{"id":5643,"date":"2021-09-20T13:45:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T13:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5643"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:38","slug":"mayoral-candidate-javiera-caballero-envisions-a-durham-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/09\/20\/mayoral-candidate-javiera-caballero-envisions-a-durham-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayoral candidate Javiera Caballero envisions a Durham for all"},"content":{"rendered":"
Until a few months ago, Durham City Council member Javiera Caballero had no plans to run for mayor. She was in the middle of serving her four-year term on the council when Mayor Steve Schewel <\/span>unexpectedly announced<\/span><\/a> he would not be running for reelection. After years of public service, Caballero decided to take her leadership to the next level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt created an opportunity and an open seat that I felt compelled to at least try for,\u201d Caballero said of Schewel\u2019s retirement. She\u2019s motivated to continue the mission she began on the City Council to make Durham more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable. The city is on the cusp of unprecedented progress, she believes, and there\u2019s important work to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n Durham\u2019s most pressing challenge is still COVID-19, Caballero said. She and her fellow council members are working hard to vaccinate Durhamites and distribute resources to every neighborhood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond the pandemic, Durham faces a web of interlocking issues that Caballero is determined to face head-on, from gun violence to affordable housing to the need for green infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Caballero moved from Chicago to Durham in 2010 with her husband and children. The city has transformed since then, but some of the biggest changes are still to come, including the implementation of a $95 million dollar <\/span>affordable housing bond<\/span><\/a> and the development of a new <\/span>community safety department<\/span><\/a> that offers alternatives to policing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Caballero worked on both these initiatives as a city council member and is determined to see them through. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that the things we\u2019ve passed actually get implemented effectively,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to ensure that the work I have helped to start continues at the kind of expansive level I know it can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Caballero\u2019s vision for Durham revolves around community engagement and collaboration. Both are necessary to confront challenges like public safety and affordable housing access, she said. If elected mayor, she promises to prioritize transparency and communication.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur systems are designed to be opaque, but we can be intentional about including folks,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cDemocracy doesn\u2019t work if people don\u2019t participate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Caballero\u2019s ability to connect with all pockets of the Durham community is one of her greatest strengths, said Mayor Pro Tempore Jillian Johnson, who serves on the City Council with Caballero and has endorsed her in the mayoral race. \u201cJaviera is able to reach out into communities that have been underserved and unheard in government for a long time,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cShe really cares about everyone who lives here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n