Anjanée Bell is hoping to expand the family legacy by making her own mark as Durham’s next mayor. She’s following the path of her father, William V. “Bill” Bell, who served as mayor from 2001 to 2017.

Anjanée Bell is going up against incumbent Leo Williams, as well as newcomers Pablo Friedmann, Rafiq Zaidi and Lloyd Phillips, for the Durham mayoral race in November, a seat she chose to run for after feeling a sense of dissatisfaction after Williams won in 2023’s Municipal General Election.

But, Anjanée Bell isn’t a politician — at least, not yet. She’s a dancer.

Raised in Durham, she taught dance in the Durham Public Schools district from 2001 to 2016, the same period that her father served as mayor. Following her time as an educator, she founded and stood as the executive director of the Bellan Contemporary Dance Theater. She also served as the executive producer of HEROES in the Park — a celebration of her father’s retirement and the people who make a difference in Durham — and served as the Director of Dance and Outreach for the NC Arts Council. Most recently, she stood as the director of North Carolina State Park’s Arts in the Parks program.

Anjanée Bell may not be bringing political expertise into the race, but her experiences prepared her in a different way.

“Because I’ve lived in the dance, competitive, performative space and some of the lessons I’ve learned by competing, that’s why this doesn’t faze me at all,” she said.

Anjanée Bell said she always had an understanding and appreciation for mayoral responsibilities from watching her father in office. So when she felt unsatisfied with Durham’s political leaders, she said she didn’t think about running for a council seat or looking at different positions. She thought about her father’s time as mayor and the years of service he contributed toward making Durham a better place.

Bill Bell said he was surprised to hear his daughter’s intent to run.

“She’s more inclined towards the artistic side of things in the community, and even growing up, she didn’t seem to be really involved in anything that I was doing,” he said.

That said, he supports Anjanée Bell’s campaign and thinks she has the personality and abilities needed to be mayor.

“You’ve got to be able to listen and understand that you aren’t always the smartest person at the table, and take that in consideration when you’re dealing with people and learn from it,” he said. “She has the ability.”

Anjanée Bell’s platform, “Durham is H.O.P.E.” is broken into four pillars: “Housing & Healing,” “Opportunity & Ownership,” “People’s Safety & People’s Trust” and “Environment & Education.”

Some of the commitments listed on her campaign website under the Housing & Healing pillar include working to protect residents from unjust evictions, prioritizing land for affordable mixed-income housing and partnering with “community-based, mission aligned” developers.

Anjanée Bell said although development is required for growth, she thinks leadership must emphasize sustainable projects. She said she thinks it’s important to learn how to support the people of Durham.

“I’m not talking about the people that might be thinking about coming to the city because we haven’t seen them yet, but right now, we have the people who are choosing the city,” she said. “How are we treating them? How are we making sure that we have room for them? How are we making sure that they have what they need to remain in this city?”

Durham resident Tom Miller has known Anjanée Bell’s parents for decades but truly became familiar with Anjanée Bell after her campaign launched.

Now retired, Miller formerly worked in real estate regulation as a government official. He’s worried that in pursuing development, Durham is losing its character — a concern Anjanée Bell also voiced.

Miller resonates deeply with Anjanée Bell’s stance on development. He wants officials like her who care about correcting the balance between wealthy developers and ordinary people.

“I believe that she will be an advocate always for the people who have the most difficult time advocating for themselves,” he said. “And that’s what, in my opinion, will make a good, rich Durham community.”

Under the Opportunity & Ownership section of her campaign site, Anjanée Bell states her desire to invest in community-rooted entrepreneurship. In terms of Environment & Education, she plans to expand green spaces, address sanitation around construction sites and hold developers accountable in repairing public projects.

The remaining policy segment, People’s Safety & People’s Trust, involves strengthening recruitment and retention in law enforcement, expanding non-police crisis response and investing in public health-centric approaches to safety.

In order to promote safety, Anjanée Bell said Durham needs to listen to diverse voices that have been touched by crime or violence. She said all people need to feel safe in their communities, schools, families and places of worship.

“Even in the spirit of our law enforcement, it’s important that those who choose to protect and serve, they feel the same safety that we [do] as a community,” she said.

Anjanée Bell said her campaign is primarily funded through donations. She’s received endorsements from The Triangle Central Labor Council and the North Carolina State AFL-CIO — along with one from Bill Bell.

“My father keeps very clear lines, so for the simple fact that whenever he stands for something, you can trust it,” she said. “I had to earn that endorsement.”

Bill Bell said he made sure to stay out of his daughter’s campaign before deciding to endorse Anjanée Bell after the two began receiving questions about his support. He made it clear that it’s her campaign, not his.

“She’s my daughter and she is doing something that she feels very strongly about and she wanted to do,” he said.

Durham resident and former city council member Jackie Wagstaff said she spoke with Anjanée Bell and felt an energy she hasn’t felt under the current leadership. Since then, Wagstaff has been supporting Anjanée Bell’s campaign by putting up signs, attending forums and volunteering in any capacity needed.

Wagstaff had no issues with Bill Bell as a person, but she didn’t agree with his politics.

But Anjanée Bell isn’t her father.

“I never voted for him,” Wagstaff said. “I can tell you that right now. But I believe that this young lady right here, I think that she’s grounded in the right place.”

Durham’s 2025 Municipal Primary Election will be conducted on Oct. 7. Absentee-by-mail voting is currently active, and early voting will continue until Oct. 4.

The General Election will be held on Nov. 4, with absentee-by-mail voting beginning on Oct. 3 and early voting being conducted from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1.

Edited by Melodi Carty and Jesse Carrico