Charlie Reece ✅
@charliereece.com
890 followers 310 following 970 posts
Husband. Father. Homemaker. North Carolinian. Parisian. Vice Chair, Democrats Abroad France, Paris Chapter
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charliereece.com
Given the new influx of folks here, I thought it might make sense to drop an introduction!

I'm a husband and father of two amazing kids currently living with my family in Paris, France. I'm a lawyer by training who spent seven years as a local elected official in Durham, North Carolina. 1/2
charliereece.com
Yeah, that's the case. That's what I thought too, thanks Geoff!
charliereece.com
Mostly just trying to figure out whether I need to send the Indy a letter to the editor! :)
charliereece.com
Hello Council Member Fray! Thanks for all the hard work you’re doing in Carrboro!

Can I ask you about the claim made in the explainer about the COA case Epcon v. Chapel Hill? I read that case to be about the various statutes of limitation and not an endorsement of inclusionary zoning. What say you?
charliereece.com
But remember, nearly half of all primary votes were cast before Tuesday (early voting + vote by mail) so take these numbers with a grain of salt.

Also, the early vote looked different! For example, Council Member Freeman won the early vote by ~500 votes but still came in second in the primary. /end
charliereece.com
... but looking just at in-person votes cast yesterday, the following represents which candidate won how many precincts in each race (out of 58 Durham precincts):

Mayor: Williams 54, Bell 4
Ward 1: Kopac 32, Freeman 26
Ward 2: Burris 48, Middleton 10
Ward 3: Cook 56, Medoff 2
charliereece.com
PS -- I did a little digging into the precinct level results in each race and found what I thought were some interesting trends but then I remembered that early vote totals won't be sorted into their respective precincts for a while so in the end I'm not sure how interesting these numbers are...
charliereece.com
Maybe, but the Committee's endorsement sure didn't move the needle at all in Ward 3.

I think the Ward 1 results are more about the enduring electoral strength that Council Member Freeman has always shown across Durham, even in precincts traditionally favorable to People's Alliance candidates.
charliereece.com
So what do *you* think of the primary election results? Who are you supporting in each of these critical races?

/end🧵
charliereece.com
With the primary behind them, these eight candidates now face a 28 day sprint to the general election on November 4. Early voting for the general election starts on October 16! See the link below for early voting dates and locations: www.dcovotes.dconc.gov/home/showpub...
www.dcovotes.dconc.gov
charliereece.com
(Speaking of endorsements, for the sake of transparency I should disclose here that I have publicly endorsed Matt Kopac for the Ward 1 seat. Matt is the only candidate I've endorsed this cycle because I think he'll make a great council member and because he's the only candidate who asked. 😂)
charliereece.com
Each of the candidates endorsed by Durham People's Alliance PAC -- Williams, Kopac, Burris and Cook -- finished first in their respective primaries. Williams, Kopac and Cook were also endorsed by @indyweek.bsky.social (which opted for no endorsement in the Ward 2 race).
charliereece.com
Maybe the most powerful message in last night's primaries is the enduring power of certain endorsements -- specifically the Durham People's Alliance PAC and INDY Week.
charliereece.com
But the primary results don't really point to any consensus among voters about how they want the council to handle those often contentious issues. The night's top two vote-getters -- Mayor Williams and Council Member Cook -- haven't usually voted together in the most controversial of these cases. 🤷‍♂️
charliereece.com
For the first time that I can remember, the city council's votes on rezoning and annexation cases seem to have caught the attention of voters in this election. Lots of the online chatter concerning the election (mostly on Facebook and Reddit) has focused on this often overlooked issue. That's great!
charliereece.com
Finally, Ward 3 incumbent Chelsea Cook easily wins the primary against second place finisher and political newcomer Diana Medoff 60% to 25%. The two candidates will meet in the November general election. The race's sole Republican, Terry McCann, garners just 11% of the primary votes.
election results showing Cook and Medoff as the top two finishers
charliereece.com
Incumbent Mark-Anthony Middleton advances to the general election against challenger Shanetta Burris, but Burris showed considerable voter appeal in winning the primary 49% to 40%. The mayor pro tem has some work to do if he is to win re-election in November.
election results showing Burris and Middleton as the top two finishers
charliereece.com
In the primary's closest race, challenger Matt Kopac outpaced Ward 1 incumbent DeDreana Freeman by just 452 votes. This will be the race to watch in November as these two meet in the general election. Any endorsements from the third & fourth place finishers King and Cazales will matter!
election results showing Kopac and Freeman as the top two finishers
charliereece.com
Incumbent Mayor Leo Williams and challenger Anjanée Bell will face off in the November general election. The primary vote went for Williams by 55%-30%, so newcomer Bell (who is fmr Mayor Bill Bell's daughter) has an uphill climb. Super psyched to see the horrible Rafiq Zaidi get crushed.
primary results showing Williams and Bell as the top two finishers
charliereece.com
The city of Durham held its primary election yesterday for mayor and our three ward representatives on the city council. The top two finishers in each race move on to the general election on November 4.

Let’s dig into the results! 🧵
charliereece.com
I legit thought this was a parody.

😭😭😭
joshuajfriedman.com
What will the new Adam O'Neal–hosted WaPo opinions podcast sound like for the next few decades? Maybe a little something like this x.com/WashPostComm...
Reposted by Charlie Reece ✅
volts.wtf
Nobody cares and nothing will happen but this is classically, paradigmatically fascist language. Comparing opponents to vermin and pests is straight out of the textbook.
atrupar.com
Trump to the Navy: "We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats."
charliereece.com
IAAL and yes it’s bad.
charliereece.com
Fantastic explainer on the current chaos in the French political system. I have no idea what comes next — and neither does anyone else. 😬🇫🇷🤷🏻‍♂️