Endorsements
THE NEWS & OBSERVER
Raleigh
- Incumbent council member Karen Stegman has been part of initiatives to reform the county’s criminal justice practices and the town’s police force.
- She’s also the only LGBTQ council member.
- We recommend Karen Stegman for another four-year term
Indy WEEK
- “Karen Stegman is described by her colleagues on council and others as the governing body’s “moral conscience,” a mentor to younger, newer council members, and a close partner to others with whom she’s achieved important goals.
- Stegman, together with departing council member Allen Buansi, created the Criminal Justice Debt Fund, a program that provides financial support to low-income residents mired in the local courts system. She was also one of four council members who championed adoption of the 2020 Community Safety Resolution Together, which banned chokeholds and made other policy changes in Chapel Hill’s police department, and, building on years of advocacy from the Black Lives Matter movement, she helped launch the council’s Re-imagining Community Safety Task Force.
- A proponent of an affordable housing strategy that has seen more affordable units built recently than ever before, Stegman is mindful of the town’s most vulnerable residents. She and council member Michael Parker brought a petition to the town calling for property tax subsidies for low-income homeowners whose property taxes rose to unaffordable levels in the 2021 revaluation.
- We are happy to endorse Stegman for another term.”
SIERRA CLUB
ORANGE-CHATHAM GROUP
- OCG is happy to again endorse Karen Stegman for Town Council. Stegman is the Council candidate that best understands how, for sustainable communities and climate action, we need to integrate issues of land use, transportation choice, housing and green space to support decisions that address environmental quality, stormwater, equity, quality of life, and especially climate, while keeping the town fiscally viable. Development decisions are a great deal of Council’s work, and Stegman has demonstrated knowledge and decisions to appropriately balance density and green space, interconnected with transit and bike-ped infrastructure to enable people to safely get around without cars. Her essay on trees explains how decisions for a town’s development and function involves difficult tradeoffs, and wisely notes “We owe it to the trees we do remove to make the most of the spaces where they used to be. Density allows us to limit the development footprint, preserve more trees, combat climate change, and take care of our people, too.”
The Daily Tar Heel
- “Karen Stegman’s experience on Town Council as a powerful advocate for affordable housing and community safety make her a viable candidate for a second term. During her time on the Council, she has helped launch the Criminal Justice Debt Fund and the Re-Imagining Community Safety Task Force. As a queer woman dedicated to inclusivity and town unity, we endorse Stegman for her clear and decisive plans to move Chapel Hill forward.”
NEXT NC ACTION FUND
Karen Stegman:
- Excellent grasp of the broad issues facing the town and how the town operates.
- Taps into staff expertise, puts in the work, and communicates with the public well.
- Champions new ideas to advance justice like the Criminal Justice Debt Program.
The Hank Anderson, Fred Battle, James Britain, Yonnie Chapman, Nate Davis, Al McSurely & Bill Thorpe Breakfast Club
ORANGE COUNTY PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS
EQUALITY NORTH CAROLINA
Action Fund PAC
VICTORY FUND
BOLD PROGRESSIVES
Karen Stegman:
2021 Progressive Change Campaign Committee Champion
#VOTEPROCHOICE
Karen Stegman:
- “You’re the only candidate who #VOTEPROCHOICE has chosen to support in this race.”