. This feeling of “family” leads the chorus of voices heard throughout the album and on display at live shows. In my own experience of seeing DUNUMS perform, I’ve witnessed the band as both a duo and a collective that seems to spill from the stage. What can feel improvised and chaotic one night can feel tender and quiet on another, each iteration of the band highlighting the depth of what the 12 songs on I wasn’t that thought can express.
“I really love to have witnessed the way it has moved and evolved,” contributing singer and visual artist Saba Taj says of DUNUMS.
“Not every band has that kind of flexibility.”
“DUNUMS was a way that I processed grief alone,” says Nasralla, who began DUNUMS as a solo project in 2009. “These [albums] are just containers for different moments of my life, and it was Taylor [Holenbeck], our guitarist, this time, who was like, ‘Let’s do it, let’s play your songs.’” Fifteen years later, I wasn’t that thought, DUNUMS’s fourth album, is the project’s most band-centric release.
“Do I love you? Can you play?” Nasralla says when asked about the band’s ever-evolving approach. “I’ve always said it’s 80 percent feels, 20 percent desire to play, but it just so happens right now that it’s all people I love.”
At certain shows, Nasralla is the sole
vocalist; at times, Taj or musician Catherine Edgerton may take the lead. Sometimes poet Katie Shlon reads poetry over the band’s instrumentals.
“The handful of times I’ve played with Sijal have each been very different, almost polar opposites to each other in their processes, yet there is a unifying thread of immense curiosity,” says drummer Joe Westerlund.
Nasralla has also played drums in the Durham-based punk band The Muslims.
“The Muslims came about right after Trump got elected, and we expressed our rage and joy in a very pointed and poetic way,” Nasralla says. “Being in that band really taught me what it could feel like to push through emotional barriers and be more courageous. The Muslims taught me to be a little bolder, a little brighter.’’
When I met with (a few) members of DUNUMS, I was struck by how each member could warrant their own INDY article—all are involved within the local arts community through a dynamic plethora of mediums including visual art and poetry. The collective discography of DUNUMS contributors would be staggering to compile, but most recently bassist Sinclair Palmer, guitarist Holenbeck, keyboardist Ali Alrabeah, and drummer David Barrett have all become band mainstays.
In spite of all of these voices and sonic shifts, I wasn’t that thought remains an intimate dialogue between Nasralla and Tasneem.
Nasralla has often referred to DUNUMS
as “toddlercore.”
“In the mornings after Tasneem was born, I would play her these songs and work them out while she stared at me from her pillow,” he says. “I started writing the moment that my partner went into labor and that was like, ‘I want to send you [Tasneem] a message.’ It felt really profound. I’m very inspired that people really like this concept of toddlercore and are seeing the connection between this music and this deep love for our kids.”
This crossover of parental love and activism echoes the work of Mothers for Ceasefire, a local group of organizers who, like the members of DUNUMS, have “come together as mothers and caregivers who refuse to stay silent as we witness the brutal killing of Palestinian civilians.” Members of DUNUMS have regularly participated in their events.
Tasneem appears again later on the record, and the album ends with an acappella lullaby sung by her mother, Rakhee Devasthali, titled “habibi bear.”
Between the opening and closing of the album, which begins and ends with these lone voices, there are moments of anthemic emo (“I wasn’t that thought”), raucous cathartic punk (“holding the cake up to the sky”), blasts of improvisation (“usa ain’t shit”), and beautiful balladry (“there are dreamlands”).
Throughout each sonic variation, I wasn’t that thought remains an ode to family, friendship, community, and perseverance. Ultimately, it’s a celebration of Tasneem. W
The DUNUMS collective performs at NorthStar Church of the Arts. PHOTO BY ANGELICA EDWARDS
Incoming! Halloween Scary Movie Special Edition
Rosemary’s Baby, Nosferatu, and other frightening fare in theaters near you. BY
GLENN MCDONALD arts@indyweek.com
For the discerning scary movie enthusiast, Halloween season is a good time waiting to be had. Cinemas tend to treat the month of October like a rolling retro film festival. Programmers bring back old horror classics so they can be watched in the proper fashion—in a dark room with a crowd of other freaked-out people.
Digital distribution technology has made it easier to get these older movies up on the big screen again. Retro events used to require the shipping of rare and rickety celluloid reels. Now they just bounce digital packets off satellites, or something like that.
