Khalilah Karim, candidate for Durham City Council, takes your questions
A pivotal election is underway in Durham, with voters set to choose a new mayor and fill three City Council seats this fall.
There are 12 people competing for the City Council seats, including two incumbents.
A primary is being held to narrow the field. Early voting in the primary runs through Oct. 7 and Primary Day is Oct. 10.
The top six candidates will proceed to the general election in November.
Terms last four years. The seats are at-large, which means candidates can live anywhere in the city.
We collected questions from residents across Durham to help readers get to know the candidates.
Khalilah Karim
Name: Khalilah Karim
Age: 42
Occupation: Environmental organizer
Website: khalilahfordurham.com
Are we paying people competitively and keeping our promises to our workers?
- East Durham resident Aidil Ortiz
No. The city has fallen behind peer cities in worker pay in recent years, and this should be corrected as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing the results of the pay study that the city is doing this year and will support significant increases in worker pay if elected to council.
Do you have any experience that helps you understand development in Durham? How do you plan to get more affordable units in the city?
- Planning commissioner Zuri Williams
I’ve worked as an organizer for over a decade, working for concrete wins for working folks. During this time, I’ve pushed for policy around development that would bring transparency to the bidding process, and hold developers to have better hiring practices that will benefit Durham residents. We need public-private partnerships, low-income housing tax credits, pathways to homeownership, rental assistance and fair wages for Durham to have more affordable units in the city.
As Durham grows more dense, how do we get away from the classic American model of car-oriented development? Are there any policies that you support that can keep us from becoming another Atlanta or Dallas?
- Downtown resident Nirav Patel
Durham has grown rapidly, and unfortunately, we’ve done so in an incredibly unsustainable way, with sprawling developments in rural Durham County. Such sprawl is difficult to build efficient infrastructure for and, ultimately, leaves our residents increasingly dependent on cars. In order to mitigate this sort of development, we have to increase density in the urban core. As we do so, we need to invest in infrastructure to support multi-modal transportation. With better access to bike lanes, sidewalks, and efficient busing, our citizens will be able to move around town without car dependency.
What policies do you support for implementing safer streets and reducing car dependency locally and regionally?
- Stadium Heights resident Nick Roberts
With the Inflation Reduction Act, there is federal money available for the investments that Durham needs. Specifically, Durham needs to focus on multi-modal transportation, including infrastructure investments that would provide for bike lines, sidewalks and bus rapid transit.
What will you do to support the mental health needs of everyday Durham residents, especially thousands of young people in our public school systems?
- Hillside High School senior Isaiah Palmer
I will push for all Durham residents to have access to the resources and tools needed to support their mental health. Our youth (and everybody) need the ability to build community. This includes having access to parks, rec centers, and other amenities, as well as the infrastructure to get there like bike lanes and sidewalks. We also need to work with our public schools to invest in workforce development and free up funds for schools to invest in counselors, social-emotional learning, and all support necessary for our children to remain connected to school and truly thrive.
In your vision for the city, what role does public education play and how does that connect to economic development, public safety and community health?
- Fayetteville Street corridor resident Erika Wilkins
I’m proud to be endorsed by sitting members from every elected body in Durham, including the Durham Board of Education. Ultimately, this is collaborative work, and we will need to work together to ensure our schools, our workforce training, our community college, etc. are all working together to prepare our youth for futures outside of school. Study after study shows that investments in youth pay off in terms of crime prevention.
On the subject of alleged Clean Water Act violations in Falls Lake and its tributaries: How did we get here and who should be held responsible? Who is going to pay for the creek restoration and environmental damage?
- Southeast Durham resident Pam Andrews
Right now Durham is facing a couple of environmental hazards that feel like they should have been caught, with lead in our parks to PFAS in our water. We need to make sure the city is doing regular testing and developers are adhering to Durham environmental protection standards. If not, they should be held responsible and tasked with the restoration of what they destroyed.
How have you seen Durham evolve in your time here and what’s one thing you’ll have the power to change if elected?
- The News & Observer
Since I moved to Durham nine years ago, I have watched the price of housing skyrocket. Middle-class and working families are getting priced out and displaced. Black homeownership in Durham is decreasing for the first time ever. Creating paths to homeownership and wealth-building for Black working and middle-class families is incredibly important to me and a concrete win I believe I could accomplish on City Council.
To find polling places and full details on voting, visit the Board of Elections at dcovotes.com or 919-560-0700.
