Priorities

• As the federal government and Republican majority in the General Assembly denies climate change, it is important for the county to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to protect our clean headwaters, rivers and lakes, to protect air quality, to grow trees and continue work on Climate Action and Resiliency. We are aligning our budget with the Climate Action Plan and our Strategic Plan. https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/26107/Orange-County-North-Carolina-2023-Climate-Action-Plan?bidId=  Future generations depend on us making changes now. 

Counteracting the lawlessness and fiscal policy of the current administration 

Even three weeks ago, I would not have listed this as a top 3 issue. But when federal agents are murdering residents and causing chaos across the nation ignoring the Bill of Rights with impunity, it hurts our people in Orange County too. When unpredictable tariffs and executive orders canceling Congress’ appropriations threaten our local and state economy, residents look to county government for a backstop basic social safety net. When measles and diseases are spreading in the state due to changed non-science based federal health policies, county residents especially children, the elderly and immune compromised are hurt. It costs us more to treat the sick than prevention in terms of money and life. The same can be said across all the systems: housing, health, education, justice, food, employment, transportation, environment, defense, energy, and so on. The federal executive branch is actively hurting people across all sectors. I resist and refuse to criminalize homelessness. Our challenge as elected local leaders is to acknowledge these harms and threats out loud, to protect and treat as many as we can, to plan for things to get worse before they get better and to ensure safe, secure elections in November and 2028. I am ready to work on these challenges regionally and especially with the residents of Orange County County.

How would your experience―in politics or otherwise in your career―make you an asset to the county’s decision-making process?

It’s been my honor to serve seven years as an Orange County Commissioner, learning more and more about the services and operations across the county’s 25+ departments. As a CPA, I bring professional financial skills as we struggle to balance our affordability challenges with this community’s long-standing commitment to a strong social safety net.

I am a Certified Public Accountant practicing locally with experience in budgeting, forecasting, cash flow analysis and financial planning.  We need long-term fiscal planning to ensure the health of our residents, education system, economy and environment now and into the future. I have over 20 years of experience working with local small businesses, non-profits and individuals. I understand audits (having worked on several), the ever-changing tax code and governmental accounting, all of which assists with policy decision-making and anticipating the real impacts on people in our community. 

The county has significantly expanded commercial development in the Buckhorn EDD with businesses that create jobs and do not harm the environment. This is essential so that we can pay for the services we need and the quality of life we desire. The tax base remains too reliant upon residential property, but progress is being made. The county budget prioritizes mandated services and the goals and needs of residents, using input from residents and comprehensive strategic planning. With the current federal administration creating financial chaos and increasing county costs, my fiscal and numerical acumen benefits our board as we attempt to ameliorate impacts. 

These professional financial skills are invaluable as we struggle to balance our affordability challenges with this community’s long-standing commitment to a strong social safety net. For example, I led the charge to develop a Climate Action Plan which was adopted in 2023.  I also persuaded my colleagues to invest the time, money and community engagement energy into developing the first county strategic plan, adopted in February 2024. Some departments had plans, and all had goals, but this plan synthesizes the needs, priorities and vision of our residents to guide our work and to avoid duplicated efforts. The BOCC now ties our budget  and decision-making to these two plans. We monitor outcomes and progress to adapt our annual plans and budget as needed.  

My fellow commissioners elected me Vice Chair for two years and Chair for three years. During those years of leadership, I re-engineered our meetings to make them more efficient and focused. This is an excellent collaborative, high-functioning Board, trying to operate at an even higher level. We listen to the public, but also consider who is not connecting with us so we can reach out. 

Over my seven years of service, I have served on over 20 county and regional committees such as transportation planning MPOs, Solid Waste, DSS, Health Dept, Durham Tech Community College, Justice Advisory, School Facilities, and Behavioral Health. Exposure to such a wide array of public services has provided me with rich foundational knowledge that helps guide decision-making to benefit residents, workers, students and visitors of Orange County. 

