Why the Durham County commissioners race is already a breakthrough for NC

With no Republican opposition Tuesday, Durham County voters have already elected their first all-female board of county commissioners and the first Muslim-American woman to hold office in the state.

Nida Allam and Nimasheena Burns will join the Durham County Board of Commissioners, succeeding Commissioner Ellen Reckhow and Vice-chair James Hill. Reckhow will leave the board after 32 years of service.

Allam sees her and Burns’ election as part of a wave of progressive women running for office across the country, galvanized by recent wins by politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2018.

“We have a way of governing and a way of speaking about issues and policies that people are really excited about,” Allam said. “They’re looking for that fresh perspective.”

Burns said more people are starting to trust women and women of color to lead in elected positions.

”For us to rise up and to come out and be successful, the way we did, it just shows that the world is ready,” Burns said.

The new members will join the board at the first county commissioners meeting in December. At the meeting, commissioners will take oath of office and elect a chair and vice-chair for the coming year.

Possibly first all-female county board in North Carolina

Durham County will have the first all-female board of county commissioners in the state since at least 2002 and possibly ever, according to data from the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, whose records date back to 2002.

One of Allam’s first priorities in office, she said, is to advocate for Durham Public School’s classified staff to receive a $15 minimum wage. DPS classified staff includes bus drivers and cafeteria workers.

She also wants more capital improvements in schools across the district, she said, especially in low-income communities.

“Making sure that we’re funding our schools in an equitable way,” she said. “That we’re not having, you know, one school where the roof is falling down and another school that’s thriving.”

Burns wants to help connect Durham residents to jobs, as manufacturing companies move to the area, she said.

“I think one of the things that we really got to do is just get people to work and get some people back to work,” she said. “And that is my first priority.”

Re-elected commissioners reflect on the new board

Commissioner Brenda Howerton is excited to see more women of color join the board, she said.

“I think it’s great to have different voices because Durham is not monolithic,” said Howerton, who is African American. “It needs to have all voices at the table.”

Wendy Jacobs, the current chair of the county board, expressed enthusiasm for the addition of Allam and Burns.

“I’m super excited about both of our new board members,” Jacobs said. “They’re, you know, incredible, dynamic women.”

The board has had a majority of women for three decades, said Commissioner Reckhow. The election of Allam and Burns shows how Durham County is a “progressive” and “enlightened” community, she said.

“I think Durham residents are willing to go with whoever they feel is the best candidate regardless of race and sex and vote who they feel is the best,’ Reckhow said.

New commissioners comment on report of “dysfunction”

In August, a legal consultant reported that Durham county government was in a state of “periodic dysfunction,” The News & Observer had previously reported.

Attorney James Coleman, who wrote the report, described a lack of trust between some commissioners and the county manager, Wendell Davis.

When asked by The N&O to comment on the report’s findings, Allam said she hopes the board will be able to move forward “in a positive and healing way.”

“That is going to be the most important thing to the people of Durham, is to show — Are we dysfunctional? Or are we a collaborative board that wants to take care of the people?” she said.

Burns said she can’t wait to start working with everybody.

“I don’t think it’s going to be the pressure cooker that folks think it’s going to be like,” she said. “We’re gonna go in. We’re gonna work hard. We’re gonna do the right thing and we’re gonna do what’s best for Durham.”

“I didn’t come in to deal with personalities,” she added. “I’ve been successful at every stage of my life working with various types of people with various attitudes, and what I’ve found is that the people suffer when folks can’t get along, when folks can’t come to a consensus because of past deals.”

Reckhow departs the board

Reckhow had announced her plans not to run for re-election last November. She had held the position for three decades, beginning in 1988. She served as chair of the commissioners for six years and vice chair for 12.

During her time on the board, Reckhow helped lead the revitalization of downtown Durham, co-founded the Durham Children’s Initiative and supported the growth of Research Triangle Park, she said.

“It feels good in the sense that I feel a lot has been accomplished, and I feel we’re in a good place, except for the pandemic, obviously,” she said.

But leaving the job during the pandemic brings her mixed emotions, as well.

“It’s hard to leave at this time because, you know, you can’t give people hugs and you can’t say your normal goodbyes,” she said.

One of her “parting wishes,” she said, is for the board to help create a pipeline for those born and raised in Durham to acquire jobs from some of the biotech companies moving to the county.

BioAgilytix, a biotech firm, is bringing 878 jobs to Durham, The N&O reported.

Jacobs said Durham County would not be the way it is today without Reckhow.

“She has shaped our policies and priorities around protecting water quality and the natural environment, about revitalizing and reinvesting in downtown Durham, about prioritizing our children and investing in education and our children’s needs and transit,” she said. “These are all things that she has really championed.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 12:15 PM.