Probably the ultimate case-in-point film is Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, the 1922 silent film from German expressionist filmmaker F. W. Murnau. A famously unhinged (and unauthorized) adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Nosferatu remains one of the creepiest sequences of moving images ever assembled. The film passed into public domain in 2019, and digital tech has opened up new distribution options.
To wit: On Monday, October 28, the Carolina Theatre in Durham will host a special screening of Nosferatu with a live score by Durham’s own chamber music specialists Mallarmé Music. There’s also another version of Nosferatu in theatrical circulation right now that syncs the film with the music of Radiohead’s albums Kid A and Amnesiac. It played a few places earlier this month, but may get some encore screenings—check your local listings.
In fact, for all of the recommendations here, check the theaters’ online listings for time, date, and ticketing information. Bookings can change and screenings sometimes sell out.
The Carolina has several more options in these final days before Halloween. The downtown theater will host its
annual Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball on October 24 and 25. Costumes are encouraged. If you like that Rocky Horror B-movie aesthetic, look for the 2001 microbudget indie The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. Also on tap in the next few weeks, via the Carolina’s various film series: Hocus Pocus (witchy comedy!), Aliens (space horror!), and a double feature of The Shining and Dolores Claiborne (the estimable Mr. King).
Meanwhile, over in Raleigh, the Alamo Drafthouse will host its annual all-night marathon, Dismember the Alamo, on Saturday, October 26. This event requires courage: the film lineup is announced at showtime. Live a little! New this year at the Alamo is Nightmares of a Clown, an intriguing collection of 16-mm amateur films featuring, yes, scary clowns. One of the shorts is titled Toothache of a Clown This is an opportunity to face your dentophobia and coulrophobia at the same time.
Otherwise, the Alamo has put together a nice selection of classic horror films in October, including Cat People, Halloween, The Brood, The Shining, Creature from the Black Lagoon, the J-horror rarity Séance, the Eurotrash freakout Blood for Dracula, and the 1964 version of The Masque of Red Death (Roger Corman + Vincent Price!).
For a lighter evening, look for screenings of the kids’ movie Casper, the original Ghostbusters, and the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
If you’re out Chapel Hill’s way, the Chelsea Theater has some goodies lined up for late October. Nosfer-
atu the Vampyre is director Werner Herzog’s bugged-out 1979 remake of the original 1922 film, with the title role played by Germany’s gentleman maniac Klaus Kinski. For yet another riff on the basic story template, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the 1992 version of the original novel by director Francis Ford Coppola.
Also look for Gen X touchstone The Lost Boys, the brilliant vampire drama Let the Right One In (the original Swedish version), and the intriguing new French import Le Vourdalak, featuring 18th-century undead trouble. That last one looks particularly trippy: grab your favorite alkaloid and go for it.
Finally, the Cary Theater has some last-minute October specials on the calendar, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 proto-slasher Psycho, the 1968 satanic-panic classic Rosemary’s Baby, and the 2007 found-footage pioneer Paranormal Activity. All are part of the theater’s Influencers of Horror series, featuring tricks, treats, and trivia. Meanwhile, Cary’s annual Zombiepalooza short film festival is slated for outdoor screening on October 25 at the new and really quite beautiful Downtown Cary Park.
Bear in mind that this is just a sampling of what’s in local theaters over the next few weeks. You can find more classic horror options at other area cinemas and multiplexes. Halloween is America’s weird contribution to the world holiday calendar, and scary movies are a big part of the Halloween experience. So, be a patriot: find a good scary movie, gather your people, and support your local theaters. W
Still from Rosemary’s Baby PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES
WED 10/16
THURS 10/17
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents slenderbodies with Tim Atlas 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Jungle: The VOLCANO Tour 7 p.m. Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh.
Palaye Royale 6 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
STAGE
A Few Good Men Oct. 11-27, various times. The Justice Theater Project, Raleigh.
Copenhagen Oct. 10-27, various times. Burning Coal Theatre, Raleigh.
Godspell Oct. 11-20, various times. Center Theater, Carrboro.
Haughty/Gregory Oct. 14-23, various times. Burning Coal Theatre, Raleigh.
MrBallen 8 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
What the Constitution Means to Me Oct. 16–Nov. 3, various times. PlayMakers, Chapel Hill.
PAGE
Ed Burns: A Kid from Marlboro Road 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh.
