As Durham inches closer to the municipal primary on Oct. 7, it’s unclear if City Council Ward 2 will experience a turnover in leadership. Eyes are on the incumbent, Mark-Anthony Middleton. 

Middleton has served on Ward 2 of Durham City Council since 2017 and was elected mayor pro tempore in 2021. He recently completed a term as president of the North Carolina League of Municipalities and just secured the endorsement from the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People.

Middleton said he wrestled with running for reelection this time around. He doesn’t see himself as a “forever leader,” but there are progressive projects and policies he wants to see through to completion. 

“I’m not running on experience,”Middleton said. “This is not about, ‘Oh, I’ve got more experience. Elect me.’ Because there are plenty of politicians with experience who haven’t done anything. You can just be in office and have experience, right? I’m running on a record of accomplishment.” 

In his previous term, Middleton championed initiatives like guaranteed income (a monthly cash payment given directly to individuals), and the “Marshall Plan,” which aims to fund revitalization efforts in historically Black neighborhoods like Hayti. Middleton identified gun violence as the defining issue of his reelection campaign and wants to address the root cause of youth violence. 

Housing, however, is becoming a focal point of this election. 

“Folk who want to make this a one issue election,” Middleton said, “I think that’s privilege. You can afford to do that when everything else is okay. You know, you have your house already. You have your apartment. But there are folk who before they can even think about development, they’re trying to get bullets to stop flying through their windows.”

Middleton has faced pushback for his “voting record” in terms of development, which has become a hot-button issue in this election. Middleton has voted in favor of development cases, some greenlighting zoning changes and annexations in Durham. This is a cause for concern for some voters considering Middleton’s pledge to support affordable housing. 

“People are acting like they don’t understand my voting record or my view on housing,” Middleton said. “I’ve been elected to the Durham County Council twice, overwhelmingly, and I haven’t changed.”

Despite criticism, Middleton’s reelection campaign has faced support from former mayoral candidate Kershemia “Shea” Ramirez. She defended Middleton’s voting pattern in regards to development and said that criticism of his stance on housing has been overstated. Ramirez said everyone deserves housing, but developing local businesses and creating jobs is also important. 

“Some people just don’t want any development in Durham,” Ramirez said. “But at the end of the day, that’s just not feasible. We are already beyond that.”

Key issues like housing have lost Middleton the endorsement from Durham institutions like the INDY Week. The publication chose not to endorse a candidate for Ward 2 this year, despite endorsing him in the past two Ward 2 elections. INDY cited his voting record and terse relationships with other council members, as reasoning for their lack of endorsement. They also pointed to the regret expressed by former mayor Elaine O’Neal in regards to her appointment of Middleton as mayor pro tempore. 

“A white guy gets called brilliant,” Middleton said. “I get called arrogant for the same level of engagement in debate. Roll tape is what I say.” 

In March 2023, INDY Week reported that DeDreana Freeman tried to physically attack Middleton during a heated confrontation. This tension became part of a larger criticism brought forth by some female council members and politicians, who have described Middleton as dismissive and condescending, a characterization he vehemently denies. 

One of the women speaking out on her experience with Middleton is his opponent for Ward 2, Shanetta Burris.

“He’s constantly displayed his ability to undermine women, his willingness to undermine women, and he’s bold about it,” she said. “You can’t correct him in any way at all.”

Burris also said that gender dynamics played a role in Middleton’s endorsement from the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, describing the committee as a “boys club” and being “filled with misogynists.”

“If you’re diminishing someone because of their gender, you’re alienating a lot of people based on that alone,” Burris said. “So I think it makes it incredibly difficult to build consensus with folks who are not of like mind with you.”

Ramirez identified Middleton as a compassionate leader with the lived experience to back it up, and thinks he has work to finish alongside Mayor Leonardo Williams. 

“He’s had to work hard for who he is and what he has accomplished,” Ramirez said. “And I think sometimes people get offended by that.” 

Middleton says he started his political journey on Durham City Council to serve and is pursuing reelection for the same reason. 

The two candidates who win the most votes in Tuesday’s primary will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.

“A lot of people are mad at me,” Middleton said. “Not because they know me personally, but because I have a position that is a privilege to hold.”

Now it’s up to Durham to decide if Middleton will assume that position again.