Durham City Council member DeDreana Freeman is running for mayor
Durham City Council member DeDreana Freeman is running for mayor, she revealed Tuesday.
Freeman is the second well-known name in the mayoral race after state Sen. Mike Woodard, a former City Council member himself, announced his candidacy last week.
Durham will elect a new mayor in November after the Oct. 10 primary whittles down the candidates to two. The current mayor, Elaine O’Neal, announced at the end of June that she will not seek re-election.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton announced Wednesday he will not run for mayor, while Council member Leonardo Williams has not made a decision.
The candidate filing period closes at noon Friday. Two others have filed with the Board of Elections.
- Charlitta Burruss, a minister who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021 and City Council in 2019.
- Sylvester Williams, a pastor and perennial candidate for local office.
A pivotal election
Freeman, who was first elected in 2017, has had a tumultuous year.
She got into a heated altercation with Middleton in March, for which she later partially apologized.
Her current City Council term, which she doesn’t need to resign from to run for mayor, expires in 2025.
Three other City Council seats are up for grabs this year, however, including one currently held by Freeman’s ally Monique Holsey-Hyman.
Freeman is close to O’Neal and Holsey-Hyman, with the three typically voting together, reliably rejecting annexations and non-affordable housing developments, especially in rapidly growing southeast Durham.
The People’s Alliance PAC backed Freeman in 2017, but not 2021. The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People PAC did the reverse. INDY Week endorsed her in both elections.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 2:48 PM.
