Shanikka Gadson-Harris (Salisbury City Council, North Carolina, candidate 2025)
From Ballotpedia
 |
School boards • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office |
 |
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
Shanikka Gadson-Harris is running for election to the Salisbury City Council in North Carolina. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
Gadson-Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Shanikka Gadson-Harris provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 10, 2025:
- Birth date: September 23, 1979
- Birth place: The Bronx, New York
- Associate: Rowan Cabarrus Community College
- Bachelor's: Livingstone College, 2010
- Graduate: Walden University, 2013
- Gender: Female
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Coordinator
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Me,You,US~OUR CITY, OUR COUNCIL
Elections
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Salisbury City Council (4 seats)
The following candidates are running in the general election for Salisbury City Council on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Gemale A. Black (Nonpartisan) | ||
Shanikka Gadson-Harris (Nonpartisan)  | ||
| Carlton Jackson (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Susan Wear Kluttz (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Adrian Maldonado Jr. (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Harry McLaughlin (Nonpartisan) | ||
| David Post (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Nina Thomas (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Shanikka Gadson-Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gadson-Harris' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I'm Shanikka Gadson-Harris, a Wife, a Mother, Educator, Business owner, Community advocate, and life long learner. I chose to run for office because I care deeply about our community and believe in creating positive, lasting change. I’ve seen both the challenges and opportunities we face, and I want to be a strong voice for solutions that serve everyone. My background in Education, Housing, and Criminal Justice, my track record of community involvement, and my commitment to listening and taking action make me the most qualified candidate to represent our city with integrity and results.
- Visible Leadership~ I plan to be an easily accessible, transparent, and engaged representative. I will continue to attend neighborhood events, school board meetings, and civic group meetings to stay connected and listen directly to constituents. As a council member I will establish open office hours for residents to speak with me one on one. I plan to push for Council to ensure that the social media platforms used by the city give accurate updates, explain votes, and share behind the scenes work to maintain our transparency. In addition, pay more attention to the city boards and commissions that are made up of diverse residents who are meant to help guide councils decisions and keep them accountable.
- Public Safety~ We must ensure neighborhoods are safe, supported, and proactive in addressing crime and community wellbeing. As council members, we can collaborate with police and community leaders to build trust and increase transparency in policing. There needs to be a push for increased investment in mental health crisis response teams to reduce the burden on law enforcement and get people the right help. Support initiatives that prevent crime at the root like youth mentorship programs, workforce development, and after-school opportunities. Call for data driven policing strategies to target high-need areas without over policing low income or minority communities.
- Accessible, Available, & Affordable Housing~ The goal is to make sure everyone has a fair chance at stable, dignified housing. Support Partnerships with nonprofits and developers to build affordable and mixed income housing. Advocate for tenant protections, including stronger eviction prevention policies and rent stabilization where appropriate. Identify and leverage city owned land for affordable housing development. Ensure accessibility standards are upheld in all new developments for seniors and residents with disabilities. Expand housing assistance programs such as down payment help for first time buyers and rental support for low-income families.
I’m running for city council because leadership should be visible, safety should be community based, and housing should be within reach for everyone. These aren’t separate goals, they’re deeply connected. A safe city is one where people have a place to live. A strong community is built through trust and transparency. I’ll lead by showing up and listening every step of the way. The city council needs community minded individuals that will put the people over politics. It's time for FRESH Leadership in the city of Salisbury NC.
Me,You, US~OUR CITY, OUR COUNCIL!
This office possesses local level power that can directly change the quality of life for members in the community faster than at a higher level. City Council deals with issues such as pot holes, messed up side walks, areas in your neighborhood that need street lights, etc. These are issues that wouldn't be handled right away, if at all, by contacting your governor or the president. Having the city council to express concerns and get results for important issues that need an immediate response makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system.
The most important characteristic of an elected official would be an attentive listener. As an elected official, the people choose you to be an advocate on their behalf, therefore, you have to be able to hear the concerns of the constituents. After listening good, the elected official should be ready to roll up their sleeves and come up with effective solutions. No one can act on their own, however, collectively as a team, the Council should put action towards citizens concerns. People want to be heard and they want ACTION!
A legacy of love and service. I want people to ALWAYS remember how I made them feel.
Burger King, 2 years. I used to love working the drive thru and saying "Welcome to Burger King, the home of the Whopper, may I take your order." My customers would always compliment me on my customer service.
Lord of the flies. Although it was gory, it explained why we have to have order. Without order there would be complete chaos!..... Yes, my degrees are in Criminal Justice, lol.
No, I believe politics play a role in EVERYTHING! Just being an active addition of the community give you a look into city council. City Hall is the "people's house." City Council addresses issues that affect everyday quality of life. The infrastructure of our city, the budget for our city, city zoning, the police department, water and sewer, city taxes, etc. These are just a portion of the issues that directly affect the people in this city and the Mayor along with City Council are who make the decisions.
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
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
