Sammy Slade to run for Carrboro Board of Aldermen

POSTED BY STAFF WRITER JULIAN MARCH

Sammy Slade has become the first challenger to jump into the Carrboro Board of Aldermen race.

In an outdoor gathering under a soft patter of rain, Slade announced his candidacy tonight to about 45 supporters in the Carrboro Community Garden off Hillsborough Road. Slade helped found the garden, located in the town's Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

"I believe I have much to offer Carrboro," he said. Expanding participation in the town's decisions will be a mainstay in his campaign, he said.

Slade, 35, is a community organizer, urban farmer and a carpenter and estimated he spends 60 percent of his time volunteering. He is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Carrboro Greenspace, a group that promotes community, sustainability and public space that all can enjoy. He has been involved with the Orange County Democratic Party, including serving as a precinct chairman.

After growing up in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and then doing some traveling, Slade decided, "this is one of the best places I can be."

Slade read from a prepared statement but otherwise deferred comment on particular issues. "I plan to spend the summer laying out the details of my platform," he said. "I look forward to an active campaign in the fall, meeting the voters, and discussing the issues with them."

The Carrboro mayor and three alderman seats are up for re-election in November. The official filing period starts July 6.