{"id":11635,"date":"2024-02-29T20:23:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11635"},"modified":"2024-02-29T20:23:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:23:01","slug":"meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editors\u2019 Note: Eleven candidates \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 are vying for five seats on the Durham County Board of Commissioners in the March 5 election. No Republicans or Libertarians have entered the contest, so the March 5 results will determine who sits on the commission. The 9th Street Journal is profiling candidates in the race.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Renee Vaughan never pictured herself running for office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNever say never,\u201d she says, chuckling. Vaughan, a certified research administrator for the Duke University School of Medicine, is one of 11 Democratic candidates vying for five Durham County Commissioner seats this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI don\u2019t consider myself a politician,\u201d she says. \u201cI ran because I was really concerned about affordable housing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan\u2019s housing advocacy stems from her time working in her native West Virginia.\u00a0 While serving as the executive director of a local nonprofit she met a woman who, after losing her job and her home, was considering taking her own life. \u201cHad she not been able to receive help, that was the direction she was going,\u201d Vaughan says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor so many people, we forget that our homes represent our lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan says this experience launched her passion for housing equity issues. \u201cIt was one of the reasons why I wanted to work with people facing crisis,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan later helped distribute food and relocate unhoused people to hotel rooms through her church. Vaughan, who holds a master\u2019s in divinity from Regent University, then applied to be a member of the City of Durham\u2019s Homeless Services Advisory Committee, where she is now in her second term.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan says she would advocate for policies to increase and maintain Durham\u2019s existing housing stock, including creating a single platform <\/span> where Durham residents can view the statuses of different housing initiatives across the county.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan wants to expand initiatives like “tiny house” communities in Durham, to provide \u201canother entry for affordable living.\u201d She would also advocate for increased funding for other facets of affordable living, like public transportation and home weatherization programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even as a potential county commissioner, Vaughan doesn\u2019t believe Durham County is solely responsible for creating these initiatives. Instead, she would like to see combined efforts by public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it has to be all of the above,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have so many different types of things underway, but we can\u2019t do it in silos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan previously ran for City Council in 2023. She lost that race, but says her passion for housing issues fueled her to run for Durham County Commissioner this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

As she watches the ongoing Durham Public Schools pay dispute, Vaughan says her biggest concern is the impact of school closures on kids and families, but she also worries about the effects on workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Had she been in power, Vaughan says she would have conducted a full investigation of the pay increases and their impacts on budgeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think perhaps the communications came out a little bit too early, and the investigation maybe should have been in place to find solutions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The daughter of a West Virginia coal worker and social worker, Vaughan was introduced to a wide variety of people through her parents. \u201cBetween the two of them, we never knew who would be at our dinner table,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan\u2019s father worked as a safety inspector in West Virginia\u2019s coal mines. \u201cSo you\u2019ve heard the thing about the canary in the coal mine? Well, he was the guy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her respect for her father, who \u201cworked hard and educated his family,\u201d shaped her views on advocating for low-income communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cole-McFadden, the city’s previous Mayor Pro Tempore , served with Vaughan on Durham\u2019s Homeless Services Advisory Committee. On the committee, Cole-McFadden says, Vaughan approaches the application approval process with great attention to detail.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe is very dedicated,\u201d Cole-McFadden says. \u201cShe\u2019s looking at those [applications] \u2026 to make sure that there aren\u2019t things inhibiting equitable access to funds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vaughan, soft-spoken yet assured, says her ability to listen sets her apart from other candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t find her cussing and being bitter \u2014 it\u2019s just not her nature,\u201d Cole-McFadden says. \u201cShe seeks peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Above: Photo of Renee Vaughan by Abigail Bromberger \u2014 The 9th Street Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editors\u2019 Note: Eleven candidates \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 are vying for five seats on the Durham County Board of Commissioners in the March 5 election.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":11638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[392,12],"tags":[269],"class_list":["post-11635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections-2024","category-local-government","tag-the-9th-street-journal","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Editors\u2019 Note: Eleven candidates \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 are vying for five seats on the Durham County Board of Commissioners in the March 5 election.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alison Jones\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alison Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alison Jones\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8e87c6c87252ee31c36dc1903ee36b42\"},\"headline\":\"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\"},\"wordCount\":707,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The 9th Street Journal\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Elections 2024\",\"Local government\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\",\"name\":\"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"description\":\"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"width\":869,\"height\":104,\"caption\":\"9th Street Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8e87c6c87252ee31c36dc1903ee36b42\",\"name\":\"Alison Jones\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aa54b129e782ba40f2b3c13e2d00d91d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aa54b129e782ba40f2b3c13e2d00d91d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alison Jones\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/author\/lauren-pehlivanian\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal","og_description":"Editors\u2019 Note: Eleven candidates \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 are vying for five seats on the Durham County Board of Commissioners in the March 5 election.…","og_url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/","og_site_name":"9th Street Journal","article_published_time":"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alison Jones","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alison Jones","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/"},"author":{"name":"Alison Jones","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8e87c6c87252ee31c36dc1903ee36b42"},"headline":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan","datePublished":"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/"},"wordCount":707,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg","keywords":["The 9th Street Journal"],"articleSection":["Elections 2024","Local government"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/","name":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan - 9th Street Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-29T20:23:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Renee-Vaughan-2-14-24-1-scaled-e1709234046724.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/29\/meet-the-candidate-renee-vaughan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet the candidate: Renee Vaughan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","name":"9th Street Journal","description":"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization","name":"9th Street Journal","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","width":869,"height":104,"caption":"9th Street Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8e87c6c87252ee31c36dc1903ee36b42","name":"Alison Jones","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aa54b129e782ba40f2b3c13e2d00d91d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aa54b129e782ba40f2b3c13e2d00d91d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alison Jones"},"url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/author\/lauren-pehlivanian\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}