QUESTION: What are the party affiliations of the candidates who are running in the county’s two nonpartisan races?
ANSWER: Seven candidates are running for three open seats on the ostensibly nonpartisan Alamance-Burlington school board; and two candidates are running for two seats on the county’s nonpartisan soil and water conservation district board.
Three school board candidates are registered as Democrats: Stephanie Enoch; Dr. Samira Khan; and Brandy Whittaker. [Whittaker didn’t answer the newspaper’s question about whether she had been endorsed by the Democratic Party, which lists her as an endorsed candidate.]
Two school board candidates are Republicans: Katharine Frazier and Dr. Charles Parker.
The three Democrats and two Republicans have been endorsed by the county’s Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
There are two unaffiliated candidates in this year’s school board race: Dr. Eric Hall and Kyle Ward. Neither has received a partisan endorsement.
Information on file with the State Board of Elections shows that the unaffiliated candidates split their ballots between Republican and Democratic primaries.
Hall voted in two Republican primaries and nine Democratic primaries over the 26 years he has been registered in Alamance County.
Ward has voted in three Republican primaries and five Democratic primaries between 2008 and 2026; he has been registered to vote in the county since 1992 and historically has voted on Election Day in most general elections.
In their responses to The Alamance News’ biennial issues questionnaire this week, most of the school board candidates were uniformly opposed to having partisan races.
Enoch says, “I oppose partisan elections because school board decisions should prioritize student achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community needs rather than political party affiliation.”
Frazier says she has friends of both political persuasions. “We disagree on the ideal role of government, but we agree on the need for high-quality, responsibly-funded schools.”
Hall bases his opposition to partisan school board elections on his belief that decisions about education should focus on students and schools, not party labels. “Nonpartisan elections encourage collaboration and accountability,” he says.
Similarly, Parker also says school boards should focus on academic results, not party labels. “Nonpartisan elections encourage voters to assess candidates’ qualifications, judgment, record, and local priorities directly,” he elaborates.
Ward says also opposes partisan school board elections, saying, “Education should bring communities together, not divide them along party lines. Students, families, and classrooms must come first.”
Whittaker believes that school board members “should be voted in based on their dedication to community support…all communities in Alamance.”
Khan did not respond to the question (see related story on page 3 of this edition).
The other nonpartisan race on the ballot for this year’s general election is for Alamance County’s nonpartisan Soil and Water Conservation District board of supervisors.
Two Republican candidates are running for two open seats on the board: William Holliday and Richard Reid.
The county’s five-member soil and water conservation district board meets monthly. Its role is to help farmers, landowners, and residents protect natural resources through conservation planning, and engineering support, in addition to assisting landowners with implementing practices intended to decrease soil and groundwater pollutants, according to a description from Alamance County government.
North Carolina has 96 soil and water conservation districts, the boundaries for which follow county lines, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, which oversees soil and water conservation districts.
State law calls for three of each district’s supervisors to be elected in nonpartisan races during countywide general elections; two supervisors are appointed by the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission, based on recommendations submitted by each district’s board of supervisors, according to the state agriculture department.
The only exception is the Albemarle Soil and Water Conservation District, which encompasses five counties: Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Each district is governed by a five-member board of supervisors, except for the Albemarle Soil and Water Conservation District, which has a 17-member board of supervisors.
Terms are four years for both boards.
THE PUBLIC ASKS: Have a question about a matter of public record? Call The Alamance News at (336) 228-7851; write to the newspaper at P.O. Box 431, Graham, NC 27253; or e-mail alamancenews@mail.com.
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