{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Kimberly McGhee","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nKimberly W. McGhee is a Democratic candidate who ran for one of two newly created at-large seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary.\n\nMcGhee's campaign focused on housing affordability, healthcare access, support for working families, and more accessible, community-centered county governance.\n\n## Career\nMcGhee is a small business owner and community advocate based in Southeast Raleigh. For more than 30 years she has worked alongside families, seniors, and neighbors in Wake County to address housing, healthcare access, education, and community wellness. Her work has spanned nonprofits, faith-based ministries, mental health advocacy, and senior care services.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Wake County Commissioners: Kimberly McGhee \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/wake-county-board-of-county-commissioners-kimberly-mcghee-2026/)\n- [2] [Kimberly McGhee \u2013 iamkimberlymcghee.com](https://iamkimberlymcghee.com/)\n- [3] [Nine Candidates, Two Seats: What to Know About Wake County's At-Large Commissioner Primary \u2013 Holly Springs Update](https://www.hollyspringsupdate.com/p/nine-candidates-two-seats-what-to)\n","firstname":"Kimberly","lastname":"Mcghee","middlename":"W","suffix":null,"token":"d159e3586a67427f"},"token":"67Og6wj0DDhvCghD"},{"candidatename":"Marguerite Creel","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMarguerite Russell Creel is a candidate for Camden County Board Of Commissioners At-Large in Wake County, North Carolina in the 2026 election cycle. The North Carolina primary is scheduled for March 3, 2026, with the general election on November 3, 2026.\n\nNo additional biographical information is currently available for this candidate. Voters seeking more information are encouraged to contact local news sources, the county Board of Elections, or the candidate's campaign directly.\n","firstname":"Marguerite","lastname":"Creel","middlename":"Russell","suffix":null,"token":"bedaae782e027236"},"token":"Nn-lSn2YA6x7VP_U"},{"candidatename":"Robert Mitchener, Jr.","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobert Mitchener Jr. was a Democratic candidate for one of two at-large seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. He ran in the seven-candidate March 3, 2026 Democratic primary but did not win one of the two nominations; Christine Kushner and Mona Singh advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election [1][3].\n\n## Background\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Mitchener is a registered Democrat in Wake County, registered since 1990 [2].\n\n## Career\nMitchener is a retired deputy sheriff from Raleigh and founder of Our Youth Matters, a youth mentorship program [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Who's Running For Wake County Board of Commissioners? - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/whos-running-wake-county-board-of-commissioners/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections -- Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`, dl.ncsbe.gov), accessed 2026-07-19\n","firstname":"Robert","lastname":"Mitchener","middlename":null,"suffix":"JR","token":"2bd09a2e6b74a955"},"token":"0LLYiuDcvEYJ8qBQ"},{"candidatename":"Mona Singh","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMona Singh is the Democratic nominee for an at-large seat on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. She secured the Democratic nomination in the March 3, 2026 primary and is running in the November 2026 general election.\n\nSingh's platform prioritizes strengthening public education, expanding access to healthcare, and improving transportation and infrastructure to meet Wake County's growth needs.\n\n## Background and education\nSingh was born in Delhi, India. She earned a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. She has lived in Wake County since 1995.\n\n## Career\nSingh is a nationally recognized technology expert who holds more than 130 U.S. patents in areas including smartphone technology and augmented reality. She has led major technology businesses with annual net revenues exceeding $1 billion and has managed large teams developing and deploying products with tens of thousands of users. She has also served as an expert witness in high-profile technology cases.\n\nSingh serves on the Board of Directors for Activate Good and on the Town of Cary's Information Services Advisory Board. She has led hunger relief and refugee support programs and volunteers teaching English to refugees.\n\n## Family\nSingh is married to a professor at North Carolina State University. They have two children, both graduates of Wake County Public Schools.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Meet Mona \u2013 monaforwake.com](https://www.monaforwake.com/meetmona)\n- [2] [Wake County Commissioners: Mona Singh \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/wake-county-board-of-county-commissioners-mona-singh-2026/)\n- [3] [Mona Singh secures Democratic nomination for Wake County Commissioner \u2013 American Bazaar Online](https://americanbazaaronline.com/2026/03/06/mona-singh-secures-democratic-nomination-for-wake-county-commissioner-476394/)\n","firstname":"Mona","lastname":"Singh","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"df944ec7c0ecf201"},"token":"cbeXvdWMmOFbVuf2"},{"candidatename":"Steve S. Rao","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSteve Rao was a Democratic candidate for one of two at-large seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. He ran in the seven-candidate March 3, 2026 Democratic primary but did not win one of the two nominations; Christine Kushner and Mona Singh advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election [1][2].