Cabe, Murrell won judge positions and two bonds passed

At the bottom of the ballots in Orange County, voters decided to support two bond referendums.

Orange County schools

With 75.5 percent of the vote, Orange County residents passed a $120 million bond for the improvement of capacity and security for Orange County Schools.

Specifically, the bond will provide Chapel Hill High, Lincoln Center, Phoenix Academy High, Cedar Ridge High and Orange High with major renovations and maintenance improvements.

The money will go to transportation and renovations to expand the schools’ capacities. The renovations will also address critical maintenance issues.

“I automatically vote for schools,” said Laurel Urton, a Chapel Hill resident.

Affordable housing

A second bond worth $5 million also passed, though there was some confusion surrounding the bill’s wording.

More than 65 percent of Orange County residents voted yes to the bond, which will go toward the construction of 1,000 affordable housing units.

“Although it was oddly worded, I voted yes for them to pay for school facilities because that would benefit the schools in this area, and I said no to affordable housing because I didn’t know exactly what the $5 million would be used for, and I didn’t want to vote for something I didn’t know that much about,” said UNC senior Rachel McMillen.

A total of 50,541 people voted for the bond.

“We need affordable housing in Chapel Hill and that would be a plus and it costs a lot of money to rent around here,” said Robert Williams, a Chapel Hill resident.

North Carolina District Court Judge 15A

Samantha Cabe beat Sam Cooper for a seat as a district court judge for Chatham and Orange Counties.

She received 60.9 percent of the vote, compared to Cooper’s 39.1 percent.

Cooper and Cabe were both running for a judicial seat for the first time.

North Carolina District Court Judge 15B

Sherri Murrell won her seat as a district judge for Chatham and Orange Counties after her competitor, Lunsford Long, suspended his re-election campaign.

Long, an incumbent, quit his campaign due to a state-mandated retirement age of 72, which means he would have aged out if he won re-election.

Murrell carried 75.8 percent of the vote.

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