In recent years, the local political party organizations have been endorsing candidates in the municipal non-partisan elections. Is this a good thing? I am not sure. For a candidate, this can help since some voters may vote for you just because of the affiliation. On the other hand , some may not vote for you for the very same reason.
Thus far in this campaign, the Wake County GOP has endorsed the only Republican in the race, Cheri Lee. I am sure that the Democrats will do the same for those with that affiliation: Ray Riordan, Ken Henke , Pete Utley and Otis Byrd. Although they will have to rule two of them out since there are only two seats.
The other candidates, Tim Sack and Gerald Holleman, are listed as unaffiliated. Holleman has previously been affiliated as a Democrat and Republican at different times in the past.
In my last campaign for town council, I sought and received the GOP endorsement. Did it help me? I don't know, but I did capture the highest number of votes in that 2005 contest. As a candidate , I did not see any material benefit since I did not get any financial backing from the party, nor did they provide any manpower.
In the 2009 town council race, the Wake GOP endorsed two candidates who were highly critical of the pattern of growth in Holly Springs. One would normally associate the growth of the free market with the Republican party, which made these two endorsements puzzling in my opinion. The point I am trying to make is that you still need to research the candidates on your own and not rely on a political party's endorsement.
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