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Joe P with Anna Shoemaker 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
andmoreagain presents Wine Lips, Hex Files, and Rugg 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Little Stranger 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Mama’s Broke / Allison de Groot / Tatiana Hargreaves 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Social Distortion 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
STAGE
The 39 Steps Oct. 17-27, various times. Theatre in the Park, Raleigh.
Carolina Ballet: Jekyll & Hyde Oct. 17–Nov. 3, various times. Fletcher Opera Theater, Raleigh.
Hillary Clinton 7 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
Jessica Kirson 7:30 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
PAGE
Anne Byrn: Baking in the American South 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh.
Aran Shetterly: Morningside 5:30 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
SCREEN
Dillinger 8 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
NCLAFF: Blanco en Blanco (White on White) 7 p.m. Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham.
FRI 10/18
MUSIC
Atmosphere / NOFUN! / Reverie 8 p.m. Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw.
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 12 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
The Dead Tongues / Libby Rodenbough 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
FIDLAR / Sugar Pit 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
The Floor / X/OLF 10 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
Galloway / Satellite 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Lainey Wilson 7 p.m. Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh. Lotus 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Lovell Bradford 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham. Porches / sweet93 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3 & Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 Oct. 18-19, 8 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
Wyatt Flores 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
XOXOK 6 p.m. The Glass Jug Beer Lab, Durham.
Underground hip-hop legends Atmosphere return to Cat’s Cradle on October 18.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAT’S CRADLE
STAGE
The ComedyWorx Show Fridays at 8 p.m. ComedyWorx, Raleigh.
Doubt: A Parable Oct. 18–Nov. 3, various times. Raleigh Little Theatre, Raleigh.
The Harry Show Fridays at 10 p.m. ComedyWorx, Raleigh.
MUSIC
ABYSS 9 p.m. PS37, Durham.
Alice Zincone / Willie Painter 7 p.m. Succotash, Durham
Becky G 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Carolina Harmony Chorus: Night of the Singing Dead 4 p.m. Jones Auditorium, Raleigh.
CaryLive: River Whyless and Mysti Mayhem 7:30 p.m. Downtown Cary Park, Cary.
Diwali Night 10 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
Homecoming: A Grown-Up Do-Over Dance Party 7 p.m. Night School Bar, Durham.
Kate McGarry / Keith Ganz Quartet / Peter Eldridge 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Railroad Earth / Big Richard 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Sabrina Carpenter 7 p.m. PNC Arena, Raleigh.
Soda Water Sea 6 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
TAYLOR ALXNDR PRESENTS: A Back2Back Drag Show of Chappell Roan & Charli XCX! 10 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
STAGE
Harold Night 8:30 p.m. Mettlesome Theater, Durham.
Iliza 7 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
Noel Miller: New Supply Tour 7 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
COMMUNITY
Bull City BOOs Fest 4 p.m. Durham Central Park
Bullhorn Fest 12 p.m. Shadowbox Studio, Durham.
MUSIC
Durham Symphony’s “The Promise of America”
3 p.m. Hayti Heritage Center, Durham.
Illuminati Hotties / Daffo 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Judah & the Lion 5:30 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Matthew Sweet Acoustic Trio / Abe Partridge 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Music in Miniature 3 p.m. The Carolina Theatre of Durham.
The Temptations / The Four Tops 7 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
Treasure Pains / Snide / Super Reg 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Will Hoge / Jett Holden 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
PAGE
Zine Machine Printed Matter Festival 11 a.m. The Armory, Durham.
MUSIC
Bob Mould: Solo Electric, David Barbe 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Kate Bollinger / Beak Trio 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Lung / Pink Peugeot / The Softeners 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
PAGE
Nathan Thrall: A Day in the Life of Abed Salama 5:30 p.m. Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, Durham.
Catch Porches with sweet93 at Motorco Music Hall on October 18.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MOTORCO
C U LT U R E CA L E N DA R
TUES 10/22
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Sunset Rubdown, Sister Ray 8:30 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
French Police / Wisteria 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Jeremy “Bean” Clemons Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Kingfisher, Durham.
Men at Work 8 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
Ricky Montgomery 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Youth League / The Most 7:30 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
PAGE
Bland & Ann Simpson: Clover Garden 6 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
SCREEN
Round Midnight 7 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
WED 10/23
MUSIC
Braebach 7:30 p.m. Cary Arts Center, Cary.