I also served 3 terms (12 years) on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City School Board; 3 years as Chair and 3 years as Vice-Chair.  I understand the needs of both school districts, which is important to our constituents. At present, approximately 40% of the Orange County general fund revenue goes toward the school districts’ budgets. Under state law, school facilities are the financial responsibility of the BOCC. As state funding for education has declined, deferred maintenance has become an increasingly significant challenge for both districts. I successfully advocated to increase funding to cover a portion of the maintenance expenses in my second year on the BOCC. After recruiting and supporting two other school board members to the BOCC, more support was added. Ultimately voters passed a $300M school bond referendum in November 2024 with strong support. 

Despite the county’s commitment to education, years of insufficient state funding means that we are always playing catch up and struggling to ensure high quality schooling without lowering our commitment to other social needs.

As the mother of a daughter with special needs, I am a committed advocate for the social services needed by those with disabilities. Through this lens, I have advocated for all children in our schools and community.  I live with the scarcity of mental health services, residential services, affordable housing, and jobs for people with disabilities.  I was a long time member of the local unit of the autism society and was President for a term as well. I bring this same advocacy, collaboration and transparency to the BOCC to benefit all county residents.    

In 2016 to 2018 I served as President of Democratic Women of Orange County. That effort introduced me to some outstanding members of our community and connected me with their resources. In 2016 I also joined the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP becoming a silver life member. I continue to learn about Orange County’s history, community needs and meaningful advocacy from the branch, and I keep those lessons in mind when making decisions, including as we work to expand representation on our advisory boards,

What’s the best or most important thing the Orange County Board of County Commissioners has done in the past year? Additionally, name a decision you believe the board should have handled differently. Please explain your answers.

In my opinion, the best thing the BOCC did in 2025 was to halt and redirect the comprehensive land use plan process on March 11, 2025. A close second was providing bridge funding to Chantal victims pending state funds along with approving $54,000 in emergency funding when SNAP benefits were delayed to food nonprofits across the county for emergency food distribution.  

After the BOCC reviewed a draft plan of the updated comprehensive plan that was set to go out for a third round of public engagement, we collectively realized that we needed to learn much more about critical elements before we could make informed decisions. We recognized that these decisions will impact the community for decades to come, and felt compelled to commit to much more analysis. It was also clear that members of the public want it all: affordable accessible housing, open space, farmland, parks, roads, environmental protection, commercial development, the rural buffer, better roads, greenways and more, all competing directly against each other. 

As chair I helped lead the Board effort to rethink our process. I started a Google doc to outline the issues and questions and items we needed to learn. Each and every commissioner contributed topics and questions. Individual commissioners worked together outside of our meetings to hash out the details of their concept questions. We organized, wordsmithed and refined the document to present to the Manager and staff. 

This delay is paying off and was truly a wise decision. We argued over budgeting funds for speakers or consultants and came to consensus, taking alternative pathways when first attempts were insufficient. We’ve brought in experts and staff to educate us on details that will impact the final version of the plan. We’ve scheduled work sessions, meetings and mini-retreats on topics such as water protection, basins and our UDO rules; wells and community well hydrology; waste water systems; conservation design for housing projects; community resource nodes; and much more. Hillsborough town staff joined us to share their water/sewer needs and sustainability and growth plans. We are scheduling another mini-retreat to hear from an economist about housing beyond supply and demand and to go over the 60+ changes made in the draft plan. 

Once we have collected all this information/knowledge, then we will deliberate and consider an updated draft to go out for the third round of public engagement. Taking our time to learn and understand and to engage the public, with extra efforts directed to communities that are not always well represented, will lead to a Land Use Plan that works for Orange County for generations (though I think we will add wording recommending reviews at least every 10 years.) 

