Do political endorsements matter? Durham PACs split before city’s Tuesday primary

Endorsements in Durham can be the difference between political candidates being elected or not.

But this year’s endorsements have puzzled some. The city’s progressive group and the alternative weekly newspaper picked different candidates. An influential teachers group chose not to endorse a school’s former teacher of the year.

Political action committees have traditionally sifted policies and positions for voters. Over the years, other organizations have joined them.

“When I got involved in the mid-1980s, the two most influential endorsement groups were the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People — which quite frankly has been the model for all the others — and the Friends of Durham,” said Tom Miller, a member and former leader of the progressive Durham People’s Alliance.

The Durham Committee, the Friends of Durham and the People’s Alliance have been Durham’s most influential groups. The progressive weekly, INDY Week, and the Durham Association of Educators also provide key endorsements.

Some of the sharpest differences in endorsements heading into Tuesday’s non-partisan primary have been over who should succeed current Mayor Steve Schewel, who chose not to run for re-election.

Municipal election endorsements

The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People PAC, the Friends of Durham PAC and INDY Week all endorsed former judge Elaine O’Neal for mayor, along with incumbent DeDreana Freeman in Ward 1 and incumbent Mark-Anthony Middleton in Ward 2. The top two finishers in each race Tuesday will proceed to the Nov.2 general election.

In Ward 3, where the only two candidates running will automatically move on to November, the Durham Committee and Friends picked Leonardo Williams. INDY Week did not endorse either candidate because the other contender, AJ Williams, is the son of one of its employees.

The Durham People’s Alliance PAC and the Durham Association of Educators endorsed City Council member Javiera Caballero in the mayor’s race, Marion T. Johnson in Ward 1, and AJ Williams in Ward 3.

In Ward 2 the PA endorsed Middleton, while the DAE did not endorse anyone because it thought no candidate available would adequately represent its values, the association stated in a news release.

In previous years, the PA and INDY Week have often endorsed the same people.

“I can only speculate that the INDY and the People’s Alliance focused on different issues when making our respective endorsements,” Jane Porter, editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper, wrote in an email to The News & Observer.

“I would also emphasize that we would rather see two highly qualified, progressive women in leadership positions on the Durham City Council rather than an open seat that would later, in all likelihood, be filled by appointment,” she added.

Caballero’s term on the council runs until 2023, so she would remain on the council if she were to lose the mayor’s race.

Both INDY Week and Middleton have been proponents of keeping Caballero on the council and electing O’Neal mayor so Durham can “double down” on having its first Black woman mayor and keeping the city’s first Latina council member.

“It’s very interesting, for sure,” said Milo Pyne, one of the PA coordinators. “This year is an anomaly.”

In Ward 3, current Council member Pierce Freelon, who was appointed to fill a vacancy, is not running, setting up the two-person contest there.

Although Leonardo Williams is a former educator and is a two-time winner of the “Teacher of the Year Award” according to his campaign’s website, the Durham Association of Educators did not endorse him.

In an interview, association President Michelle Burton, told The N&O the teachers group gave AJ Williams its backing because of how he “articulated” his plan to increase public school resources.

“It was not based on [Leonardo] being a teacher or being Teacher of Year,” she explained. “In the interview, we listened to what AJ said versus what Leonardo said and how they would create policy. That was it.”

In a news release, the association also noted AJ Williams’ community organizing experience and his “dedication” to do more for the school system.

Leonardo Williams was named Teacher of the Year at Shepherd Middle School in his second year of teaching during 2007-08, he told The N&O. He received the honor from Southern High School in the 2013-14 school year, when he was a district finalist as well.

“I was teaching in arts education, and normally teachers of the year are in core subjects,” he said. “So for me to receive that was a big deal to me personally.”

“I’m proud of being recognized by my peers and the work that it took into being teacher of the year because it’s a lot that goes into it on any level,” he added.

Endorsements and campaign spending

When candidates have to campaign on the issues that political organizations care about, it can lower their overall costs of running for office, said Miller, the PA member.

“I approve of endorsement politics because it really allows people to get involved, and the role of money is weakened,” he said.

But Antonio Jones, the chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, said candidates need endorsements and money, even in smaller races.

“To run a successful campaign in Durham, you need both. Running a race is expensive anyway, and the endorsement does not absolve you from that,” Jones said.

The endorsement process

In 1935, a group of Black businessmen created the Durham Committee during the Jim Crow era to register voters and support candidates that would aid the Black community. It has been a model for other political organizations, though their endorsement processes differ.

DURHAM COMMITTEE ON THE AFFAIRS OF BLACK PEOPLE

▪ Eligible voting membership: Members must be Black, live in Durham, pay an annual $25 fee and attend 20% of monthly meetings that must be confirmed by the group’s records keeper

▪ Endorsement process: Develops a candidate questionnaire, invites candidates to an in-person/virtual interview, and the executive board issues a recommendation that the general body (eligible members) can either accept or reject through a two-thirds vote. The group has about 150 active voting members.

DURHAM PEOPLE’S ALLIANCE

▪ Eligible voting membership: Membership requires an annual fee of $35 or a reduced $10 annual fee for low-income individuals. The memberships do not require U.S. citizenship or the legal voting age of 18. A complimentary membership in PA PAC and voting privileges are included once an individual pays for a PA membership.

▪ Endorsement process: Develops a questionnaire, invites candidates to an in-person/virtual interview and paid members indicate who they want to endorse by a show of hands during an in-person meeting or through an online poll.

FRIENDS OF DURHAM

▪ Eligible voting membership: Members must pay an annual fee of $100 and live in the city of Durham or Durham County

▪ Endorsement process: Develops a questionnaire, invites members to an endorsement meeting, discusses candidates and votes on candidate endorsements via show of hands and majority rules.

Candidate Campaigning

This year, the city’s current mayor and his predecessor have also weighed in on the elections.

Schewel has endorsed Caballero, citing her work on the council over the past for years and her ability to “pull people together — unite us — to get big things done for our community.”

Former Mayor Bill Bell, Durham’s longest-serving mayor (16 years) endorsed O’Neal because “[she] was born in Durham and has lived here, her entire life,” he wrote in a statement.

“Her resume and experience are impeccable and provide the qualities we need in our next mayor, especially during these critical times of Durham’s development,” he said.

In a city fueled by activism, endorsements matter, Bell said, but elections have changed. When he first ran, campaigns were waged person-to-person, on the radio and in print media, he said. At the turn of the century, tactics began to shift online.

“I’m not a social media person and never personally really engaged in that level of campaigning during the time that I was mayor, so the mail-in questionnaires and endorsements were important,” Bell said.

These days PACs send questionnaires electronically, post candidates’ responses online and announce endorsements on social media.

But one thing hasn’t changed.

“I received all those groups’ endorsements, the Durham Committee, PA and the Friends of Durham,” Bell said. “It’s always good to be able to have endorsements from those reputable organizations.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 5:50 AM with the headline "Do political endorsements matter? Durham PACs split before city’s Tuesday primary."