Endorsements are out for the upcoming March 3 election from the Friends of Durham, and they diverge from other local endorsing groups in several school board races and the race for district attorney.
“We feel that this is the most consequential election in this cycle,” Jewell said of the district attorney race, “And we feel strongly that there needs to be a new district attorney.”
One of Durham’s long-established political action committees, the group has endorsed candidates since the late 1980s. The Friends are generally considered more conservative than Durham’s other two venerable PACs, the People’s Alliance and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People.
Friends of Durham is backing Jonathan Wilson for District Attorney. Wilson also has the endorsement of the Durham Committee.
For the school board, the group supports Dilcy Burton in District 1, current chair Bettina Umstead in District 2, Pete Crawford in District 3, and former board member Xavier Cason in District 4. The group is also backing incumbent Clarence Birkhead for Sheriff and Aminah Thompson for Superior Court Clerk.
The Friends’ endorsements for Sheriff, Superior Court Clerk, and School Board District 4 align with those of the Durham Committee and the People’s Alliance. The group also joins ranks with the Durham Committee on School Board District 2.
The group’s heightened focus on the DA’s race reflects dissatisfaction about public safety in Durham, said Jewell.
“We think there’s a culture that is set by the district attorney’s office that unfortunately allows [for crimes] to happen because folks think they can get away with it and are not going to be prosecuted for it. … We think that’s directly reflected in the fact that downtown right now is not as lively and vibrant as it was, and it should have bounced back from COVID, but it is not.”
“The impacts … ripple down from the DA’s office to actual relationships to crime,” Jewell said.
Jewell criticized Durham County’s handling of a 2025 case in which incumbent Satana Deberry’s office reduced four felony charges to a single misdemeanor for a man with a 20-year criminal history. In January, the man was charged with murdering a local teacher.
Unlike some other local groups, the Friends’ endorsement process does not involve all the group’s members. Instead, the endorsements reflect the views of the steering committee.
“We make our endorsements based on pretty in-depth interviews with the candidates,” Jewell. “Fortunately, this cycle, every one of the candidates for school board, district attorney, and sheriff agreed to an interview.”
“Almost everyone … has owned a business or managed large organizations or portions of large organizations over the years,” Jewell said of the group. “Some of them have sat on elected boards in the past. So we think that those people bring really good perspectives on what it takes to make a good school board member or City Council member or Sheriff or county commissioner.”
Between mid-January and early February, small groups of nine to 15 members of the Friends’ steering committee conducted 30-minute interviews with candidates. They then provided preliminary recommendations to the full steering committee of around 25 people, who made the final decisions.
According to Jewell, topics covered included economic development and investment in public safety, among other issues.
“We’re firm believers in expanding the tax base rather than raising the tax rates, which means we are supportive of good growth in Durham that actually provides more tax base to the city and the county,” Jewell said. “We are extremely supportive of allowing opportunities for new businesses to start up and move into Durham, primarily because they create new jobs. So we asked candidates questions about where they sit on growth and city investment in infrastructure that would then turn into incentivizing new businesses starting up in Durham.”
Regarding Durham Public Schools, Jewell pointed to decreasing enrollment and achievement scores as key issues his group asked candidates about.
Notably, the group only makes endorsements for local elections. This means Friends of Durham did not endorse any candidates for N.C.’s 4th Congressional District. Jewell names two key reasons.
“We think that people in Durham can have a bigger voice in their city and their county and their future by focusing on [local races],” he said. “We reach out and invite every one of the candidates to interview with us. … We can’t do that with all of the state-level candidates, and we certainly can’t do that with the national candidates.”
Above: Photos of Jonathan Wilson (left) and District Attorney Satana Deberry (right) by Lena Nguyen — The 9th Street Journal
Angela Chen