For a decision the Board should have handled differently, I believe the BOCC should have more carefully reviewed the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the school boards. This agreement changed how capital projects and dollars will be approved and monitored. We made the mistake of sending it to the school boards for their approval before our attorney had reviewed it. Once we had the attorney’s feedback, as chair I brought it back to the BOCC for modifications after the school boards had approved it, which disrupted the process. We could have done that better. 

Property valuations have risen significantly in recent years, and many Orange County residents are worried about their ability to continue to afford to pay taxes on their homes. What do you believe the county commission should do to make living here more affordable? If you support cutting taxes, where would you reduce government spending?

As with previous questions, the challenge is to balance fiscal responsibility with human services. In this year’s budget, we:

• increased funding for the Long Time Homeowners Assistance Program, which now covers close to 25% of the county property taxes for eligible homeowners (80% AMI, owned home for at least 5 years);
• held the county ad valorem tax increase for fiscal year 2026 to 1.19 cents by including only 2% raises for county employees;
• deferred over $17M in capital funding out past 10 years, an effort I led; and
• reduced travel and training unless it is required to maintain certification.

Options before us this year, include:

• reduce staff positions through attrition. 
• adjust the schools continuation starting budget for the decrease in students between prior June budget adoption and actual fall enrollment. 
• examine how commercial properties are being assessed to bring them into closer alignment with fair market values;
• be very judicious when considering new programs by looking for possible reductions in existing program costs. 

We have committed adding $15M in the capital budget over ten years to fund affordable housing with nonprofit partners. And Orange County Transit is now piloting a fare free program for our few transit routes that will help many in Northern Orange save and does not increase costs for the county. 

I also like to remind residents to use the many county services their taxes are funding! Seniors (age 55+) should visit the senior centers and enjoy the lunches and classes. Everyone is welcome to make the county health department their medical home where private insurance, medicare, medicaid or sliding scale payments are welcome. Access dental care there and remember Piedmont Health as well. Use the low cost parks and rec programs for youth and adult recreation. Go to our wonderful parks to walk, picnic and enjoy the outdoors at no charge. Use the low cost pet adoption and spay/neuter programs at Animal Services. Ride the fare free buses in the county and with Chapel Hill Transit. Enjoy the libraries and their multitude of special programs. Come out to the farmers markets across the county. Enroll in food support with one of the nonprofits or DSS that the county helps fund. 

In 2025, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners fell short of funding the stated budget needs of both Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Did those budgets meet the needs of students and the districts? Describe something you think the school board should have prioritized differently in the current budgets. 

School “continuation budgets,” or what it would cost to do next year the same being done this year, are projections based on the school system’s best guess assumptions. I think the school districts’ assumptions for 2025 were reasonable at 3% raises for staff, 3% inflationary expenses, and increased retirement and health matches (national rate of inflation in January 2026 is 2.7%). 

Orange County Schools (OCS) received roughly $200K less than they requested based on their assumptions, but their undesignated fund balance exceeded the policy target so they had the funds to cover that $200K. 

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) initially received $1.8M less than they requested, but the commissioners voted to increase their special district tax, which is independent of enrollment, to make up for nearly half of the deficit. Traditionally the special district tax has only been increased when a new school opens to fund those additional positions. That new increase, along with the district’s declining enrollment, sets them on the path to right-sizing their operating budget. 

Both school districts prioritized protecting the classroom, and I support those decisions. The Republican majority in the General Assembly is failing public education. County commissioners are trying hard to fund as much as we can to support our children. CHCCS is #1 in the state for local funding and OCS is #4 (behind Asheville City and Dare Co). However, NC ranks in the bottom 5 nationally for several funding measures such as per pupil funding and teacher pay, measures that the state Constitution assigns to the General Assembly. 

Federal funding cuts this year have hit the Triangle particularly hard, and state funding for expenses like schools is declining. What are your ideas for how the county can prioritize competing funding needs, close funding gaps, and balance the financial burden on residents?

The primary change we need is to ban political gerrymandering. As long as the Republican Party holds the General Assembly, with no fear of being unseated, they will continue with their failed trickle down economic policy, moving toward the elimination of corporate income taxes and the transfer of public funds from public school to private school vouchers, along with many other troubling budget practices.  

If the General Assembly majority decides to stop participating in SNAP cost sharing, Orange County does not have the millions needed to replace those funds. We will work closely with other counties to lobby and educate state legislators on the economic impacts that decision would have on our local economy.SNAP funds are spent at grocery stores and local stores, remaining in the local economy. All counties are working to reduce error rates so the overall cost share decreases.

The federal government will start twice-a-year recertification for Medicaid work requirements in 2027. Every county will need to budget additional staff to fulfill that administrative work. Orange County is looking at an additional $900K in staffing to meet that requirement. Our DSS office is looking for ways to shuffle responsibilities within existing staff, but they are already stretched to the limit.

Which brings up a key concern residents express about having fair elections in November. The BOCC unanimously approved Commissioner Portie-Ascott’s budget amendment to add a full time position to the county elections department to meet the increasing demands and complexity of the department. We will provide additional funding to ensure there are sufficient temporary workers for smooth-running elections, thorough training materials, and easily accessible locations for early voting and election day. 

We continue to add commercial economic development in the Buckhorn Economic Development District to diversify the tax base. I prioritize health and safety first and foremost, followed by funding a basic social safety net. 

What is your vision for how Orange County should grow economically? What policies would you like to see implemented to enhance economic development in Orange County?

Orange County and our local towns are working together, and separately,  to strengthen commercial economic development. The county plan includes  expanding the commercial tax base into unincorporated areas, but we are limited to sites that contain water and sewer. This focuses our efforts on the Buckhorn Economic Development District along I-40 where the BOCC sales tax added sewer 20+ years ago. Mebane now operates that sewer service and has added water and sewer capacity which enables this growth. 

We are also going to be looking at the area just north of I-40 and below the railroad for additional economic development, but must first listen to the residents in that area for their needs and preferences. These are historic Black communities. 

The half cent sales tax to support Economic Development and the schools has been a success. While we have encouraged large corporations to build in Orange County, we also need to focus on local small businesses. Those revenues remain in our local economy and also provide jobs. 

Agri-tourism supports efforts to preserve farmland and farming in Orange County. I highly support these programs, but we need clarification from the state on what types of businesses qualify as “bona fide” farm businesses to protect the quality of our farming operations and rural communities. 

With Orange County’s growth come challenges related to suburban sprawl, transportation, and affordable housing. What have been the county’s successes in managing this growth in recent years? What about its failures? What would you do differently?

Our continuing work and forthcoming round 3 of public engagement on the Land Use Plan 2050 addresses just these questions. It’s Orange County’s and the region’s growth that presents challenges, especially with housing, suburban sprawl and transportation. We wrestle with sprawl. Should we have single family homes spread across the county? I went to high school in Northern Virginia where there is now sprawl all the way to Fredericksburg. The option to focus housing density within towns creates the sprawl of 5 or 10 acre lots in the unincorporated parts of the county with its own environmental, economic, and social challenges. Focused growth in existing urbanized areas makes the most sense to me, but it doesn’t ensure the new housing will be affordable.

The BOCC recently hosted expert Randall Arendt to present about Conservation Subdivision planning. Planning for the open space land to be protected before building housing (including duplexes, townhomes, and other styles of housing) on it and then connecting them via streets and trails to fit the land’s specific features leads to quality land conservation, wildlife habitat protection, and preservation of rural character while also placing density on the areas compatible with septic regulations. This seems far better than 5-10 acre lots. We are still reviewing whether these types of subdivisions could be closer to the towns so that there are fewer vehicle miles traveled. The BOCC wants to present this option for public input. 

