Showing posts tagged “Randee Haven-O’Donnell”
Joe Schwartz ·
4 Nov 2009, 3:31 AM ·
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*Reporter’s note: Scroll to the bottom if you want the quickie results from Election Day (no suprises in Carrboro or Hillsborough. CHCCS followed the Indy endorsement. Chapel Hill Town Council went to Penny Rich, Ed Harrison, Laurin Easthom and Gene Pease). If you’d like to read a scene-setting piece from Chapel Hill Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt’s victory party, then read on.
Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt celebrates his mayoral victory as his twin sister clutches his shoulder and his mom bursts into tears.
Supporters erupted. His mother burst into tears. His sister shouted. Mark Kleinschmidt just smiled contently, arms crossed but giving the kind of ear-to-ear grin you could feel across the room, satisfaction and disbelief merging together on his face. The campaign had just received word that rival Matt Czajkowski had made his concession speech at the Franklin Hotel.
The progressive bloc had won. They’d just escaped a new, moderate business-centered group gaining traction and council seats. Not so fast.
Word came back that one precint, Patterson, was yet to report. Kleinschmidt was up a scant 168 votes. The jubiliation turned to shocked concern. It was too close to call.
“I don’t want a Dewey defeats Truman headline,” Kleinschmidt warned reporters at his R&R Grill party. The pack of local politicos returned to the laptop, clicking refresh again and again.
Moments later, the candidate’s ever-buzzing cell phone went off once more. It was Mayor Kevin Foy calling to congratulate him.
Kleinschmidt cautioned him, but thanked him for his support. Then the results flashed on the TV screens. It was final — Kleinschmidt had won.
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Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Amanda Ashley, Augustus Cho, Brian Voyce, Bryant Warren, Christine Lee, Ed Harrison, Frances Dancy, Gene Pease, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Jon Dehart, Kevin Foy, Kevin Wolff, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, MaryAnne Gucciardi, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sharon Cook, Shell Brownstein, Susana Dancy, Tim Peck, Tom Stevens, Will Raymond
Joe Schwartz ·
17 Oct 2009, 10:12 PM ·
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The Thorpe-Anderson Breakfast Club, a group of progressive NAACP supporters and members, is backing incumbents in races for Chapel Hill Town Council, Carrboro mayor and Board of Aldermen and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board. The group’s endorsements, always sought after by the candidates, were released today. They are as follows:
Chapel Hill Mayor - Mark Kleinschmidt
Chapel Hill Town Council - Lauren Easthom, Ed Harrison, Jim Merritt and Will Raymond
Carrboro Mayor - Mark Chilton
Carrboro Board of Aldermen - Randee Haven-O’Donnell, Jacquelyn Gist and Sammy Slade
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board - Greg McElveen, Michelle Brownstein and Joe Green
The breakfast club was formed in the 1970s by Hank Anderson, the South’s first black parks and recreation director. The late Bill Thorpe, a former councilmen who passed away while in office in 2008, served as the group’s leader after Anderson died. The group fights for racial justice and lobbied to town to rename Airport Road as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
This is the first endorsement this season for Raymond. All the other Chapel Hill and Carrboro municipal candidates earned support from the Sierra Club and the Indy. The three school board hopefuls also earned the Indy’s support.
Early voting began Thursday. Election day is Nov. 3. Visit our elections page to read candidate questionnaires, get links to campaign pages and learn more about the candidates.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Carrboro, Chapel Hill, CHCCS, Ed Harrison, endorsements, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, Michelle Brownstein, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Thorpe-Anderson Breakfast Club, Will Raymond
Joe Schwartz ·
8 Oct 2009, 11:29 AM ·
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The Sierra Club announced its endorsements today in municipal races in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. The following candidates gained their support:
- In Chapel Hill: Mark Kleinschmidt for mayor and Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrision, Jim Merritt and Penny Rich for town council.
- In Carrboro: Mark Chilton for mayor and Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O’Donnell and Sammy Slade for board of aldermen.
- In Hillsborough: Tom Stevens for mayor and Mike Gering and Frances Dancy for town board.
Thus the group is backing all incumbents with Penny Rich gaining support for the open seat that Kleinschmidt will leave and Sammy Slade for John Herrera’s old post.
You can read the group’s rationale for each race by clicking on the above links. The Indy’s endorsements hit stands this Wednesday.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Ed Harrison, endorsements, Frances Dancy, Jacquelyn Gist, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sierra Club, Tom Stevens
Joe Schwartz ·
25 Aug 2009, 8:40 PM ·
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The Carrboro Board of Alderman agreed to leave the John Herrera seat open and to appoint Randee Haven-O’Donnell as mayor pro tem Tuesday at its regular business meeting
The board moved swiftly while convening for the first time since Herrera, the previous mayor pro tem, announced he would move to Holly Springs and give up his seat with five months left in his term.
Mayor Mark Chilton said he gathered from colleagues that they supported leaving the seat open, given the short window before it will be filled by election. He also suggested immediately appointing the November winner, rather than waiting until the official swearing in. The board put off that discussion.
Alderman Dan Coleman then suggested that Haven-O’Donnell, serving in her first term and running for re-election, be given the second-in-command post.
“I do think we should have a mayor pro tem,” he said. “We usually go in terms of seniority as far as who hasn’t done it yet.”
O’Donnell fit the bill. After Joal Hall Broun said she didn’t want the responsibility and a few minutes of hemming and hawing, O’Donnell was unanimously approved. She’s now empowered to act as mayor in Chilton’s absence.
