Election Hub

 

*Review Results of the 2019 Elections*

Election Hub: The Chamber's Election Hub, featuring the (un)forum and candidate surveys (Chapel Hill & Carrboro) is your one-stop-shop for demystifying the elections and helping you and your employees know who and what is on your ballot.  

*Next up: Filing to run for the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Board of Education March 2020 Primary opens at noon on December 2, 2019.  File to run here. 

 

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PAST ELECTIONS

2019 General Election

• What: 2019 Elections
   
• When: Election Day was Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019; early, in-person voting began Wednesday, Oct. 16th (review the 2019 election calendar) 
   
• Who: The Chamber tracked the following races, which had 27 candidates running for 17 seats (see who filed to run):  
  • Chapel Hill Mayor (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent Hemminger)
  • Chapel Hill Town Council (4 seats; 7 candidates; Incumbents Anderson, Oates, and Parker)
  • Carrboro Mayor (1 seat; 1 candidate; Incumbent Lavelle)
  • Carrboro Board of Aldermen (3 seats; 6 candidates; Incumbents Seils and Slade) (*Note - Candidate Neal withdrew)
  • Hillsborough Mayor (1 seat; 1 candidate; Incumbent Weaver) 
  • Hillsborough Board of Commissioners (3 seats; 4 candidates; Incumbents Bell, Hughes, and Lloyd)
  • Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education (4 seats; 6 candidates; Incumbent Dasi (*Note - Candidate Huerta-Bapat and Tortora withdrew)
• How: Three ways Chamber members and friends engaged with the candidates on their ballot
  • (Survey) Reviewed the candidates' survey responses (Chapel Hill and Carrboro) 
  • (Videos) Watched the candidates' video responses to our questions through the (un)forum 2019
  • (Event) Attended Coffee with the Candidates on Wednesday, Sept. 4th from 8am-10am at The Siena Hotel (Sold Out)
     
• ​More: The following are carefully-curated links which ensured Chamber members and friends were registered to vote, knew where and when to go to the polls, and were able to access timely election information: 
  • Find out where and when to vote. Type your address into this search engine to find your polling place based on your precinct.
  • Discover answers to common questions and register to vote (vote.org). 
  • Learn more about Orange County Elections and Chatham County Elections, including candidate filings, sample ballots, and polling locations. 
     
• Contact: For questions, contact The Chamber Vice President for External Affairs, Katie Loovis, at (919) 696-0781 (cell) or kloovis@carolinachamber.org.

 

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PAST ELECTIONS

2018 General Election

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW RESULTS FROM THE 2018 GENERAL ELECTION

• What: 2018 General Elections
   
• When: Election Day was Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. Early Voting began Oct 17, 2018.
   
• Who: The Chamber tracked the following races:  
  • County Races - Board of County Commissioners (Orange and Chatham Counties)
  • State Races - NC General Assembly (House Districts 50, 54, and 56, and Senate District 23)
  • Federal Races - US House of Representatives (Congressional Districts 04 and 06) 
  • Other Local Races - Clerk of Superior Court, Register of Deeds, and Sheriff
     
• Resources: The Chamber provided the following resources for members: 
  • Videos: (un)forum2018, The Chamber's signature, virtual candidate forum
  • Surveys: Orange and Chatham County Commissioner Candidate responsed to short yes or no survey questions to help Chamber members identify who is most aligned with their values and priorities. Orange County | Chatham County 
  • Endorsement: The Chamber Board voted unanimously to endorse the Chapel Hill Affordable Housing Bond Referendum, which authorized the Town of Chapel Hill to raise $10 million in general obligation bonds for affordable housing. 
  • Information: Summarized the six proposed Constitutional Amendments (below) 

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2018 PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

• What: 2018 Primary Elections
   
• About: Primary elections are often punctuated with little interest and low turnout. But in Orange County, NC, where many more Democrats are registered than Republicans, the winner of the May primary almost always wins the general election in November. 
   
• Bottom line: Primaries matter in Orange County. Since local leadership is often determined in the May primary, Chamber members asked us to, once again, ramp-up our primary engagement. We did several things to ensure our members knew what offices were up for grabs and how candidates aligned with positions that mattered to our business community.
  • Generated survey responses on a dozen business-related questions from the candidates for Orange County Board of Commissioners. 
  • Coordinated 2nd annual (un)forum, which featured shorts video responses from candidates for all relevant offices. 
  • Hosted "Eggs with Elected Officials + Candidates" (view pictures). 
  • Provided more information and resources, and encouraged members to get out and vote. 
     
