Three Head-to-Head Matchups for Orange County Commissioner

GOVERNMENT

By Adam Powell
Correspondent

ORANGE COUNTY – A total of six candidates are vying for three seats on the Orange County Board of Commissioners in the spring 2026 primary, which takes place on Tuesday, March 3.

All six candidates are registered Democrats, with no registered Republicans in the race. This, of course, means that the Democratic primary on March 3, for all intents and purposes, will determine who fills these seats in 2027 and beyond.

Two of the candidates are incumbents, and another is running for a seat on the countywide board after serving on the Chapel Hill Town Council for eight years. The other three candidates have varying levels of experience, which gives them credibility as countywide candidates.

Board of Commissioners at-large District

The at-large position on the Board of Commissioners will, by default, have a new representative come November, as current at-large Commissioner Sally Green announced she was not running for re-election this cycle. The primary race will pit former Chapel Hill Town Council member Karen Stegman against Adam Beeman, a former member of the county’s Planning Board.

Stegman is challenging for the at-large seat on the Board of County Commissioners – a seat that is not bound by specific geographic parameters – after serving nearly two full terms on the Chapel Hill Town Council.

A lifelong resident of Orange County, Stegman attended public schools in Chapel Hill and earned her undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. Although she was required to relinquish her seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council after moving to Carrboro with her family in 2025, she announced her bid for a countywide office this past fall.

A champion of affordable housing, among the accomplishments Stegman cites during her time on the Chapel Hill Town Council from 2017 to 2025 includes the passage of two bonds totaling $25 million to support affordable housing, the funding of approximately 1,400 new housing units throughout Chapel Hill, the approval of a five-year strategy for affordable housing, and the implementation of an expedited zoning process for projects with significant affordable housing.

Beeman served on the Orange County Planning Board from 2017 to 2025 – almost the same period of time in which Stegman served in Chapel Hill. An electrician by trade and the owner of an electrical contracting business in Orange County, Beeman also served on the Orange County Board of Adjustment for two years.

A Cedar Grove resident, this is Beeman’s second attempt at election to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. In 2024, he placed third in the District 2 race, finishing behind current County Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott and Horace Johnson Jr.

“I’m running for the Orange County Board of County Commissioners to make sure this county works for everybody—working families, blue-collar and white-collar workers, small businesses, students, and neighbors in every part of Orange County—not just some of us,” Beeman stated on his campaign website.

Board of Commissioners District 1

In District 1, incumbent Jamezetta Bedford- the current Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners – is being challenged by Maria T. Palmer.

Bedford, who was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2018, is seeking her third term on the county leadership board. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Accounting, Bedford is an accountant by trade who served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education for more than a decade, from 2003 to 2015. She also served as President of the Democratic Women of Orange County from 2016 to 2018, before her election to the Board of Commissioners.

Among the accomplishments that Bedford cites during her nearly eight years on the Board of Commissioners are the county’s $300 million school bond initiative that local voters approved in the fall of 2024, the adoption of a Climate Action Plan in 2023, and the addition of $15 million in the county’s capital plan earmarked specifically for affordable housing.

“I am running for Orange County Commissioner because, as the mother of three, including a daughter with autism, and the grandmother of two, I care deeply about the quality of government service and education we provide to our residents,” Bedford stated on her campaign website.

Although this is Palmer’s first attempt at elected office in Orange County, she is no stranger to the local community.

According to her campaign website, Palmer immigrated to the United States in 1978 and was the first Latina to serve on the North Carolina State Board of Education. As the multicultural director at North Carolina A&T State University, Palmed established the school’s first LGBTQ program and a chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

Palmer, who helped organize the first Fiesta del Pueblo at the Lincoln Center, received the NAACP Trailblazer Award. Palmer is also a faith leader who was invited to preach at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in 2004.

“I am running for County Commissioner because Orange County is facing tremendous challenges caused by rising costs, elimination of State and Federal support for needed projects, and threats to our future sustainability and quality of life,” Palmer stated.

Board of Commissioners District 2

The District 2 race will pit longtime County Commissioner Earl McKee, who has served the people of Orange County for the past decade and a half, against a relative political newcomer, Beth Bronson.

According to his biography on the Orange County website, McKee’s family has roots in Orange County dating back to the mid-1800s. A graduate of North Carolina State University, McKee has run his family’s farm for the last few decades. McKee is running for his fifth term on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, having first been elected to office in 2010. He served as Vice-Chair of the Board in 2014 and 2015, and was elected Chair in 2016.

In addition to his service on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, McKee has served on the Orange County Planning Board, the Triangle J Council of Governments, and the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Orange County, among other countywide and local boards.

According to the biography on Bronson’s campaign website, she is a lifelong resident of rural Orange County who attended the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Society. Bronson has volunteered with the Orange County Planning Advisory Board and the quasi-judicial Board of Adjustments, which, in her words, ‘has given me a first-hand perspective on how policy shapes everyday life.’

Bronson’s capstone research project at UNC-Chapel Hill involved an intensive study of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), where she claims, ‘I learned how governance structures, accountability, and long-term planning affect a growing community.’

“I want to invest my time and effort into Orange County, somewhere I’ve grown up and continue to make my home,” Bronson said. “I’m an ever-vigilant student of our policies and our people. My hope is to help shape the future of our community as your next County Commissioner for District 2!”

When can you vote? Where can you vote? What will you need to vote?

Early voting began on Thursday, February 12, and runs through Saturday, February 28.

Orange County voters can vote early through February 28, except on Saturday, February 21. Local polling sites will be closed on that particular day.

Below are the upcoming early voting dates around Orange County:

Monday, February 16 through Friday, February 20 – 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 21: CLOSED

Sunday, February 22: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Monday, February 23 through Friday, February 27 – 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 28: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Below are the various locations throughout Orange County where early voting is taking place:

—-Chapel Hill Public Library (100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill)

—-Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church (304 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill)

—-Drakeford Library Complex (203 S. Greensboro Street, Carrboro)

—-Efland-Cheeks Community Center (117 Richmond Road, Efland)

—-Orange Works at Hillsborough Commons (113 Mayo Street, Hillsborough, instead of Board of Elections Office)

—-Seymour Senior Center (2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill)

Per existing North Carolina state law, residents will be required to present Voter ID when voting. Many forms of government-issued IDs are considered acceptable, including a passport, driver’s license, or military identification card. For more information, please visit orangecountync.gov/PhotoID.

If you do not have a valid photo ID to vote, you can get a free photo ID for voting purposes from the Orange County Board of Elections Office. To receive such a voting-purpose Voter ID, visit the Orange County Board of Elections Office between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at 208 South Cameron Street in Hillsborough.

For more details, visit orangecountync.gov/Elect, or call (919) 245-2350.

Adam Powell has been a correspondent for The Local Reporter since 2023. A 2001 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Powell has served as managing editor of multiple local publications, including the News of Orange County, the Mebane Enterprise, the Caswell Messenger, and the ACC Sports Journal. The author of four books. Adam currently resides in Mebane with his wife Julie and children Colt and Jenna. This reporter can be reached at:Information@TheLocal Reporter.press