Susan W. Cope (Stem Town Council, North Carolina, candidate 2025)
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Susan W. Cope ran for election to the Stem Town Council in North Carolina. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
Cope completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Susan W. Cope provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 3, 2025:
- Birth date: October 31, 1976
- Birth place: Greensboro, North Carolina
- High school: Orange High School
- Bachelor's: Appalachian State University, 2002
- J.D.: North Carolina Central University, 2006
- Gender: Female
- Religion: non-denominational
- Profession: Attorney
- Incumbent officeholder: Yes
Elections
General election
General election for Stem Town Council (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Stem Town Council on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Lonnie M. Cole Sr. (Nonpartisan) | ||
Susan W. Cope (Nonpartisan)  | ||
| Kevin C. Easter (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Travis Ennis (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Vicki Coley Garrett (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Amanda Spencer (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. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cope in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Susan W. Cope completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cope's responses.
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I’m a hardworking mom of two who has lived in Stem for 20 years. I have three cats and love to read in my spare time. I am an attorney for a global pharmaceutical company. I started my current position in the spring after being laid off from my previous employer due to downsizing. I had been in that position for almost 6 years. I understand the pressures of raising a family in a community where everyone commutes to another city for work.
I attended Appalachian State University for a degree in Journalism and North Carolina Central University for law school.
- Growth is coming to Granville County whether we like it or not. We have to be smart about it to limit environmental impacts and preserve our rural charm. We can do that by developing a comprehensive plan for Stem, improving our zoning requirements and strategic partnerships with developers. In 2024, I secured a $45,000 grant to fund a comprehensive plan. We have engaged a planning firm and have already started the project. We hope to have the completed plan by Q1 2026.
Additionally, the planning board has been working to strengthen zoning requirements for both residential and commercial development.
And the Town has approved rezoning for a commercial project that will bring needed amenities and access to local trails. - Small local bushinesses are the backbone of a community and we need to provide more support, resources and opportunities to existing businesses as well as newcomers looking to start businesses in Stem. I hope to create a business incubator program for the Stem Community that will help would be entrepreneurs succeed in launching businesses in Stem.
- I support efforts to keep property taxes low and homes affordable for everyone in Stem. Home prices are high because our area is in demand. Raleigh and Durham are growing and people are coming to our area for housing. While no one wants runaway development like in other areas, we have to allow some residential growth to keep housing prices from climbing. At the same time, new residents put additional strain on existing resources. Commercial development, if done right, can alleviate some of that pressure by increasing the tax base to allow for an increase in services such as police and fire services.
I’m very passionate about rural economic development. I have attended the Rural Center’s annual conference several times. Additionally, in 2024, I was selected for the 2024 cohort of the Rural Community Capacity Program through the NC Department of Commerce and attended classes on rural economic development over a six month period. I have also attended Project Uplift sessions on rural tourism and made the initial contact with the NC Main Street Planning Commission to come to Stem and put together a Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan for Stem. I was also selected by the Rural Center to be a Homegrown Leader for our region in 2025.
Local officials are the first line of government and the most accessible to most people. Local residents know where we live, think we can solve all of their problems and hold us accountable when we can’t or don’t.
I look up to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. She came from a working class background and built up her own reputation long before she met John F. Kennedy Jr. She rarely read any of the gossip written about her in the press and said she felt she was a better person for it. She was kind and thoughtful to those she loved. And she maintained a mystery about her that we are still talking about her more than 25 years after she died. I wish we could know how she would have impacted the world had she lived.
An elected official must be trustworthy, hardworking and have a genuine curiosity to learn more about their constituents and the issues they face.
Especially at the local level, an elected official needs to be willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard for their constituents. During my time on the Board, I have picked up trash as part of our annual “Make Stem Sparkle” litter sweep, stuffed Easter eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt, directed traffic for the Christmas Parade, planted trees and served snacks to cyclists on a tour through Stem, all in addition to my regular duties on the Board.
I always try to be as transparent as possible, though lack of time and staff are the biggest limiting factor.
Someone in this office needs to be willing to do whatever it takes to serve the citizens of Stem to the best of their ability, whether that’s learning more about key issues and relevant legislation, as well as stay informed about things happening in the town and region. A small town government is built on relationships and a successful elected official needs to maintain good working relationships with its own Board, other municipalities and county officials, schools and school boards, nonprofit groups and the Town’s own citizens. Making new connections can be the spark that ignites progress.
I’m a Girl Scout at heart, so I hope to leave the world a little better than I found it.
I remember Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles. I was about four and my mom was watching it on TV. I remember being fascinated by her dress.
I handed out coupons in the grocery store. I was 14 and my mom was my manager. I filled in when her regular coupon ladies were out sick. I also helped her change out the advertising on shopping carts. I did that for about 6 months before my mom got a better job and didn’t need my help.
I could never choose one favorite book. I love them all. But of the books I have read this year, ‘The Wedding People’ kept me entertained until the last page.
Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec. She basically has my job, but makes it look a lot more fun. Also, my middle name is Leslie.
Being an elected official at the local level is a lot more work than most people think. Almost all of us are part time, even town staff and police officers. A lot of times, we use our lunch breaks at our 9-5 jobs to keep the town running day to day. The work is far from glamorous and the pay works out to less than minimum wage if you calculate the hours we put in.
While I don’t think previous government experience is required, if you don’t have experience, you better be prepared to learn fast. You don’t know what you don’t know when you are running. From the outside the job looks easy, but there are a lot of things you don’t consider from the outside looking in.
Patience, creativity, willingness to learn and ask questions, willingness to listen, and willingness to work hard.
My first year running for office, I met two retired veterans who had never voted before. After talking to them about our vision for Stem, they decided to register to vote and cast their first ballot for me. It was a humbling moment.
Of all of the work I have done for Stem, I am proudest of the Rural Community Capacity Grant I secured to create the comprehensive downtown development plan. To be eligible for the grant, I first had to be selected for the Rural Community Capacity (RC2) program. As part of the program, I was required to attend two all day classes in Boone, NC each month for six months. During that time, I could only miss one session. Only after I completed all of the required classes, was I eligible to apply for the grant. It was a lot of work, but it is the necessary next step for Stem.
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
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Footnotes
