December 17, 2025

Mayor Williams and members of the Durham City Council:

The People’s Alliance Housing Team congratulates those who ran for office this election cycle, and we are looking forward to working with all of you in this next iteration of the Durham City Council. 

This electoral season was unusually stressful at a fraught time in our country. The level of divisiveness both in the election and during public Council debates has felt personal and unnecessarily alienating. Put simply, it doesn’t have to be this way. 

This new City Council presents an opportunity to turn the page and work constructively together. 

We feel that Durham can set an example for the rest of North Carolina about how to stay strong and united in the face of authoritarian threats at the state and national levels.  We firmly believe and have heard you echo each other around shared values. We know most of you fundamentally agree on many issues

The PA membership believes in collaboration as shared responsibility to the whole and for our leaders to lean into difficult conversations. We expect democracy at its best to be iterative, deliberative and civil.

As a governing body in 2026 there are many important pending housing issues and decisions. To effectively meet them we suggest establishing communication norms that include showing respect for one another's strengths, intentional debate and moving toward consensus.  

We have high expectations particularly around housing given the stakes. We expect: 

• the Council to pursue all avenues so that the business community and developers know that our leaders have progressive goals for our City and high expectations for affordable housing. 
• you to be bold and think outside of the box. 
• the City Staff and elected officials to find systemic ways to hear from neighborhoods in the same way you hear regularly from the Chamber, the PA and other groups. 

We know much of that work is ongoing and we would like to work with each of you to communicate more regularly on actions the city is taking and the challenges and opportunities presented. Thank you for your service. We are all looking forward to working with you and members of City Staff on these shared goals. Look for the team and members of PA to be reaching out to discuss in the new year.

With appreciation, 

The Housing Action Team of People’s Alliance