Durham City Council
In This Page:
- Structure — members, elections, and meetings
- Contact info — addresses and emails
- Viewpoints — key concerns and voting records
NOTE:To find out more about the rezoning and public hearing process, go to our Process section.
Structure
Durham City Council is made up of seven members: three members from specific wards, three at-large members and the Mayor. Members serve staggered 4-year terms; elections are held in odd-numbered years. The Mayor serves a 2-year term.
Visit Durham City Council's website
3 At Large, 3 from Wards
All City Council members are elected by citywide vote. Three are elected based on where they live: in Ward 1, 2, or 3. See Ward Map in JPG format (big) or PDF format (enormous). The three At-Large members can live anywhere in the city.
Odd-Year Elections
Nonpartisan elections are held in odd-numbered years. The next election will be November 2005 (primary in October), with Mr Clement, Mr Best, Ms Cole-McFadden, and Mayor Bell up for re-election.
City Council Meetings
The City Council has open sessions twice a month, and work sessions on the off weeks. Agendas and Minutes are available online. Meetings are open to the public, but citizens must sign up in advance to speak. See City Council's website for how to participate in public hearings.
Contact Info
Individual City Council Members
Howard Clement, 2505 E. Weaver Street, Durham, NC 27707
hclement@ci.durham.nc.us
John Best, 2206 Conestoga Dr, Durham, NC 27705
jpbestjr@aol.com
Thomas Stith, 222 Shalimar Drive, Durham, NC 27713
tstith@ci.durham.nc.us
Eugene Brown, 410 N. Buchanan Blvd, Durham, NC 27701
ebrown@ci.durham.nc.us
Diane Catotti, 4147 Deepwood Circle, Durham, NC 27707
diane.catotti@durham.nc.gov
Cora Cole-McFadden, 5613 Old Well Street, Durham, NC 27704
ccole-mcfadden@ci.durham.nc.us
Mayor William "Bill" Bell, 1003 Huntsman Drive, Durham, NC 27713
bbell@ci.durham.nc.us
Entire City Council
email: council@ci.durham.nc.us
Postal mail: Office of the City Council, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701 (but mail sent to their homes may be more likely to be read)
Viewpoints
A Split Council
"The [2003] election leaves three Durham City Council members in the pro-growth camp (John Best Jr., Howard Clement, Thomas Stith) and three on the more controlled growth side (Cora Cole-McFadden, Diane Catotti and Mayor Bill Bell). That leaves Brown, a real estate agent who has said he supports better-managed growth, in the swing position."
—Independent Weekly, altweeklies.comIt's worth noting that in the 2003 election, Catotti came in first, Brown second, Stith third.
Pro-Development Side
City Council Member Howard Clement lives in Ward 2, over near NC Central. Ward 2 also includes the Woodcroft/Woodlake area. He's up for re-election this fall!
City Council Member John Best lives in the sprawling, meandering Ward 3. His home is in northwestern Durham, near 751 and US-70 / Hillsborough Rd. Vigorously pro-developer. He's up for re-election this fall!
At-Large Member Thomas Stith lives in the developments south of 54 and east of Barbee Rd, not far from Mayor Bell! The two of them are our closest neighbors on City Council. Stith has been considering running for Lt Governor on the Republican ticket. He's been called "a darling of development interests".
Controlled Growth Side
At-Large City Council member Diane Catotti was elected in 2003 on an anti-development platform. She lives in the South Square area.
Mayor Pro-Tem Cora Cole-McFadden lives in Ward 1 (which covers mostly northern Durham) and lives way north of Durham (Latta Rd area). She is also up for re-election this fall. In addition to "smart growth", she is also concerned about decent affordable housing, tied in with crime reduction.
Mayor William "Bill" Bell is also up for re-election. He lives in the developments south of 54 and east of Barbee Rd. He has a reputation for building coalitions, and tends to vote on the "controlled growth" side. As Mayor, he serves a 2-year term, and is up for re-election this fall.
Swing Vote
At-Large Member Eugene Brown lives north of downtown, is a real estate professional, and was active in the effort to reduce the size of City Council.