\n\n## Career\nRao is a fifteen-year member of the Morrisville Town Council [1]. His campaign platform focused on expanding affordable housing, attracting new businesses to Wake County, and increasing public school funding, and he was endorsed by a number of state and local Democratic officials [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Who's Running For Wake County Board of Commissioners? - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/whos-running-wake-county-board-of-commissioners/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`, dl.ncsbe.gov), accessed 2026-07-19\n","firstname":"Steve","lastname":"Rao","middlename":"Sandeep","suffix":null,"token":"7075f210c92e35f4"},"token":"Ei4XhyowP7sqm6VI"},{"candidatename":"Christine Kushner","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nChristine Kushner is a Democratic candidate for one of two at-large seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. She advanced from a seven-candidate March 3, 2026 Democratic primary, winning one of the two Democratic nominations alongside Mona Singh, and faces Republicans Kyle Stogoski and Gary Hartong in the November 3, 2026 general election [1][4].\n\n## Background and education\nKushner is 62 years old [2]. In an Indy Week candidate questionnaire, she describes her education as a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science, as a Morehead Scholar, from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University; she also says she is a William C. Friday Fellow for Human Relations through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative [2].\n\n## Career\nKushner was first elected to the Wake County Board of Education in 2011 and served 11 years, through three re-elections, including terms as board Chair and Vice Chair [1][2][3]. She has since served four years on the Wake County Health and Human Services Board [1][2]. She says she was appointed by then-Governor Roy Cooper in 2023 to represent North Carolina on the Southern Regional Education Board [2][3]. Indy Week describes her earlier career as a health care policy analyst and nonprofit administrator [1]; her campaign lists her current occupation as a self-employed policy analyst and writer [2].\n\n## Office history\nWake County Board of Education, 2011-2022 (three re-elections; served terms as Chair and Vice Chair) [1][2][3].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nOn her campaign site and in her Indy Week questionnaire, Kushner says she will draw on her school-board experience to advocate for public education -- particularly students' behavioral and mental health needs -- pursue expanded property-tax relief for residents on fixed incomes, and work with municipal and nonprofit leaders on affordable housing and homelessness [2][3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Who's Running For Wake County Board of Commissioners? - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/whos-running-wake-county-board-of-commissioners/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [Wake County Board of County Commissioners, At-Large: Christine Kushner - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/wake-county-board-of-county-commissioners-christine-kushner-2026/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] [Christine Kushner for Wake County - campaign site](https://christineforwake.com) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n[4] North Carolina State Board of Elections 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`, dl.ncsbe.gov), accessed 2026-07-19\n","firstname":"Christine","lastname":"Kushner","middlename":"C","suffix":null,"token":"a6eb27ebcebc78e5"},"token":"yNvl3mXyHeEGIYxN"},{"candidatename":"Jonathan Lambert-Melton","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJonathan Stephen Lambert-Melton is a three-term at-large Raleigh City Council member who ran in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary for one of two at-large seats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. He did not win one of the two Democratic nominations; Christine Kushner and Mona Singh advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election [4][5]. Lambert-Melton had campaigned on public school investment and affordable housing as his top county priorities, and said he would be Wake County's first openly LGBTQ commissioner if elected [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nLambert-Melton moved to Wake County in 2004 to attend NC State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 2008. He earned his Juris Doctor from NC Central University School of Law in 2011. He is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist and a Certified Mediator.\n\n## Career\nLambert-Melton has practiced law in Wake County and has served on the Raleigh City Council since 2019. He chairs the Economic Development and Innovation Committee and previously served as Raleigh Mayor Pro Tem. He worked with the Wake County Board of Commissioners to enact a comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinance covering both the city and county, and helped implement an alternative crisis response unit to support law enforcement on mental health and social service calls.\n\nLambert-Melton is the first openly LGBTQ person elected citywide in Raleigh. Before running for office, he founded an LGBTQ nonprofit and served on the board of the Tammy Lynn Center for developmental disabilities [1].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [About Jonathan - jonathanmelton.com](https://www.jonathanmelton.com/meet-jonathan)\n- [2] [Wake County Commissioners: Jonathan Lambert-Melton - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/wake-county-board-of-county-commissioners-jonathan-lambert-melton-2026/)\n- [3] [Lambert-Melton - LGBTQ+ Victory Fund](https://victoryfund.org/candidate/jonathan-melton/) (page has since gone dark following the primary; reflects the candidate's public profile as archived earlier in the campaign)\n- [4] [Who's Running For Wake County Board of Commissioners? - Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/whos-running-wake-county-board-of-commissioners/) -- accessed 2026-07-19\n- [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`, dl.ncsbe.gov), accessed 2026-07-19\n","firstname":"Jonathan","lastname":"Lambert-Melton","middlename":"Stephen","suffix":null,"token":"07417c5aab2d3ac4"},"token":"XczJ6aZa7pVjrh7K"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission","office":"county_commission","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":2,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Wake County Board Of Commissioners At-Large"}