By Lindsay Ash
Carrboro Commons Writer

Ellie Kinnaird, right, and Janet Cowell discuss the day’s events at Ellie Fest 2008. Cowell spoke on behalf of Kinnaird’s campaign for re-election to the N.C. Senate District 23 seat at the Carrboro Town Commons on Sunday.
Staff photo by Lindsay Ash

At least 50 local citizens had the opportunity to meet incumbent N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird at “Ellie Fest” 2008 Sunday at the Carrboro Town Commons.

Kinnaird, who lives in Carrboro, is one of two candidates running for the District 23 N.C. Senate seat in the Democratic primary, which will be decided on May 6. The other candidate, Moses Carey Jr., of Chapel Hill has served six terms on the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

“Here in this community, people care a lot,” said Jimmy Magoo, one of the artists who played the guitar and sang at Ellie Fest. “And this caring turns into action, that is why we are all here today.”

Ellie Fest, organized by Carrboro Board of Alderman member Dan Coleman, was one of a series of events in Kinnaird’s campaign efforts. The three-hour Ellie Fest was open to the public and was filled with music from local artists, guest speakers, and coffee from Open Eye Café. All of the electricity for the event, which was used mostly to power the bands, was generated from solar power system from Carrboro Solar Works.

“This is the first time we have ever done something like this for the campaign,” said Kinnaird. “It is very Carrboro-like.”

The guest speaker, State Sen. Janet Cowell, talked about Kinnaird’s role as a persistent women’s voice in a mostly-male senate. In the 2007-2008 session, there were only seven women state senators.

“One great example of Ellie’s persistent voice was the Spay/Neuter Bill [Senate Bill 684] that was passed in March after 11 years of work,” said Cowell. “After the bill passed, we left as if we were leaving a soccer field, carrying Ellie on a chair.”

Kinnaird’s campaign also has some help from the younger generation. UNC-Chapel Hill freshman Diane Heath began working on the Kinnaird campaign after meeting campaign manager Lee Rafalow on UNC-CH’s campus. Heath has helped put together materials for a letter writing campaign, and has assisted Kinnaird at public campaign appearances.

“I am extremely interested in state and local government, so I decided there would be no better way to get involved than joining a campaign staff,” said Heath.

Kinnaird has been active in Carrboro politics since 1987 when she was elected Mayor of Carrboro and served four terms. In 1996, she ran for and was elected to the N.C. Senate and is now in running for her seventh term in the legislature.