As a result of a Board of Elections blunder, Jamezetta Bedford thought she was running unopposed for the two-year seat on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education — but she actually faces seven other candidates.
The Orange County Board of Elections thought the school board held independent races for its four- and two-year positions.
Then, last week, the board was alerted to a 35-year-old law unique to the district that requires the candidates to compete in one pool — so the first four finishers will win four-year term seats and the fifth will win the two-year term.
That means Bedford, current chairwoman of the school board, must compete and could be elected to the longer term.
“My first reaction was ‘Wow, this is a big screw-up,’” she said. Bedford said she is fine with the possibility of serving a longer term, but she would have done everything differently had she known she faced competition.
“I would have campaigned,” Bedford said. “I’ve lost three and a half months when I could have been fundraising, creating a website, using Facebook, holding coffee meetings … and basically campaigning.”
Other candidates said her incumbency and name recognition will help her in the election.
“Things like not having signs up and knocking on doors is not going to be a big obstacle to her,” said James Barrett, a school board candidate.
But Bedford’s entry means four incumbents are running, which could hurt lesser-known candidates’ shot at the longer terms.