Dogpark / Winyah 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Jordy Searcy / Theo Kandel 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
The Life and Music of George Michael 7:30 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
Sleave / Hollow Suns / Old Suns / Barrow 8 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
THURS
10/24
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Chris Knight, Mic Harrison, The High Score 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
andmoreagain presents Rozwell Kid, Rodeo Boys
8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Foxing / From Indian Lakes 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Illiterate Light / Palmyra 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro.
Psychic Scream / Misanthropic Aggression / Doomsday Profit
7 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
PAGE
Bill Adair: Beyond the Big Lie 6 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
FRI 10/25
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Deer Tick, Justin & the Cosmics 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Boris 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Cosmic Charlie 8 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Little Big Town / Sugarland 7 p.m. PNC Arena, Raleigh.
LP Giobbi 9 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
Mean Green / Fireblood / Evil Eye 7 p.m. Rubies on Five Points, Durham.
Quinn XCII 8 p.m. Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh.
STAGE
The ComedyWorx Show Fridays at 8 p.m. ComedyWorx, Raleigh.
The Harry Show Fridays at 10 p.m. ComedyWorx, Raleigh.
Lewis Black 8 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
North Carolina Symphony: Carlos Conducts Sibelius 8 p.m. Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh.
Well Seasoned 8 p.m. Mettlesome Theater, Durham.
Singer-songwriter Jordy Searcy heads to Cat’s Cradle on October 23. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAT’S CRADLE
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Slift, Meatbodies 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Brett Young 7 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
Celtic Thunder 8 p.m. The Carolina Theatre, Durham.
Chase Atlantic 8 p.m. Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh.
GAG to Death starring Kandy Muse 9:30 p.m. The Fruit, Durham.
The Ocean Blue / Brian Tighe of The Hang Ups 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Sleepy Fest 10:30 a.m. The Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw.
Stephan Crump 7:30 p.m. Sharp 9 Gallery, Durham.
Tenderlash / Summore / Halovox 7 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Tilan with Amarionette, Autumn Kings 7:30 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
Chaparelle / Hut 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro.
Modigliani Quartet 7 p.m. Baldwin Auditorium at Duke University
The Onlies 7:30p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
Rapsody / Lara 8:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh.
Straight No Chaser 3 p.m. DPAC, Durham.
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Cursive, Gladie 8 p.m. Motorco Music Hall, Durham.
MUSIC
andmoreagain presents Hello Mary, Bleary Eyed 8 p.m. The Pinhook, Durham.
COIN 7 p.m. The Ritz, Raleigh.
Jeremy “Bean” Clemons Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Kingfisher, Durham.
Saturdays at Your Place 7 p.m. Cat’s Cradle Back Room
STAGE
Comedy at Slim’s Dive Bar 10:30 p.m. Slim’s Downtown, Raleigh.
PAGE
Chris Cooper: Anatomy of a Purple State 5:30 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
The Onlies are performing at The Pinhook on October 27.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PINHOOK
SERVICES
SU | DO | KU
© Puzzles by Pappocom
Difficulty level: HARD
There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box. The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered. Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.
Difficulty level: HARD
There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box. The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered. Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.
If you’re stumped, find the answer keys for these puzzles and archives of previous puzzles (and their solutions) at indyweek.com/puzzles-page or scan this QR code for a link. Best of luck, and have fun!
EMPLOYMENT
Financial Analyst
Financial Analyst, Veradigm LLC, Raleigh, NC. May telco in US. Obt & analyz key bus data reqd for supp & improv co perf, proc & strats. Reqs Bach in Bus, Fin, Accnt / rel/ equiv. Reqs 2 yrs fin planng / accntg exp to incl 2 yrs: obtaing & analyz bus data to supp key stratgc bus initvs; devel bus plans & budgts; perf sales anal incl the prep of rev proj for fin forcsting; & devel & maint rev mods to ensure acc proj of rev frm sales forcst. M-F, 8a - 5p & addnl hrs as needed. Apply: Send res to: applicants@veradigm.com & ref #114115.
