Meet The Radical Democrats Running In Small Town North Carolina

Last week, the Blue Ridge Times reported on five key municipal races that will provide helpful insights into the current political environment. This Tuesday, North Carolinians will head to the polls to vote in over 550 city, town, and village elections across the state. In this piece we want to take a deeper dive into some of the radical Democrats running in suburban areas.  

Here are two races we wanted to highlight with some particularly radical Democrats.  

Graham Mayor 

Republican incumbent Mayor Jennifer Talley, who is a small business owner and advocate for law enforcement is running for re-election. The NC Police Benevolent Association weighed in on this race, endorsing the entire Republican slate. Since becoming Mayor, she has helped increase tax revenue through economic growth, while pushing for lower tax rates.  

Her Democrat opponent, in contrast, is widely out of step with small-town North Carolina values. Her opponent, Chelsea Dickey, is a community organizer who helped lead the protests that rocked the small town of Graham in 2020. Here is a sampling of her outrageous anti-police posts: 

Holly Springs 

As we discussed in our previous reporting, Holly Springs Republicans are running on an experienced slate that prioritizes economic growth and public safety. A key strategy has been attracting more businesses, which leads to increased tax revenue to fund expansion, without raising rates on residents. 

In contrast, the Democrats are running on an anti-growth agenda that lacks experience to guide the town through its period of growth. The Democrat Mayoral Nominee, Mike Kondratick, is running on an aggressive anti-development agenda that would crush the economic growth that has allowed for growth without tax increases. Democrat City Council candidate Annie Drees continues to call for higher fees, in contrast to the Republican who committed to not raising fees. Finally, Democrat City Council Candidate Kara Foster is running on the platform of “being tired of listening to old white men.”