Cristóbal Palmer (left), a digital library director, and Isaac Woolsey (right), a disability rights advocate, are running for Carrboro town council.
Courtesy of Cristóbal Palmer and Isaac Woolsey
Two local residents are running to fill a vacant seat on the Carrboro Town Council this fall.
Isaac Woolsey, an advocate for people with disabilities, and Cristóbal Palmer, a digital library director at UNC Chapel Hill, announced their candidacies in June. With no other candidates filing by the July 5 deadline, they’ll face each other in November for the seat Barbara Foushee left last year when she was elected mayor. The winner will serve until December 2025.
Next, a Chapel Hill and Carrboro community group, will hold a meet the candidates event at the Orange County Social Club, 108 E. Main St., from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
The News & Observer spoke with the candidates — neither of whom has ever held office — about their experience and policy goals.
Isaac Woolsey
Isaac Woolsey, 30, is a disability rights advocate running for Carrboro town council. Courtsey of Isaac Woolsey
Age: 30
Occupation: Former retail worker
Woolsey has lived in Carrboro for the last five years, residing in Raleigh before that. He identifies as a person with disabilities, was diagnosed with autism as a child and lives with stigmatism in both eyes. Woolsey said he wants to help people with disabilities in Carrboro by expanding public transit.
Pandemic cuts to public bus hours have hurt people with disabilities, he said. So, he recently demonstrated at Peace and Justice Plaza in downtown Chapel Hill to bring attention to the issue, he said.
As a Town Council member, Woolsey said he also would want to confront employment discrimination.
“I would like to raise awareness and tell businesses, ‘Hey, you need to hired disabled people,’” Woolsey said.
Woolsey said although local entrepreneurship is important, he would like to bring more chain businesses to Carrboro because they are more likely to hire people with disabilities.
Increasing affordable housing is another of his goals. As the town builds more affordable housing, a portion of those properties should be set aside to create group homes for housing-insecure people, he said.
Woolsey encourages Carrboro residents to vote for him because he can be a voice for people with disabilities, he said.
“I don’t want to just be a diversity pick or anything,” he said. “But I actually want to get things done.”
Cristóbal Palmer, 40, is a digital library director running for Carrboro town council. Courtesy of Cristóbal Palmer
Age: 40
Occupation: Digital library director
Palmer, who grew up in the area and has lived continuously in Carrboro since 2009, has experience working “behind the scenes” to strengthen organizations, he said. He previously served on the board of two area nonprofits, helping the Triangle Linux Users Group implement an anti-harassment policy and the Carrboro Bicycle Coalition gain independent nonprofit status.
Palmer also participated in political campaigns from a young age, volunteering locally for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid. Since then, he’s phone banked and canvassed for multiple Democratic Party campaigns.
He said his community engagement and political volunteering, along with his work running a digital library collection, showcase his ability to make systems work sustainably.
“This is all putting the same skills to work,” he said. “Finding infrastructure problems, finding what things need to talk to other things or what people need to be able to use and pooling those things together in a way that feels like it will outlast me.”
One of Palmer’s goals is to streamline development in Carrboro and help the town quickly deliver on projects in its 2022 comprehensive plan, he said. He pointed to The 203 Project, a multi-use library the town formally approved construction for in 2016, as a project that has taken too long to complete. The building is set to open in the fall.
“We need to shorten that time horizon between our promises and our commitments to the future of Carrboro and the implementation,” he said. “What I bring is a history of systems integration work and trying to find where we can make what connections to make things easier and better.”
Affordable housing is also top of mind for Carrboro voters, Palmer said. He said he would look at changing zoning rules to incentivize more multi-family units. And he wants to push for more pedestrian-friendly changes to roads.
Palmer said he’s committed to putting in the work for Carrboro residents.
“I know I’m new at this, in terms of being a candidate,” he said. “I’m not new at this in terms of civic participation, in terms of campaign participation. I know how much work this will take.”
William is the metro intern at The News & Observer. He is a rising junior at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. William was previously City Editor and Copy Chief at The Daily Northwestern, and was a Student Press Freedom Day co-chair for the Student Press Law Center.
.jpeg)