We are also discussing and scheduling a presentation from an economist specializing in housing economics to help us look at options. The General Assembly does not permit the BOCC to demand affordable housing from developers, and truly affordable housing has to be subsidized through partnerships with nonprofits. We awarded $5M in 2024 for new projects and we conveyed county-owned land to Empowerment Inc. at no cost. 

In the 10-year capital budget, we have three tranches of $5M for $15M total affordable housing. We are also partnering with Chapel Hill and Carrboro for a feasibility study for scenarios of affordable and market rate housing mix at the Greene Tract. 

In our Land Use Plan 2050 we are considering proposing that the towns, county and water/sewer providers review the Joint Planning and water services boundary agreements every 10 to 15 years. In the meantime with the extension of water/sewer rights along 15-501 South in Chapel Hill, we will see how housing and commercial development begins to meet the demand along that transit corridor. 

A regional approach to mass transit is the most cost effective and climate responsive approach. The BOCC continues to support funding for the Chapel Hill North South BRT in our transit plan and the Triangle West Transportation Planning Board (formerly the DCHC MPO) advocacy for multi-modal transportation. I also support the plan to develop a regional bike trail for the Triangle. 

During my tenure on the BOCC, I have served 4 years on the DCHC MPO, and 3 years on the Burlington Graham MPO. In December, I joined the Triangle West Rural Planning Org. A common theme across these different-but-similar working groups is a concerted effort to convince the state that bike/ped/greenway-style projects need more funding and that NCDOT should expand their focus beyond roadways. Until that message is embraced by the state, we must continue to work to the best of our ability within our local budgets to support multi-modal transit.

Is the county doing enough to protect, preserve, and maintain its natural resources, including parks, waterways, and green spaces? What would you continue to do or do differently?

Yes, Orange County leads in protecting, preserving and maintaining its natural resources, parks, waterways and green spaces. However, we are rapidly losing farmland. We build and maintain parks, and fund the Lands Legacy program in partnership with nonprofits like the Eno River Association and Triangle Land Trust. We have strict setbacks/buffers and regulations to protect our headwaters, streams and lakes. 

We have many county owned or shared parks like Little River Regional Park. Our newest park, Perry Hills Mini Park in the Mebane/Efland area, opened in the summer of 2025. It follows a different model by being smaller than our typical regional parks, sitting on just 2 acres of county-owned land in a historically Black community. The neighbors asked the county for this park. They worked with staff to design a picnic shelter with tables and grills, an outdoor basketball court, a play area with swings, and a short little loop trail nestled within the neighborhood. It was budgeted at $180,000 and then expanded to $320,000. 

During my 7 years on the Board, our biggest park investment has been the 152-acre Blackwood Farm Park Phase II which cost $4.1M and reopened in May 2023. It’s gorgeous! There’s a large picnic shelter, amphitheater, parking, basic restrooms, educational trails, a natural pond, etc. I hope the disc golf will open soon with additional amenities that cost nearly $1M. 

We have invested in improvements at Fairview Park in Hillsborough as well. The next phase is on hold pending DEQ analysis and remediation of the old dump area. 

Currently (see Dec 9, 2025 agenda) the county is drafting a trails plan. This will interconnect natural areas across the county. We continue work on the Mountains to Sea Trail. Orange County was an early partner on the Eno-New Hope Landscape Conservation Plan and now ties connecting land for wildlife corridors to form critical networks of habitat to our trails, parks, and transportation plans.The 2024 Triangle West (MPO) Wildlife Crossing Study integrated this concept into regional transportation planning. It also increases safety by decreasing auto animal collisions.  

Begun in April 2000, the Lands Legacy program is funded with $250,000 each year in the capital budget to purchase or protect the county’s most critical natural and cultural resources, including farmland, wildlife habitat, prime forests, watershed stream buffers and historic sites. These areas of focus align with our Climate Action Plan. The Conservation Easements arm of the program was first funded in July 2002 and usually includes matching State and Federal grants. Over 3,000 acres have been protected with over $5.3M in leveraged grant funds and $9.9M of county tax dollars. $500,000 every other year is funded in the Capital budget for easements. 

