Durham 2025 Election: Mayor, challengers elected in 2 of 3 City Council ward races
Mayor Leo Williams will keep his seat, while two new faces will join him on the Durham City Council, after Tuesday’s election.
This year’s election was for mayor and the council’s three ward seats. Eight candidates, including all four incumbents, had advanced from the city’s nonpartisan primary on Oct. 7 to the general election ballot.
As Durham County has grown to over 367,000 people, residents are raising concerns about affordability, gun violence and development that has driven up property taxes and strained infrastructure. The City Council has frequently split over rezoning and development, with incumbent council candidate Mark-Anthony Middleton voting with Williams for new development, and incumbent candidates DeDreana Freeman and Chelsea Cook often siding with residents.
The new City Council will also be responsible for the rewrite of Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance next year that will impact development decisions.
Nearly 46,000 voters cast ballots in the election.
Mayor
Unofficial final results show Williams won the mayoral election with 26,110 votes, or 58%. Challenger Anjanée Bell earned 19,011 votes, or 42%.
Williams was elected to the City Council in 2021 and won his first term as mayor in 2023.
“Decency won tonight,” he said in a phone call just after midnight. “The voters said no to all of the ill will. The voters said no to the negativity. The voters said no to the hatred. ... They said yes to compassion, yes to setting a model of community.”
Bell, daughter of former Mayor Bill Bell, was making her first run for office. She ran with a “Durham is HOPE” slogan, in contrast to Williams’ “Durham is Dope” slogan from two years ago, and had support from residents who criticized Williams’ leadership style.
The mayor took heat over comments about youth and gun violence, and for his votes on some development cases. It was Williams, however, who received endorsements from the city’s three largest PACs and led the five total mayoral candidates in money raised.
“Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we begin to heal this community and sew our fabric back together even stronger than before,” he said. “We’re going to move this city forward.”
Ward 1
In a tight race, challenger Matt Kopac won with 23,445 votes, or 52%. Freeman, the incumbent, received 21,620 votes, or 47%, unofficial final results show.
Freeman was first elected to the City Council in 2017 and, this year, was endorsed by the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People PAC. In a statement on Facebook, Freeman thanked her supporters, saying her work “for Durham continues.”
“Though last night was not the results expected, I am proud to say I serve the people of Durham only as I have and will continue to be a public servant,” she said. “I love my city and the people of my community, so let’s continue doing what we need to do to take care of one another. I have no regrets and meant everything I have said ‘cause I said it with my chest.”
During her campaign, Freeman was criticized for her involvement in a physical incident with the chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners at a People’s Alliance PAC mixer.
The group later endorsed Kopac, a member of the Planning Commission who raised the most money among the ward candidates, including donations from a friend who is a developer in Wisconsin and current and former elected officials. Kopac said he did not accept donations from corporate developer PACs or developers who might come before the Planning Commission or City Council.
In a phone call Wednesday morning, Kopac said he was “proud, humbled and really excited to get to work for Durham.”
“Campaigns are always a process, and we put a lot into it,” he said. “I appreciate the energy and passion that Durhamites bring and how much everyone cares about their community. I’m looking forward to working with everyone on the council and folks across the community.”
Ward 2
Challenger Shanetta Burris won with 30,692 votes, or 68%. Middleton, the incumbent, received 13,966 votes, or 31%, unofficial final results show.
The primary last month was closer. Burris finished first with 11,738 votes, or 49%, to Middleton’s 9,416 votes or 40%.
This was Burris’ second run for the City Council after an unsuccessful bid in 2023. A community organizer with Durham CAN, she received grassroots support like Freeman, and campaigned on youth violence and affordability issues. Burris got the endorsement of the People’s Alliance PAC.
“This victory belongs to the people: to every volunteer, supporter, and neighbor who believed in our vision for a more inclusive, equitable Durham,” Burris said in a statement. “Last night’s results remind us that the will of the people is stronger than special interests and outside spending.”
Middleton received the endorsements of the Friends of Durham PAC and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People PAC. He was elected to the council in 2017 and, like Williams, was criticized over his decisions on development and the tone of some of his remarks from the council dais.
In a statement on social media, Middleton said serving as the city’s mayor pro tem “has been the honor of my life.”
“Together, we’ve made historic progress investing in real public safety solutions, affordable housing, small businesses and the belief that Durham’s promise belongs to us all,” he said. “While this campaign ends tonight, my commitment to Durham does not.”
Middleton said he called Burris to congratulate her on a “hard-fought campaign.”
Ward 3
Incumbent Cook defeated challenger Diana Medoff with 33,388 votes, or 75%. Medoff had 11,286 votes, or 25%, unofficial final results show. Cook won more votes than any of the candidates on the ballot for the Durham City Council.
An eviction defense attorney, Cook was making her first official run for City Council after being appointed to the vacant Ward 3 seat last year. She has advocated for the city’s homeless community and housing affordability.
In a statement, Cook said she was “so proud” to receive overwhelming support from Durham residents in an off-year election.
“I tried to be intentional in running on my experience and work in the community,” she said. “It’s humbling to have that work recognized in such a big way. I look forward to continuing to serve the city I love with transparency and care.”
Medoff was making her first run for public office and is a former third-grade teacher for the Duke School.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM.