Diana Medoff, a longtime educator and mother of three, is making her first run for office in Durham’s Ward 3 City Council race. She is one of four candidates vying for the seat this fall, alongside incumbent Chelsea Cook and challengers Durant Long and Terry McCann. 

Medoff positions her candidacy as a chance to create “more” for the city of Durham: “more housing, more jobs, more safety.” She promotes herself as a “problem solver for Durham,” a phrase repeated on her campaign website. She said her years of teaching and working in community programs have taught her how to listen, de-escalate and bring people together.

“I understand how to approach people with curiosity and not judgment, to listen to and build trust,” she said. 

Her campaign focuses on housing, youth opportunity, economic development and safety. 

On housing, she emphasizes the relationship between supply and affordability, arguing for mixed-income developments, denser zoning and earlier community engagement in development planning. Still, she acknowledges that Durham’s history complicates how development is perceived, particularly in historically Black neighborhoods like Hayti, which were fractured by highway construction and urban renewal.

“There are parts of this community that do not trust development,” Medoff said. “Because to them, development has been in line with displacement.”

She said that starting community engagement from the beginning stages and centering residents’ concerns could help build trust and prevent repeating those harms.

But some in Durham caution that trust-building alone may not be enough. 

Shelia Huggins, a Durham attorney and former Ward 3 candidate, emphasized that elected officials are ultimately responsible for serving nearly 300,000 people across the city, which requires more than good intentions.

“When you haven’t had some sort of direct involvement [in government], there’s a learning curve,” Huggins said. “You need people who know they don’t know everything and are willing to learn.”

Some former colleagues of Medoff’s highlighted her collaborative and upbeat approach in the classroom. 

Lena Tunon, her co-teacher at Duke School, said Medoff was “positive, hard-working and fun,” and always pushed for creative solutions when work got hard.

“She didn’t give up or just turn to the negative,” Tunon said. 

Tunon added that Medoff’s decision to run for City Council did not come as a surprise. As part of their third-grade curriculum, students studied local government and even visited City Council meetings and talked with council members. She knew Medoff was planning to leave the classroom, but was not sure of her future plans.

“Once she sent me a text saying she was running for City Council, I was not surprised,” Tunon said.

On public safety, Medoff supports increasing staffing in the Durham Police Department while placing equal emphasis on prevention and alternative responses. On the other hand, she applauds Durham’s HEART program, standing for Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team, which sends mental health professionals into crisis calls and boosts after-school programs, recreation and community third spaces.

“Too many kids have nothing to do after school,” Medoff said. “If they don’t find belonging in a constructive way, they’re going to find it in a nonconstructive way.” 

She points to models in other cities, such as Philadelphia’s recreation centers that operate with activities and programs until 2 a.m., as examples Durham could replicate.

But while her ideas on youth programming and housing have gained traction with some voters, her campaign has also drawn scrutiny, especially surrounding a political organization called Yes for Durham. 

The group, which was incorporated as a 501(c)(4) civic welfare organization in August, endorsed Medoff and other candidates on September 3rd. In its original incorporation filing, the group listed its principal office as a property owned by Medoff’s husband, Ari Medoff. Roughly two weeks later, that filing was amended to remove the address which is now, according to INDY Week, a condo and retail space in downtown Durham. The group has declined to publicize its leadership or disclose its donors and has the words “not authorized by any candidate” at the bottom of their website page.

Medoff responded to the INDY that while her husband was initially involved in the group after being approached by community advocates, he “removed himself completely from the organization before the organization decided to make endorsements.”

But the overlap in theme and messaging has drawn civic criticism and concern. Yes for Durham’s platform uses language strikingly similar to Medoff’s campaign site: “more jobs, more homes, more safety, more parks, more accountability.” 

Bob Hall, former executive director of Democracy North Carolina, told the INDY that timing of the filings and the use of Medoff’s husband’s business address raised concerns about possible coordination between the nonprofit and her campaign.

In response to the INDY article about Medoff’s potential connection with Yes for Durham, Medoff posted a “Commitment to Transparency” statement on her Instagram account. She acknowledged “reasonable concerns” about the initial ties to Yes for Durham and reiterated that she has not and would not accept money from the group. 

The controversy with this group has prompted other candidates to distance themselves from the nonprofit, too. In the days following the INDY’s article, all four candidates endorsed by Yes for Durham publicly disavowed accepting its money or coordination.

Endorsements remain a complicated thread in this race. Medoff received support from the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP), one of the city’s oldest political organizations. The endorsement carries weight, though the DCABP’s political action committee is currently under investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation for alleged financial irregularities. Meanwhile, the more progressive People’s Alliance PAC endorsed Cook over Medoff. Medoff has also been endorsed by Friends of Durham, a 35-year-old political action committee that represents professionals with no party affiliation.

Medoff argues that endorsements are helpful, but cannot substitute for on-the-ground work. She often campaigns door to door and emphasizes how listening to neighbors can be more impactful than any endorsement. 

Huggins, however, frames the broader challenge differently: more than who gets endorsements, it’s about whether more people will vote. She hopes this year brings more of the community out.

“It’s depressing sometimes to see the number of people who don’t vote,” she said. “Otherwise, you have a minority of the community deciding who is going to be sitting on City Council and making decisions for all of us.”

In the end, Medoff’s candidacy presents a gamble: Can a newcomer with energy, listening skills and grassroots focus overcome the burden of inexperience and suspicion?

In a race where experience, institutional ties and public trust all weigh heavily, Ward 3 voters will soon decide whether her version of a “fresh perspective” is the direction they want for Durham. 

Early voting for the primary began Sept. 18, Election Day for the primary is Oct. 7 and the general election follows on Nov. 1.