The Lands Legacy funds had a balance of $4M at the end of 2025. We reduced the 10-year capital plan accordingly, and I asked for staff to monitor this year’s funds in order to meet the deadlines for a grant to preserve farmland. Just this December 2025 two land protection projects closed! About 20 acres of high-priority natural area will expand Seven Mile Creek Natural Area with a trailhead for the Mountains to Sea Trail. This purchase was with the Eno River Association and the NC Land and Water Fund. The property has about 1,600 linear feet of an Eno River tributary. Then we closed on a 28-acre working lands conservation easement. That farm has over 1,700 linear feet of streams. Total park and nature preserve lands are now 1,133 acres with additional 3,068 acres protected through conservation easements. 

Clean water is a basic human right. Protecting that right will be a growing concern in the future due to growth within the county and climate change. Having served as the County representative to the Upper Neuse River Basin Association Board of Directors (UNRBA), I support their science based approach to regulation of Falls Lake. I also support the Jordan Lake One Water group and their efforts to adopt a similar type of cost-effective, science-based nitrogen trading program. 

North Carolina is a “Dillon Rule” state, meaning that the only powers municipal and county governments have are the ones granted to them by the legislature. Would you like to see this changed? How would you work with state legislators from Orange County, as well as mayors and council members to ensure that Orange County, its municipalities, and the state are on the same page regarding policies that affect residents of Orange?

I would fully support allowing elected officials, who are closest to their communities’ needs, to have the power to enact ordinances beyond what is specifically granted to them by the General Assembly. It would be more efficient and more democratic for local elected bodies to adopt policies that best fit each community’s demographic and economic needs. Some examples:

• The state Homestead Exclusion reduces property taxes for those age 65+ or totally/permanently disabled by excluding the greater of $25,000 or 50% of the appraised value of a permanent residence if 2025 household income is not greater than $38,800. That $38,800 number is absurdly low in more expensive urban areas of the state. Each county should be permitted to increase the household income ceiling to reflect economic realities in their county. 
• Residents would benefit if local governments could require a small percentage of affordable housing as part of housing or mixed use development approvals. 
• State restrictions on town or county governments providing rural broadband services have delayed access to critical internet services that further the health, business, and education needs in the rural areas of our state and county.
• We are exploring different property tax assessment methods in the county. We should not have to lobby for special rules to do this with the General Assembly.
• I believe school boards should have taxing authority. 
• What if we could require commercial apartment buildings to lower their rents when x% of units have been vacant for a set amount of time? It’s a mild form of temporary rent control that benefits residents over the investment hedge funds.
• What if we could limit the numbers of housing units private hedge funds could own in our county? 

The county and town councils along with our state delegation collaborate and partner well. I don’t believe it is reasonable to expect us to be “on the same page” as the Republican majority in the State Legislature, particularly with such unreasonable gerrymandering. I would be filled with shame to be on the same page as those currently in power. In Orange County, we honor voting rights, public education, and constitutional freedoms for all. We also led in providing domestic partner registry status prior to the marriage equality act. Currently, we are protecting our water and clean air. I also believe healthcare is a human right. 

Give an example of an opinion, policy, vote, or action you changed based on constituent feedback. If you have not yet held elected office, describe a time when you changed your position on an issue after listening to those affected by it.

Previously I did not support expanding the water sewer boundary. One of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make as a commissioner was to change the water and sewer boundary along south 15-501 to the Chatham line as requested by the town of Chapel Hill. I attended one of the town’s public interest presentations and heard primarily from those who opposed the change. Town staff did not provide a good explanation of the benefits outweighing the potential environmental costs.Then others advocated for the potential housing that could be built with water/sewer and along a key transit corridor. I voted in support with great hesitation. This expansion will eventually connect northern Chatham to UNC via BRT. But it also puts growth pressures on the University Lake watershed and several historic farmlands.

