Wendy Jacobs

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Wendy Jacobs

Democratic Party

Durham County Board of Commissioners

Tenure

2012 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

13

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Duke University, 1983

Contact

Official website

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Wendy Jacobs (Democratic Party) is a member of the Durham County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina. She assumed office in 2012. Her current term ends on December 2, 2028.

Jacobs (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Jacobs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Wendy Jacobs earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1983. Her career experience includes working as a project manager for a conservation driven real estate company.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Durham County, North Carolina (2024)

General election

General election for Durham County Board of Commissioners (5 seats)

Incumbent Wendy Jacobs, Michael Lee, Michelle Burton, incumbent Nida Allam, and Stephen J. Valentine won election in the general election for Durham County Board of Commissioners on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendy Jacobs (D)	21.9	133,270
✔		Michael Lee (D)	20.0	121,515
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Burton (D)	19.7	120,055
✔		Nida Allam (D)	19.3	117,194
✔		Stephen J. Valentine (D)	19.2	116,732

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 608,766
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Durham County Board of Commissioners (5 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Durham County Board of Commissioners on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendy Jacobs	15.2	33,542
✔		Nida Allam	14.2	31,225
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Burton	13.3	29,361
✔		Michael Lee	13.1	28,907
✔		Stephen J. Valentine	9.5	21,007
	Submit photo	Brenda Howerton	9.1	20,006
	Submit photo	Nimasheena Burns	7.8	17,195
	Submit photo	Jovonia Lewis	7.3	16,155
	Submit photo	Fredrick Davis	7.0	15,457
	Submit photo	Renee Vaughan	2.3	5,100
	Submit photo	Daryl Payton	1.1	2,348

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 220,303
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Jacobs in this election.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Durham County, North Carolina (2020)

General election

General election for Durham County Board of Commissioners (5 seats)

Nida Allam, Nimasheena Burns, incumbent Wendy Jacobs, incumbent Brenda Howerton, and incumbent Heidi Carter won election in the general election for Durham County Board of Commissioners on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nida Allam (D)	20.1	122,947
✔	Submit photo	Nimasheena Burns (D)	20.1	122,555
✔		Wendy Jacobs (D)	20.0	122,432
✔	Submit photo	Brenda Howerton (D)	20.0	122,328
✔	Submit photo	Heidi Carter (D)	19.7	120,436

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 610,698
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Durham County Board of Commissioners (5 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Durham County Board of Commissioners on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Nimasheena Burns	14.7	47,776
✔		Wendy Jacobs	13.2	42,888
✔	Submit photo	Heidi Carter	12.8	41,501
✔		Nida Allam	12.3	39,977
✔	Submit photo	Brenda Howerton	11.8	38,227
	Submit photo	Matt Kopac	7.8	25,220
		John Rooks Jr.	5.2	16,897
	Submit photo	Michael Page	4.9	16,046
		LeVon Barnes	3.7	11,866
		Nate Baker	3.0	9,700
	Submit photo	Tara Fikes	2.9	9,345
	Submit photo	Regina Mays	2.8	9,075
	Submit photo	Fred Foster Jr.	1.8	5,694
		James Hill	1.6	5,253
	Submit photo	Patrick Byker	1.5	4,937

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 324,402
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Wendy Jacobs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jacobs' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As your County Commissioner, I love working with people across Durham to make change through local government. I’m running for re-election because Durham is at a moment of incredible growth and opportunity. I want to keep working for affordable housing, accessible public transit, great schools and job opportunities and community- based services that address systemic injustices.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Affordable, safe and supportive housing: As County Commissioner, I’m leading collaborative approaches to create more affordable housing in Durham.
• Education and economic opportunity: I believe that all Durham residents deserve great schools and job opportunities, and I’ve funded historic investments in both.
• Public transit and environmental justice: Together we can create a community that has great transit, is bike and pedestrian friendly and is resilient in the face of climate change.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about community health and well being. As your county commissioner, I’m addressing systemic injustices y investing in resources for people who use substances, live with mental illness or have been impacted by the justice system.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Ability to govern, to work with others to make well informed decisions that are in the best interests of the community, both addressing short and long term needs.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe in the power of local government to make real change in people’s lives. I love working with fellow elected officials, government staff and community leaders in a collaborative manner to address systemic issues of social, economic and racial disparities injustice and improve the lives of people in our community.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was formerly a public school educator in elementary education. I taught school for about 6 years. I believe that public education is the foundation of our democracy. My three children all graduated from public schools and as a county commissioner, I have strongly supported adequately funding our teachers, and schools so that our children have the education they deserve.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I am honored to be endorsed by many organizations including the Durham Peoples Alliance, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Sierra Club, Sunrise Durham, Indy Week, Durham Progressive Democrats, Durham Association of Educators, the Friends of Durham, Teamsters Local 391, NC State AFL-CIO and Moms Demand Action Gun Sense.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency and government accountability are paramount for effective, good and fair governance. As an elected official, I work for the people and must be a good steward/be held accountable for the use of public funding. That is why I must do my homework, ask the tough questions and perform my due diligence when making 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.

2020

Wendy Jacobs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

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