Senior Designer
Senior Designer, F/T at Truist (Raleigh, NC) Help cross-functional dvlpmt teams create industry leading experiences for people w/ disabilities. Conduct accessibility reviews of websites & apps for conformance w/ W3C WCAG guidelines incl testing w/ a screen reader. Help teams understand existing accessibility violations & dsgn solutions for them. Must have Bachelor’s deg in Comp Sci, IT or rltd techn’l field. Must have CPACC, WAS, or CPWA certification from the IAAP. Must have 2 yrs of exp in Accessibility or IT consulting positions performing the following: conducting accessibility reviews of websites & apps for conformance to W3C WCAG guidelines; testing websites & Apps w/ a screen reader; performing cross-browser Accessibility Testing using Assistive Technologies; managing & performing Accessibility Testing (Web & Mobile) using Assistive Technologies, Mobile Testing, Web/Mobile applics Functional & Regression testing w/ manual & Automation tools; defect mgmt, tracking, triaging, & debugging it w/ product teams to provide accessibility SME level support; & utilizing the following: Deque Axe, JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver for Mac & iOS, TalkBack for Android, HTML, Accessible Rich Internet Applics (ARIA), & Accessibility Scanner & Accessibility Inspector (Xcode). Position may be eligible to work in a hybrid remote model & is based out of & reports to Truist offices in Raleigh, NC. Applicants must be able to work onsite at Truist offices in Raleigh at least 3 days/wk. Apply online (https://careers.truist.com/) or email resume to: Paige.Whitesell@Truist.com. (Ref Job# R0094344)
SU | DO | KU
© Puzzles by Pappocom
C L A S S I F I E D S
EMPLOYMENT
Senior Principal Infrastructure Engineer
Senior Principal Infrastructure Engineer, F/T at Truist (Raleigh, NC) Perform problem tracking, diagnosis & root-cause analysis, replication, troubleshooting, & resolution for complex issues. Typically lead moderately complex projects & participates in larger, more complex initiatives. Must have Bachelor’s deg in Comp Sci, Comp Engg, Electrical/Electronics Engg, or rltd techn’l field plus 5 yrs of progressive exp in dvlpmt or applic support positions performing/utilizing the following: in-depth knowl in info systems & ability to identify, apply, & implmt best practices; understanding of key bus. processes & competitive strategies rltd to the IT function; & demonstrating proficiency in: Terraform, GIT, GitLab, CI/CD pipelines, EC2, Lambda, S3, VPC, Route53, Cloudwatch, & AWS IAM. In the alternative, employer will accept a Master’s deg in Comp Sci, Comp Engg, Electrical/ Electronics Engg or rltd techn’l field plus 3 yrs of exp in dvlpmt or applic support positions performing/utilizing the aforementioned. Position may be eligible to work hybrid/remotely but is based out of & reports to Truist offices in Raleigh, NC. Must be available to travel to Raleigh, NC regularly for meetings & reviews w/ mgr & project teams w/in 24-hrs’ notice. Apply online (https://careers.truist. com/) or email resume to: Paige.Whitesell@Truist. com. (Ref Job# R0094345)
Senior Security Engineer I
Senior Security Engineer I sought by LexisNexis USA in Raleigh, NC to lead security initiatives, providing strategic direction/guidance to security team. Minimum of Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or rltd + 3 yrs exp in job offered or rltd occupations required. Employee reports to LexisNexis USA office Raleigh, NC but may telecommute from any location within US. Interested candidates should apply via following link: https://relx.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/ relx/job/Raleigh-NC/Senior-Security-Engineer-I_ R84499.
Staff Engineer
Staff Engineer, IQVIA RDS Inc., Durham, NC. May teleco frm anywh in US. Dsgn, create, maintain, & debug auto funct UI tsts w/ Selenium, Python & BDD. M-F, 7:30a - 4:30p EST w/ occ aft hrs & wknds. Salary Range: $166,431 - $254,000/yr. Reqs bach in CS/Comp Engg/ IT/MIS/rel/equiv. Reqs 4 yrs SW devel tst exp incl 4 yrs: API Tstng & Postman/SOAP; 3 yrs: wrk w/ auto tst best prctcs & auto frmwrks incl Selenium w/ Python/Java & BDD/Cucumber; 2 yrs: use Python/Java, Gherkin, ALM & SQL; CI/ CD tools incl Git, Jenkins, & Allure/Test reptng; 1 yr: cloud computng tech incl AWS S3, AWS IAM, AWS RDS, Azure, Kubernetes, Datadog & Launch Darkly; Agile, Lean, RCA, & Bug Triage proc; & use knwl of CRO, HIPAA, PHI, & PII to understnd reg cmplnc. Apply: res to usrecruitment@iqvia. com & ref#114053.
10/2/24 CROSSWORD SOLUTION