Are there any issues not included in this questionnaire that you would like to address?

The BOCC spent $10M of federal ARPA funding to expand rural broadband in a partnership with Lumos. This is critical infrastructure those living in rural Orange County have been pleading for for over a decade. It should be treated by the state as a utility rather than pandering to the big telecommunications corporations who want to limit competition. Due to unanticipated geologic challenges, the $10M was not sufficient to ensure 100% coverage for the county. We have reconvened our Broadband Task Force to complete the program. Though I am elected from District 1, I represent all of the residents of Orange County. I am committed to the value of every person, to listening to all of our residents, to studying the issues, to learning from our county professionals and to collaborate within Orange County and regionally. 

I have served for two years as the BOCC representative on the Co-Gen Rail Transformation Project Policy Steering Committee. We are exploring the feasibility of a rails-to-trails project along that route, including the housing and economic development that might be considered when UNC stops using coal. We looked at light rail, but there is insufficient population to justify the cost. This is likely to proceed over the next 10-20 years, but there are significant advantages to planning in advance. This is an environmental justice problem for the historically Black neighborhoods surrounding the Cameron Avenue plant. And as the BOCC Chair, last year I led the Board in writing and adopting a Resolution opposing the proposed pellet fuel at UNC after attending the NC DEQ public hearing along with many commissioners. 

In my first year on the BOCC, I advocated for realigning with Alliance Health as our Managed Care Organization (MCO), leaving Cardinal Innovations. Being in a provider contract network with Durham, Wake, Johnston and now Harnett counties has benefitted our residents who need mental health, SUD, and IDD medicaid services. 

Also during the pandemic our county was first in the state for “shots in arms” and had the fewest deaths. There was amazing cooperation and collaboration, under the direction of the county Health Department Director, among town and county governments, UNC, UNC Health, private health care providers, EMS, Emergency Management, law enforcement, schools, the Chambers of Commerce and many others across the county. Local government employees went above and beyond. For example, when the county library was closed, those staff helped with the phones to schedule vaccines, others helped with parking lot management at testing sites, while others helped with food drives thru distributions. During a worldwide disaster, our folks made us so proud. We aspire to such partnership and collaboration regularly.  

Our current fears and concerns involve ICE and potential election interference. As mentioned above, the BOCC funded another full time position in the elections department this year to have backup and promote safe, secure elections in March and November. We always open the emergency command center to have full communications on election days. 

The mayors and I issued a joint statement when ICE came to the Triangle several weeks ago. Our message was simple, we, as a community, value diversity, welcome all, and renounce actions that sow fear. We then published supporting resources on social media and our websites. Local law enforcement pointed out that ICE agents don’t know where the border is between Durham and Orange so we need to be ready. Yesterday 1/26/26 I took a virtual training course, Eyes on ICE with No Kings. Commissioners Carter, Portie-Ascott and I sent an email to our US Senators and Congresswoman Foushee advocating against further DHS funding that perpetuates violence in immigration enforcement and urging accountability. I and other commissioners regularly attend peaceful protests. In my opinion, we need to be ready to file suit against the federal government if they attack our residents. We must bear witness peacefully and film encounters while rallying around neighbors as they have in Minnesota, Portland, Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and other cities. 

More positively, but also foundational to democracy, the Commissioners unanimously approved the creation of a tax assessment work group. This volunteer group, along with key nonprofit leaders and community representatives, is working with county staff and three Commissioners tackling the processes involved with property appraisals, appeals, staffing, and much more. An early consultant found 171 neighborhoods needing deeper analysis, a strong indicator that foundational data is wrong. The work group has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for consulting expertise to guide their work on full program analysis and improvements. We are committed to making the changes needed to ensure fair and equitable values and processes.