Durham City Council candidates Chelsea Cook and Shanetta Burris both saw victories in Ward 3 and Ward 2, respectively, while incumbent DeDreana Freeman lost her seat to City Council Ward I candidate Matt Kopac. 

The three gathered alongside friends, family and community members Tuesday night at Old North Bar in downtown Durham as election results came out. Cook said the group decided to share their watch party with one another because they have collaborated over shared goals on land use policy in the past. 

“I think there’s a real division over who we’re going to prioritize moving forward, either it’s going to be the real people of Durham, or corporate interests,” Cook said. “These are folks that I feel like are going to prioritize Durham.”

While Cook and Burris won, Tuesday night saw Freeman lose her seat in what former Mayoral Candidate Marshall Williams calls a “power vacuum,” as resistance to age and power grows amongst voters across the nation.

This sentiment was reflected in another election occurring farther north with the successful election of underdog Zohran Mamdani in New York’s mayoral election. 

“There are a lot of campaigns to look towards,” Kaufman said about Mamdani’s campaign, alongside other democratic wins that evening, such as Ilhan Omar in Minneapolis, “and I see that in people like Chelsea. [They’re] one of the most incredible and down-to-earth folks I’ve met.”

Regarding those who are replacing previous politicians in the power vacuum he sees forming, Williams thinks that “DeDreana is already there, Shanetta is already there. Shanetta ousting Mark-Anthony signifies the start of something cracking.”

He describes these three as “anti-status quo” candidates who prioritize the interests of the working class rather than those of the commercial class.

About a mile south of Old North Bar, candidates Leo Williams and Mark-Anthony Middleton shared a similar event in a very different space. Ekhaya restaurant’s outdoor area was lined with heat lamps, cameras from various local news sites, and a DJ behind a colorfully lit-up turntable. Attired in their signature suits and ties, Leo and Mark-Anthony reflected their guests’ formal wardrobes.

A different energy filled the space– guests clustered in small groups around the heat lamps, accessorized with craft cocktails in hand, their voices often drowned out by the music. 

In comparison, people and laughter spilled out of the smaller, dingier Old North Bar onto a hot dog and concessions stand on the street outside, where crowds could be seen conversing, hugging and eating hot dogs from a stand set up for the event.

Despite its smaller size, former mayoral candidate Charlitta Burruss described the energy as “on fire,” expressing that the candidates at this party were people whom she trusted to be compassionate and listen to community members.

“Chelsea Cook was doing phenomenal work before [they] got elected,” Burruss said. “[They have] really proven that [they] really care about people, especially about the last bill [they] just passed.”

Burruss also said that both Cook and Burris are approachable people and they “live the life we live.”

Maggie Mcninch contributed to reporting on this story.