Election Day is March 5, and voters living in Orange County Commissioner District 2 will have the opportunity to vote in the primary election for the the Board of County Commissioners.
The Board is a seven-member governing body for Orange County. Four Board seats are up for election in 2024.
Democratic voters will see three candidates for one of the District 2 seats on their ballots: Adam Beeman, Horace H. Johnson Jr., and incumbent Phyllis Portie-Ascott. Republican voters will not see BOCC candidates on their ballots because the Republican Candidate, Nathan Robinson, is running unopposed in the primary.
Beeman currently represents Cedar Grove as chair of the Orange County Planning Board and is a member of the County's Board of Adjustment. His platform includes investing in trade schools, reducing traffic, improving wastewater treatment and promoting equal representation in the BOCC for Districts 1 and 2.
Johnson is a community organizer who has worked on several projects in Orange County. His platform includes promoting public safety through gun control, improving schools and creating living-wage jobs.
Portie-Ascott was appointed to the Board in a unanimous vote on Feb. 7, 2023. Her platform includes expanding housing options, promoting workforce development programs and supporting the mental healthcare system.
Two District 1 seats and one At-Large seat will also be up for election in November but will not appear on ballots during the primaries. This is because the candidates running for these seats — Jean Hamilton, Marilyn Carter and Amy Fowler, respectively — are running unopposed.
While the primary Board elections are held by district, the race will be county-wide in the November general election.