• Who: The Chamber tracked the following races:
  • Orange County: 
    • Commissioner At Large (1 seat; 3 candidates; No Incumbent)
    • Commissioner Dist. 1 (1 seat; 1 candidate; Bedford)
    • Commissioner Dist. 2 (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent McKee)
    • Sheriff (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent Blackwood)
    • Board of Education (4 seats; 7 candidates; Incumbent Stephens)
    • Register of Deeds (1 seat; 1 candidate; Incumbent Chilton)
    • Clerk of Superior Court (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent Stanford)
  • State:
    • NC Senate - District 23 (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent Senator Foushee)
    • NC House - District 50 (1 seat; 2 candidates; Incumbent Rep. Meyer)
    • NC House - District 56 (1 seat; 3 candidates; Incumbent Rep. Insko)
  • Federal:
    • Congressional District 4 (1 seat; 7 candidates; Incumbent Rep Price)
    • Congressional District 6 (1 seat; 4 candidates; Incumbent Rep Walker)

 

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2017 ELECTIONS

Results: Congratulations to newly-elected town officials: 

(Top left to right: Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger; Chapel Hill Town Council Members: Allen Buansi, Hongbin Gu, Rachel Schaevitz, and Karen Stegman; Bottom left to right: Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle; Carrboro Board of Aldermen: Barbara Foushee, Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven O'Donnell, and Sammy Slade)

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Get to know the newly-elected officials: 

• Watch 90-second video responses and consider their ideas for making our community a great place to start and grow a business.

  • Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger

  • Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle

  • Chapel Hill Town Council: Allen Buansi, Hongbin Gu, Rachel Schaevitz, and Karen Stegman

  • Carrboro Board of Aldermen: Barbara Foushee, Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven O'Donnell, and Sammy Slade

• Review their survey responses to see if/how they committed to address issues that matter to your business.

Chapel Hill	Carrboro

Summary of Chamber's 2017 Election Activation

For better or worse, elections have consequences. To ensure our members are connected, informed, and engaged during the election cycle and beyond, we offered the following: 

• (un)forum: New in 2017, instead of a traditional candidate forum that requires you to be in a certain place at a certain time, we launched an online forum using a new digital platform that allows us to engage candidates in dynamic conversations. The (un)forum is an e-civic initiative of the Chamber, the Orange-Chatham Group of the Sierra Club, and the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition. 

• Survey: Each election cycle, the Chamber designs and administers a candidate survey to ensure our members are well-informed on candidate positions on critical issues.  Review  the Chapel Hill and Carrboro candidate responses. 

• Early voting: Reminder, early voting began October 19th.  Find your polling location through the NC State Board of Elections one-stop site and review voting information from the Orange County Board of Elections.

• ​Cocktails with Candidates: On Oct 17th, the Chapel Hill Young Professionals (CHYP) hosted a happy hour at The Franklin Hotel to mingle with peers and local candidates. 

• Coffee with the Candidates: In August, the Chamber hosted candidates for tabletop coffee conversations with our membership.

 

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2016 ELECTIONS

In the 2016 election cycle, the Chamber:

• Endorsed the Connect NC Bond Referendum: At its December 2015 board meeting, the Chamber’s Board of Directors endorsed the $2 billion Connect NC bond referendum.  The Chamber also hosted UNC and UNC Health Care staff to discuss the importance of the bond referendum to UNC-Chapel Hill.  Learn more info at carolinabond.unc.edu and pledge to “vote yes to invest” at voteyestoinvest.com. 

• Hosted Coffee with the Candidates: At the February meeting of the Economic Development & Public Policy (EDPP) Committee, the Chamber hosted both candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly and the Orange County Board of Commissioners, in addition to nonpartisan judicial candidates.  See a full list of candidates who have filed for office in Orange County here. 

• Hosted Cocktails with the Candidates: At the February meeting of the Chapel Hill Young Professionals (CHYP), the Chamber hosted candidates for the Orange County Board of Commissioners and nonpartisan judicial candidates.  See photos from Cocktails with Candidates at the Chamber’s Flickr account. 

• Endorsed both bond referendums on Orange County ballots, one bond for $120 million for capital needs Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools and one bond for $5 million for affordable housing.

• Also, the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA), of which our chamber is a founding member, endorsed the Wake Transit Referendum.  All three counties – Orange, Durham, and Wake – have approved a half-cent sales tax to support transit.  Read more about RTA’s focus on transit. 

 

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The Election Hub is curated by Katie Loovis, Vice President for External Affairs, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce.

For questions about elections or government affairs, public policy, and advocacy, contact Katie at: 919.696.0781 (mobile) or kloovis@carolinachamber.org.