Long-serving Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell announced last week that she will not seek re-election. In her statement, Ms. Haven-O’Donnell talks about the timing of her decision and the areas she wants to focus her time on going forward. The Carrborean asked her about her decision, what Carrboro needs now, and what her civic engagement will look like after her term. This is an edited summary of an invigorating conversation and I want to thank the Council Member for her decades of service in elected office in Carrboro and for her time discussing these issues with me.

Our discussion began with Ms. Haven-O’Donnell noting there are certain things town governance can do and certain things it cannot do. After the general election in November, she thought about how municipalities would be limited in how they could respond to anticipated changes in government and civic life. After observing drastic changes to federal government and its support for states and communities this year, she made up her mind to work on building sustainability and resilience locally.

At this inflection point, she wants to take all of the skills she has learned over decades of activism and community and public service—organizing skills, communication skills, leadership skills, and lessons from history—and bring those to bear on the task at hand. She feels a particular urgency to engage directly with this work amidst a political and cultural climate that many would agree is divisive with new federal policies that disrupt communities. An active participant in the civil rights movement, she referred to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work to build coalitions for civil rights and noted his understanding of the power of unity that was inherent to that approach. She maintains, “the only way through is with unity.”

Ms. Haven-O'Donnell believes the timing of her transition is right for her and for Carrboro, noting that when you can see that your community needs something and you have a certain skill set that can respond to that, then you need to use your skills to address it.

“You don’t go high, you go deep and right to what the people need.” She draws similarities between building resilience and the work of USAID and community-based medical programs. "They take it right to the people. This is no different. We need to give people the tools they need so they can be resilient.”

“My view is, we’re all in this together.” She believes we have to work as a collective to make changes and cites the importance of small local gatherings--kitchen table conversations--to learn what is important to people and what affects their lives.

The Carrborean’s kitchen table is available! Thank you, Council Member Haven-O'Donnell!

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Three candidates are running unopposed for the three open seats on Town Council and The Carrborean will invite each of them to answer a few questions over the coming weeks so you get to know them and their hopes for Carrboro.