Position/philosophy statement
Building a Better Durham — For Everyone. A Durham where everyone belongs. Where no one is left behind.
Current Occupation
Arts Administrator & Consultant
Age (optional)
48
Campaign Phone
9192250968
I bring a unique blend of vision, execution, and deep roots in Durham. As an educator, entrepreneur, and community leader, I have built initiatives that connect people, expand opportunity, and deliver real results. My leadership is bold, action-oriented, and grounded in listening, co-creation, and accountability. I understand how to move complex plans into motion, having overseen programs, grants, and teams requiring fiscal responsibility and innovative solutions. I carry forward the legacy of public service modeled by my father, former Mayor Bill Bell, while standing firmly on my own two feet with a vision for Durham’s future. I am prepared to lead from day one with clarity, courage, and commitment to building a better Durham—for everyone.
Housing & Healing – Durham must protect legacy residents, redefine affordability, and expand diverse housing opportunities while anchoring stability and dignity for those most at risk.
People’s Safety & People’s Trust – True safety requires prevention, accountability, and trust. We will reduce gun violence, expand crisis response, and strengthen community-led solutions.
Opportunity & Ownership – Economic growth must uplift Durham’s people. I will cut red tape for small businesses, support the creative economy, and ensure development creates local wealth, not displacement.
While these are my top three, they are inseparable from education and environment—because every learner and every neighborhood must have what they need to grow.
Housing is the foundation of stability, dignity, and opportunity. As Mayor, I will protect legacy residents by committing to no net loss of deeply affordable homes, creating a preservation fund for older properties, and giving tenants and mission-driven buyers first-look rights. I will expand diverse housing opportunities through community land trusts, co-ops, and paths to ownership, while pushing state leaders for tools like local rent stabilization. I will ensure public land is used for public good, and that development uplifts people—not displaces them. Housing in Durham must anchor belonging, not speculation.
I am running to restore vision and renew courage in this city. Durham is at a crossroads, and we cannot afford small thinking or politics as usual. My leadership is rooted in listening, co-creation, and bold action that delivers results. I believe in development without displacement, safety built on trust, housing that anchors belonging, and opportunity that creates wealth for our people—not just for investors. I stand on the legacy of those who came before me, while carrying a vision that is my own: a Durham where everyone belongs and no one is left behind. We are committed to building a better Durham—for everyone. This is not just a campaign. It is a movement. Durham is H.O.P.E. We are made for more. We are ready to rise—and when we do, we will light up the sky.
Position/philosophy statement
In this election, I’m asking you not just to vote for a person. I’m asking you to vote for a path forward — one rooted in facts, fueled by hope, and forged by unity. Together, we can build a Durham where nobody is left behind.
Current Occupation
Husband, Father, Restauranteur, and Mayor
In public service, experience matters. Look no further than the chaos engulfing our nation's capital for a prime example of that truth. Durham has seen incredible growth over the past two years across numerous metrics of success, but there is still so. much work left to be done. Achieving these goals must be accomplished together, hand in hand, with all of us working as a single community to make Durham the best city that it can possibly be. That's the movement we've initiated, and I feel confident in our ability to continue in the right direction if I am granted a second term as your Mayor. In a world where so much seems fickle and insincere, I promise to always have your back.
Empowering our youth, ensuring equitable and responsible growth, and prioritizing climate resilience.
Empowering Youth:
Our young people deserve more than just support — they deserve a seat at the table. We’re expanding summer jobs for ages 16-21, create the Bull City AI Institute, forming an Economic Youth Council, and launching the Bull City Turnaround Crime Reduction Strategy. Because when we invest in our youth, we invest in our future.
Durham, what we’re experiencing at the national level — the division, the dysfunction, the disconnection — is not inevitable. It’s not who we have to be. And the biggest mistake we could make would be to replicate these politics at the local level.
Let’s stand for Durham — united, civically engaged, and future-focused.
Let’s lead with love, listen with intent, and legislate with courage.
I’m honored to serve. I’m ready to keep building.
Let’s choose our best. Let’s choose Durham.
Re-Elect Leo Williams for Mayor.
