The upcoming municipal election is officially a nonpartisan affair, but town officials and candidates say political parties continue to exert their influence in Chapel Hill.
On election ballots, candidates won’t have their party affiliation listed next to their name. And Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski, who is running for re-election, said party politics should have no place in municipal elections because local issues are much more specific.
“The whole premise is that national platforms don’t have a lot of relevance to the issues in town,” he said. “Whether you’re Democrat, Republican or unaffiliated, the candidates should be evaluated on positions they take specific to our town.”
But this doesn’t stop residents from educating themselves about each candidate’s political affiliations, said Robert Randall, director of the Orange County Republican Party.
“In southern Orange County, voters are pretty diehard socialist liberals and they do their research,” he said. “Once they find out who the conservative is, they vote him out.”
As of October 2010, 52 percent of all registered voters in Orange County were Democrats, while 18 percent were Republicans and 29 percent were unaffiliated.
Matt Hughes, first vice chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said parties endorse candidates to educate the public about who is running.
“Our identification implies what views they may hold in local elections,” Hughes said. “Fostering local economy and local environment, those issues are rooted in party affiliation.”
Czajkowski said he was disappointed in the Orange County Democrats’ 2011 endorsements.
