Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board incumbent leads 3 newcomers to win crowded race

Voters chose an incumbent and three challengers from a crowded 13-candidate field Tuesday night to fill four seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education.

Board member Rani Dasi had 20.13% of the vote (11,628 votes) with all of the district’s 24 precincts reporting at 9:34 p.m., according to unofficial results from the State Board of Elections.

Barbara Fedders was in second with 19.20% (11,089), followed by Meredith Ballew with 11.39% (6,580), and Vickie Feaster Fornville with 9.33% (5,387).

The results included absentee ballots and 8,684 ballots that were cast during early voting, according to the Orange County Board of Elections.

Candidates rounding out the 13-member field were:

▪ Mariela Hernandez: 7.71% (4,453 votes)

▪ Allison Willis: 7.57% (4,373 votes)

▪ Honoria Middough: 7.52% (4,346 votes)

▪ Deon Temne: 5.77% (3,331 votes)

▪ Taylor Tally: 2.83% (1,633 votes)

▪ Jane Gabin: 2.61% (1,507 votes)

▪ Ashton Powell: 2.13% (1,229 votes)

▪ Solomon Gibson III: 1.46% (843 votes)

▪ Michelle Rissling: 1.20% (588 votes)

Incumbent board member Jillian La Serna did not run for re-election.

This year’s race got off to a slow start, but picked up after rumors spread about a conservative bloc trying to win a majority of school board seats in the traditionally Democratic towns.

This year, 18 candidates filed to run in July, but four dropped out before the ballots were printed. A fifth candidate, Renee Peet, left the race in October. However, she received 1.03% of the vote (594 votes).

The winners will serve on the seven-member board through 2027.

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 7:56 PM.