On Saturday, October 25, ONE Wake held our candidate assembly for the 2025 municipal elections at Cary Presbyterian Church, one of our member institutions. More than 140 community members gathered on a Saturday morning to hear directly from candidates seeking to represent them—and to make their voices heard about the issues that matter most to our community.

How ONE Wake Assemblies Work

If you've never attended one of our candidate assemblies, here's what makes them different from typical campaign events: we do our homework. ONE Wake member institutions and leadership spend months researching and developing specific proposals on issues critical to our community. These aren't gotcha questions—candidates receive our proposals well in advance so they can prepare thoughtful responses.

At the assembly, each candidate responds with a clear "yes" or "no" to each proposal, followed by time to elaborate on their positions. Our leadership team also meets with candidates beforehand to ensure everyone knows what to expect. This approach prioritizes substance over soundbites and accountability over political theater.

This Year's Results

Four of the six candidates on the ballot attended our assembly. Several other elected officials who weren't running this year also came to listen and learn—a testament to ONE Wake's growing influence in local politics.

The numbers tell a story: while 140+ attendees represents strong community engagement, it's notably smaller than last year's 600-person turnout. The primary factor? Election Board voter permitting constraints limited us to a single Saturday morning in October—admittedly not the most accessible time for working families, students, or anyone with weekend commitments.

But here's what also matters: the two candidates who chose not to attend did not win their races. Showing up matters—to voters and at the ballot box.

Marching Forward

After the assembly concluded, we did something important: we marched together from Cary Presbyterian Church to the Herb Young Community Center for early voting. We asked candidates to be accountable to voters, and we demonstrated our own accountability by activating every person in that room to cast their ballot.

As we look toward future elections, we're already thinking about how to make our assemblies even more accessible while maintaining the integrity that makes them effective. Because when community members and candidates meet face-to-face around specific, researched proposals, democracy gets stronger.

View photos from the event.