Jason Merrill, candidate for Carrboro Town Council

Carrboro voters will elect a new mayor and at least two new Town Council members in November.

Incumbent Council member Eliazar Posada is seeking a second term in office and will compete with four newcomers — Jason Merrill, Catherine Fray, April Mills and Stephanie Wade — for three open seats in the Nov. 7 general election.

Carrboro Mayor Pro Tem Susan Romaine and Council member Sammy Slade chose not to seek another term.

The new council will also fill a vacancy on the board next year, replacing Barbara Foushee, who is unopposed in her race to be the town’s next mayor. Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils decided earlier this year to step down after one term in office.

Early voting in the nonpartisan Nov. 7 election starts Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 4..

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit co.orange.nc.us/1720/Elections or contact the Board of Elections at 919-245-2350 or vote@orangecountync.gov.

Name: Jason Merrill

Age: 45

Occupation: Retired bicycle mechanic

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

Political or civic experience: I served on the Chapel Hill Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board for six years, two of those as chair.

Campaign website: bikeboro.com

What do you think the town’s top three priorities should be? Choose one and describe how you will work to address it.

▪ Sustainability

▪ Equity

▪ Affordability: We are in the midst of an affordable housing crisis that has been decades in the making, and we need to work on every front to expand the volume and variety of housing options available to working people. Ideally, we would require a percentage of all new development to be affordable, but this power has been preempted by the state General Assembly, so we must be more creative in writing policy that will help define the shape of future Carrboro.

The future of the Bolin Creek Greenway is a key issue this year. What do you see as its role in the town’s future, and should it be paved?

Resurfacing the OWASA easement along the creek is a keystone in completing a Bolin Creek Greenway that will connect people of all ages and abilities to neighborhoods, schools, parks, natural spaces and each other.

Carrboro is experiencing more infill development and housing. What would you do to guide town growth and meet current and future housing needs?

We can and should incentivize developers to build a wider variety of housing options, such as duplexes and townhomes, that fit the character of Carrboro and maintain its walkability.

Do you support keeping Orange County’s rural buffer, where the lack of water and sewer limits growth? How do you see the town growing with or without the buffer?

I love the forests and farms of Orange County, and I strongly support keeping the rural buffer in place. We can and should address our town’s housing shortage by making more intelligent and imaginative use of the land already within our borders.

How can the town bring people together who have different viewpoints to find workable solutions?

I think that the town needs to be more proactive in reaching out to the community and including more people in the process so that we can make decisions that work best for everyone.

This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 12:52 PM.

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.