{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Anne Purcell","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Anne Mckee Purcell is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 1971 (55 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Anne Mckee Purcell's year of birth as 1953; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 12 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Anne Mckee Purcell can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Anne","lastname":"Purcell","middlename":"Mckee","suffix":null,"token":"bf2f09b82a40dfb2"},"token":"uw9SPpSiEETK7Yys"},{"candidatename":"Lori Russell","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Lori Driver Russell is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 2022 (4 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Lori Driver Russell's year of birth as 1982; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 3 elections voted in since 2022, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Lori Driver Russell can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Lori","lastname":"Russell","middlename":"Driver","suffix":null,"token":"3ac4ff329ad71134"},"token":"84-DlbjWU8t8fWH5"},{"candidatename":"Will Atherton","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, William Edward Atherton is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 2002 (24 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows William Edward Atherton's year of birth as 1972; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 11 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of William Edward Atherton can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"William","lastname":"Atherton","middlename":"Edward","suffix":null,"token":"8dbc54af04e7fe6d"},"token":"CwyX-wEpqX7vaJCN"},{"candidatename":"Sarah Smylie","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Sarah Josephine Smylie is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 2009 (17 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Sarah Josephine Smylie's year of birth as 1977; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 17 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Sarah Josephine Smylie can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Sarah","lastname":"Smylie","middlename":"Josephine","suffix":null,"token":"ffe72baf284213bb"},"token":"XRn5yu_HlvYfMAac"},{"candidatename":"Saru D. Salvi","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"**March 3, 2026 election result: Salvi did not win one of the four Orange County Schools Board of Education seats up for election, finishing fifth of six candidates with 5,397 votes. The top four vote-getters \u2014 Sarah Smylie, Anne Purcell, Lori Russell, and Will Atherton \u2014 were elected [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Sarojini Diwakar Salvi is a registered voter in Orange County, North Carolina, registered since 2005 (21 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Sarojini Diwakar Salvi's year of birth as 1951; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 12 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Sarojini Diwakar Salvi can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, official March 3, 2026 primary election results (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/index.html?prefix=ENRS/2026_03_03/)","firstname":"Sarojini","lastname":"Salvi","middlename":"Diwakar","suffix":null,"token":"b12c7fe807b21104"},"token":"KhgYBYH2hMXqwfR8"},{"candidatename":"Brian D. Edwards","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrian Daniel Edwards was a first-time candidate for one of four open seats on the Orange County Schools Board of Education in the March 3, 2026 nonpartisan election [1]. He was not elected: he finished fifth of six candidates with 8.51% of the vote, behind winners Sarah Smylie, Anne Purcell, Will Atherton, and Lori Russell [2].\n\nHis campaign centered on expanding student and staff mental health resources, a proposed \"Teacher's Bill of Rights\" addressing planning time, compensation, and workplace stability, and prevention-focused school safety [1][3].\n\n## Background and education\nEdwards is a graduate of Orange High School. He holds an associate degree from Durham Technical Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke [1][4].\n\n## Career\nEdwards served for more than three years as a detention officer and corporal with the Orange County Sheriff's Office before he was fired in September 2025 [1][5].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nEdwards was fired after the Sheriff's Office's internal investigation found that social media posts he made violated its Standards of Conduct and Speech, Expression, and Social Networking policies [5]. The posts, surfaced publicly by the account \"LibsofTikTok,\" included Edwards writing \"I am Antifa. And I will never comply with a fascist regime,\" and sharing a video of the protest song \"Old Man Trump\" \u2014 which he said \"calls out injustice, intolerance, and the legacy of hate left by Donald Trump\" \u2014 alongside an image reading \"This Machine Kills Fascists\" [6]. A separate post attributed to his accounts by a third-party account on X, reading \"it may even be time to bring back the guillotine,\" could not be independently verified by the outlet that reported it [6]. Edwards was placed on administrative leave and terminated within days [5][6]. After his termination, he took a position at Walmart while continuing his school board campaign [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Former Detention Corporal Brian Edwards Details Run for Orange County Schools Board \u2013 Chapelboro.com](https://chapelboro.com/news/election/former-detention-corporal-brian-edwards-details-run-for-orange-county-schools-board)\n[2] [Three incumbents, one newcomer projected to win race for Orange County Schools Board of Education \u2013 Daily Tar Heel](https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/city-orange-county-schools-board-of-education-2026-election-results-20260304)\n[3] [Q&A: Edwards focuses on mental health in schools \u2013 newsoforange.com](https://www.newsoforange.com/community/article_b2509cdc-dddc-437c-a680-8308f17ee5ec.html)\n[4] [Orange County School Board: Brian Edwards \u2013 IndyWeek](https://indyweek.com/news/orange-county-schools-board-of-education-brian-edwards-2026/)\n[5] [Orange Co. officer fired after 'concerning' social media posts \u2013 WRAL.com](https://www.wral.com/news/local/orange-co-deputy-fired-concerning-social-media-posts-2025/)\n[6] [Orange County officer, self-described 'antifa' fired over social media posts \u2013 Yahoo News](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/orange-county-deputy-self-described-154538357.html)","firstname":"Brian","lastname":"Edwards","middlename":"Daniel","suffix":null,"token":"c705504635eabeec"},"token":"-EYS0kOC9wjx-D7t"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board","office":"county_school_board","officedescription":"A school board member serves on the elected body that governs a public school district. The board sets district policy and budget priorities and hires and evaluates the superintendent, while leaving day-to-day management to the administration.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment for a public school district \u2014 setting direction while leaving day-to-day management to the superintendent.\n- Budget literacy for operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the county commission (which appropriates) and the state.\n- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent \u2014 the board's highest-stakes recurring decision.\n- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County School Board Member","partisan":0,"pgr":"general","quantity":4,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Orange County Schools Board Of Education"}