RALEIGH (October 10, 2025)—The Wake County Libertarian Party (WakeLP) released a list of six candidates running for office in municipal elections next month that the party particularly look forward to working with in 2026 and beyond:

• Jesse Brown (R)—Zebulon Board of Commissioners
• Ben Clapsaddle (D)—Wake Forest Mayor
• Wes Jones (R)—Wendell Board of Commissioners
• Sarah Larson (D)—Holly Springs Town Council
• Andre Powell (I)—Apex Town Council
• Nick Śliwiński (R)—Wake Forest Board of Commissioners

“National and state politics get most of the attention,” stated WakeLP Chair Brad Hessel, “but many governmental decisions that affect us in our daily lives—concerning housing, transportation, recreation, education, small business regulation, policing policy, and so on—are made locally. So we have a responsibility to pay attention to local politics and ensure that the libertarian perspective is represented.”

“There were an all-time record 324 thousand votes for Libertarian candidates in Wake County in 2024,” added WakeLP Vicechair David Blackwelder. “Only a small fraction of those were cast by the six thousand registered Libertarians who reside here. There are many voters in Wake County who would agree that government should not try to stop folks from doing what they want to do so long as they are not hurting anyone else. We have an obligation to those voters to promote policies congruent with that philosophy and to seek out and work with candidates and officeholders who will help with that effort, regardless of party.”

80 candidates are on the ballot in 2025 running for election in Wake County municipalities. WakeLP reached out to all of them and eventually conducted interviews with 20. All the interviewed candidates were asked about municipal finances, growth priorities, policing policies, and the municipal/county relationship with state government. And they were briefed on libertarian perspectives on private property/zoning, small business deregulation, criminal justice policy, and electoral reform as they relate to municipal governance.

Patrick Bowersox, 2024 Libertarian candidate for NC Senate 17 handled most of the Holly Springs interviews. “Our focus is more on enabling people to each pursue their own unique vision of a rewarding and enriching life than on politics,” said Bowersox. “Talking to candidates from different parties makes you realize how much agreement there is with respect to that objective. Of course, not everyone agrees on the best way to get there. But I think having these conversations is healthy, and helpful for everyone.”

“All-in-all, our conversations with the candidates were very productive,” concluded Hessel. “While we cannot formally endorse non-Libertarian candidates, we do want to talk to as many as we can. Reaching consensus on the top six we think we can work with was not easy; there were several close calls.

“Whoever wins in November, we look forward to working with all these folks.”

For more detail on the selected candidates, visit: https://www.wakelp.org/candidates

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For more information contact:
Rob Yates, Acting Press Secretary
(919) 948-2708
[email protected]

https://www.wakelp.org/