Andrea Cazales’s first job after graduation was working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Duke Regional Hospital, and she’s been there ever since. 

Cazales said many babies born in the NICU don’t have homes to go to. Families tell her stories about suffering from food insecurity and the inability to pay rent. 

These experiences taught her that the challenges facing families in the NICU are rooted in larger systems, rather than individual failure. These issues exist in the social determinants of health: housing, food and neighborhood safety, showing health is shaped by more than medical care.

Now, the Duke NICU nurse and Ph.D. student is running for Durham City Council’s Ward 1 seat. 

Last year in November, Cazales had signed up for a five-day self-care retreat for Latinas to find a community that shared her background and experiences in the U.S. She met Connie Chavez, a media manager for the Working Families Party, a progressive minor political party that aims to build power for the multiracial working class by getting them involved in politics. Chavez asked if Cazales had ever considered running for office, to which she declined. 

The idea caught on. Other retreat attendees began calling her “Councilwoman Andrea,” telling her repeatedly to run.

“For me, it was that moment in Guatemala, just getting to know myself really deeply and spiritually, and connecting with those other women. I realized that, yeah, I can do it,” Cazales said.

She returned home to Durham and got to work. She attended council meetings and work sessions and studied the council’s focus on public safety, infrastructure and community well-being, which aligned with her background and values.  

With these values at heart, she announced her campaign in May 2024. 

As the Ward 1 race unfolds, Angie Santiago, a Durham resident and health care administrator, is asking whether anyone besides incumbent DeDreana Freeman could be effective in the role. 

Cazales and Freeman support similar progressive priorities, specifically surrounding housing, equity and community welfare. Santiago said the lack of competitiveness between the two candidates is replaced by a collaborative dynamic that is not often seen in Durham politics. 

Freeman, a Ward 1 resident, is highly involved with the neighborhood’s community. Santiago said she expects Freeman to remain highly engaged even if she is not reelected to city council.

“She’s still going to be in Ward 1. You know what I mean? She’s still going to be a community worker within Ward 1,” Santiago said. “So if it’s not DeDreana and it is Andrea, I think Andrea would be a stronger person to build those new relationships than the other candidates.”

Cazales has distinguished herself with her emphasis on collectivist ideals and solutions. When she began her studies at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2015, she said she chose to study nursing because she saw the career as an extension of the values her family instilled in her: care, community and connection. 

To Cazales, being on city council means being able to help people “at an environmental level,” which could make a greater impact than medical care alone. In her campaign, she has emphasized being a caregiver and providing transparency to the community. 

“I think for me, it’s always making sure that people are seen, heard and included in the process, especially people that often don’t see themselves,” she said. 

Her priorities include infrastructure and affordable housing, better medical access, expanded youth programs, demonstrating the linkage between resident health and city policymaking and more civic opportunities for historically excluded residents. 

Santiago said she was struck by Cazales’s thoughtful presence and eloquence when she heard her speak at Fiesta Latina, an annual community festival held at Durham Central Park. 

Santiago said that what stuck out to her the most about Cazales’s speech was her warning about development: Corporate developers move from city to city, build projects and then repackage culture to sell back. Santiago said this is an accurate representation of the crossroads Durham is standing at. 

Cazales said she plans to combat the disconnect between developers and long-time Durham community members with research to provide streamlined information. She has witnessed the “jargon” in city council meetings that make it difficult for people to understand the decisions being made for their community. 

“The other thing about Andrea’s campaign is she pauses before she speaks and thinks through what her statement is going to be and backs it up with information, rather than just opinion,” Santiago said. “And that’s something we haven’t seen in a while, not really coming in with a pet project or particular vision, other than steadiness, understanding what the issues are, researching deeper into it and then coming up with some collaborative solutions to address those.”

However, Quinny Sanchez Lopez, a social worker and Durham resident, said she was initially skeptical of Cazales when she announced her run due to her lack of experience. She also said that many people don’t view health as an aspect of their day-to-day needs, which may leave gaps in understanding Cazales’s health-based campaign. 

“I think there could be more language to connect the things that she has researched and worked on, to emphasize how that is integral to what somebody in a City Council position needs to know and address,” Sanchez Lopez said. 

Over time, Lopez said she came to admire Cazales’s ability to listen, face criticism and not turn her back on what she believes Durham needs. 

“I think it would be really wasted resources if whoever is elected didn’t try to have her in some form of leadership capacity,” Sanchez Lopez said.

The primary election for the Durham City Council is Oct. 7, 2025. Early voting for this primary is taking place from Sept. 18 to Oct. 4, 2025. Voters can cast ballots for mayor and a city council representative for all three wards, regardless of which ward they reside in.