Kate O'Brien (Chatham County Board of Commissioners District 3, North Carolina, candidate 2026)
 |
U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office |
 |
Kate O'Brien (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners to represent District 3 in North Carolina. O'Brien was on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
O'Brien completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Kate O'Brien provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on January 28, 2026:
- High school: Archbishop John Carroll High School
- Bachelor's: University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts and Sciences, 1985
- Graduate: University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, 1987
- J.D.: North Carolina Central University, 2002
- Profession: Attorney
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign website
Elections
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Chatham County Board of Commissioners District 3
Kate O'Brien (D) and Michael R. Roberson (D) ran in the Democratic primary for Chatham County Board of Commissioners District 3 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Kate O'Brien  | ||
| Michael R. Roberson | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for O'Brien in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kate O'Brien completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by O'Brien's responses.
| Collapse all
sister, and friend. I hold degrees in psychology, education and law. I have worked as a juvenile court counselor for most of my career, I have volunteered as a board member at Mental Health Association of Orange County and am currently a Board Member at Second Bloom of Chatham. I have volunteered as a mediator, a Guardian Ad Litem for Children, a court advocate for Family Violence and Rape Crisis services, a shop volunteer supervisor for the PTA, a shop volunteer at SBC, a volunteer attorney at Wills and Expungment clinics for Legal Aid of North Carolina, and a probono attorney in some domestic violence and stalking cases.
I run often at Parkrun events in Chapel Hill and I would like to bring this 5K run to Chatham County as a way to bring multi generations of runners and walkers together for outdoor free recreation on a weekly basis.
I am a senior games/silver arts enthusiast and I recommend this to those 50 and up. I attend fitness classes at the senior center- they are great.
I have recently gotten involved in monitoring the health of Pokeberry Creek for the Haw River Assembly. I am a support of numerous nonprofits including Chatham Climate Action Network, Community Organizing for Racial Equity, EMBRACe, Communities in Schools, CORA food pantry and the Hispanic
Liaison.- Strong communities arise through natual affiliations of families, neighborhoods, shared interests, and work. They can also
arise through institutions like school, church, businesses and governments. Institutions are made up of people. The five county commissioners should be people whose values are in alignment with yours. What do I value? I value protecting the environment as a public resource for our time and for future generations. I value social justice, fairness, opportunity, volunteerism, helping one’s neighbor, respecting everyone in our community and creating the conditions for them to flourish. The minimum conditions include food security, good jobs that pay well, affordable housing, safety,
education and job training. - Chatham County is a wonderful place to work, play, learn, and live. I adhere to the idea of a social contract: to those who have been given much, much is expected. I have served this community for over 25 years in my work and volunteer efforts. Serving as a commissioner, I will be able to allocate funds to infrastructure, schools, public safety, agencies and nonprofits in collaboration with the other four commissioners. I view this opportunity as a next step in my service to the community that I love.
- My focus is on sustainability: preserving clean drinking water, open spaces, farmlands, trails, parks, rivers and lakes for public use and enjoyment. There are many mechanisms that can achieve thia goal: private land ownership, public land ownership, land conservancy trusts, farm trusts, city and county parks. We must exercise careful stewardship over these precious natural resources for today and for future generations. Sustainability also means working for fairness & equity. We need jobs that pay well, affordable housing, walkable mixed-use areas, public transit options, food security, fair treatment of immigrants, access to health care. We need programs and services to promote meaningful social connection, physical, mental &
My work as a Juvenile Court Counselor taught me a lot about trauma,
resilience, and restorative justice principles. My volunteer work at
Legal Aid of North Carolina expunction clinics allowed me to assist
people trying to make their lives better by moving beyond their past
non-violent criminal conduct. I participated in a simulation that was designed to promote empathy
towards people being released from prison. I found this experience
enlightening.There is much we can do to help restore people to our
community post-incarceration. Removing certain barriers and providing
community support may help them adjust to re-entry and reduce the risk
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