“Only three years and nine months into your service, and you get to be mayor pro tem,” Chilton remarked after. “It’s a very democratic type of town. Both big ‘d’ and little ‘d.’”
Herrera, who recently remarried and is moving to be with his family, did not file to run in the 2009 election, so the board has known for months that at least one new alderman would be on the board.
In addition to Haven-O’Donnell, incumbent Jacquelyn Gist and challengers Sharon Cook, Tim Peck and Sammy Slade are vying for three seats.
Carrboro, Orange County, politics Aldermen, Carrboro, John Herrera, Randee Haven-O'Donnell
Lisa Sorg ·
8 Jul 2009, 1:20 PM ·
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Two days down, eight to go: Candidate filing for the 2009 election opened Monday, with candidates seeking the top spot as Chapel Hill mayor and duels brewing in Durham Ward 2 and on the Wake County school board.
In Raleigh Council District D, incumbent Thomas Crowder is expected to run against architect Ted Van Dyk, who had not filed as of press time, but has announced he will soon. Two at-large seats are up for grabs Bill Shakespeare, Ricky Lee Sartain and Robert Claris hope to dethrone incumbents Russ Stephenson and Mary-Ann Baldwin, who plan to run as well.
The board of education candidate list is packed. (See “Wake school board race takes shape,” June 27.) Deborah Vair and Rita Rakestraw will spar in District 1, while John Tedesco, Horace Tart and Cathy Truitt go head-to-head-to-head in District 2. Karen Simon has filed in District 7 and Ray Martin has staked his claim for District 9.
In Cary, incumbent Julie Robison is seeking re-election to an at-large seat, with Cynthia Sinkez and incumbent Jack Smith filing for District A and C, respectively.
So much for rumors that Mike Woodard would run for Durham mayor: The councilman is seeking a second term in Ward 3, which includes parts of north and west Durham. Meanwhile, in southern Durham, Ward 2 voters can choose, so far, between incumbent Howard Clement III, who’s running for a seventh term, and Durham County Libertarian Party Chairman Matt Drew.
Early voting for these races (Durham’s is a primary) begins Sept. 17. Election Day is Oct. 6, with runoffs, if necessary, on Nov. 3. The Indy’s endorsements issue will be published Sept. 16. Wake Board of Elections and the Durham Board of Elections have additional information.
This is the first year for voter-owned election funding in Chapel Hill, which adds to the intrigue, since Mayor Kevin Foy is not running for re-election. Under the pilot program, mayoral and town candidates can qualify for public funds maximum $9,000 for mayoral candidates, $3,000 for council candidates.
To be eligible, mayoral candidates must declare they haven’t collected more than $1,500 in seed money since Jan. 1; that limit for participating town council candidates is $750. Subsequently, mayoral and council hopefuls can raise and spend $4,500 and $2,250 in qualified contributions, respectively. Qualified contributions are those made by Chapel Hill residents in amounts from $5-$20. Once those requirements are met, the candidates qualify for public funds.
Vying for the top job is Town Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt, who works as an attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, is expected to run, although he has yet to file. First-term Town Councilman Matt Czajkowski, who had not attended a town council meeting before he was elected in 2007, hasn’t yet filed but will reportedly try to out-conservative Augustus Cho, a bigwig in Orange County’s small GOP circles who lost in the Congressional District 4 Republican primary to Cary’s B.J. Lawson.
For Town Council, Gene Pease has said he will run, while Penny Rich, who was unsuccessful in her last bid, has filed and will take advantage of the voter-owned election funding. A new group, Citizens For Responsible Government, composed of some top developers and longtime players in Chapel Hill—Omar Zinn, Phil Post and Bruce Ballentine—has stated it “expects to play a significant role” in Chapel Hill’s elections.
In Carrboro, incumbents Jacquie Gist and Randee Haven-O’Donnell are running for another term on the Board of Aldermen, while activist Sammy Slade is looking to occupy the seat of John Herrera, who is not running for re-election. All these candidates have pledged to raise no more than $3,000.
Just one person has filed so far for the three vacant seats on Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board: Michelle Brownstein. She has taken the $3,000 pledge.
Tom Stevens is running for his third term as Hillsborough mayor. He has pledged to accept the $3,000 limit on campaign contributions. Likewise, Mike Gering plans to run his campaign on the cheap, less than $3,000, as he for runs for re-election to Hillsborough’s town commission.
In Chatham County, no one has yet taken the plunge for Town Council, although incumbent Mayor Randy Voller is running; he will face at least one challenger, William Crawford.
Durham, Orange and Chatham counties hold early voting Oct. 15-31, with Election Day Nov. 3. The Indy will endorse in those races, and any Wake County runoffs, in the Oct. 14 edition.
The Orange County Board of Elections and Chatham County Board of Elections have additional information. Look for daily updates as candidates continue to file.
Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Orange County, Raleigh, Wake County, politics Augustus Cho, Bill Shakespeare, Citizens for Responsible Government, Cynthia Sinkez, elections, Gene Pease, Howard Clement III, Jack Smith, Jacquie Gist, Julie Robison, Mark Kleinschmidt, Mary-Ann Baldwin, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Drew, Michelle Brownstein, Mike Gering, Mike Woodard, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Ricky Lee Sartain, Robert Claris, Russ Stephenson, Sammy Slade, Ted Van Dyk, Thomas Crowder, Tom Stevens
