Meet the Candidate: Jovonia Lewis

Since 2020, Jovonia Lewis has served on the Board of Education for Durham Public Schools. Now, she’s one of 11 candidates vying for five seats on the Durham County Commission.
Lewis, 48, is a North Carolina native who founded Empowered Parents in Community (EPiC) to promote equity in public schools.
Southpoint Access asked Lewis to answer some questions for our readers. The same invitation has been extended to other candidates for County Commission. We will publish their responses as soon as possible after they are received.
Why are you running to serve on the County Commission?
Jovonia Lewis: I am running to serve on the County Commissions because I have a deep sense of commitment to our community, driven by a desire to create positive change.
Based on my experience as a veteran elected school board member, I realize that systems impacting children in our community have to be addressed simultaneously. As we work to change the outcomes for children through education, we have to also revisit and review the various structures and systems that uphold the community supporting the children.
We can begin with looking closely at the microsystem of the child’s family, school, peers, and other immediate surroundings that directly influence their development and well-being. My breadth of experience – as a parent, small business owner, mental health expert and counselor, parent advocate, and city task force leader – lends necessary expertise and consensus-building to the commission.
The county commission provides leadership and direction to the systems and structures that impact children and families in Durham. Everything from health and wellness, public safety, and city-county planning are all contributing elements governing the lives of our youngest community members to our senior citizens. These are also all arenas where I have crafted policy, built consensus, fostered relationships, and continue to prioritize as critical issues for our residents. This intersection of systems as it relates to policy and well-being of residents demands our leaders know how to approach and deal with.
As an elected official, I recognize that the commission requires certain skills and expertise– it is not an ideal arena to learn to be an elected official, but it is a position that benefits from leaders who have relationships and expertise, and willingness to work in coalition for the greater good of the county. I would be able to hit the ground running.
What are your strategies for addressing community safety and reducing crime in Durham County?
Jovonia Lewis: Addressing community safety and reducing crime in Durham County is critical to the health and wellness of our community. Safety looks like improving policies that negatively impact people of color and those from low wealth communities. Safety also includes getting to the root cause of the overwhelming increase of youth involved in gun violence. Prioritizing public safety and wellness from a both/and perspective is imperative, as is offering the support needed for community accountability and healing.
Consistently leading through these channels will make Durham a greater place to live, work, raise children, and retire. Addressing fundamental human rights such as housing, education, food security, and workforce development will improve community safety and reduce crime. Community safety and reducing crime must be approached from multisystem preventions and interventions.
My leadership on the city’s Racial Equity Task Force exemplifies my success in building consensus, working through challenges (community engagement at the beginning of a pandemic was critical but not easy, for starters!), and crafting policy that is rooted in intersecting systems. My time on the school board reveals my leadership as it supports staff, families, and students, including supporting youth-lead events.
There are some short-term goals that we can achieve and long-term goals to focus on. The disproportionately high involvement of Black men and boys, aged 12 to 24, in gun violence is alarming and I began implementing strategies as a school board member and the founding director of a nonprofit, Empowered Parents in Community (EPIC), to bring people together and begin to have the crucial conversations. Focusing on the youth has been the center of everything that I do. At its core, the formation of EPIC was centered on advocacy for children and my work on the Racial Equity Task Force involved the consultation and consideration of youth at its core.
How do you plan to support economic growth and job creation within the county?
Jovonia Lewis: Workforce development is key to a thriving community. My vision begins with our schools and requires collaboration across sectors. Exposing our youth to what is possible and ensuring that they receive relevant skills and knowledge will support Durham’s workforce development.
This approach will not only equip youth and young adults for the demands of the modern workforce, but also foster a seamless transition from education to employment, ultimately contributing to the sustained growth and prosperity of our community. It is important for the business community to partner with the school communities to open doors of opportunity for increased options after graduation.
We need to ensure our Durham residents are prepared for the workforce demand in our area and contribute to the innovations. Our city (and state) has been good for businesses (as we want!); I want our workers to be supported and to thrive, too.
We also need to consider keeping our focus on the comprehensive development plan with strategies to impact economic growth and attract businesses to Durham. Whereas, as the development is happening, we have to consider affordable housing and its infrastructure to keep economic growth in mind for all of Durham’s citizens. We must make certain that anyone interested in modifying Durham, leave our city a better place with state-of-the-art amenities and programs that support the whole person in every neighborhood.
By forming these joint collaborations, we can explore innovative solutions that address the housing challenges many families in our community face each day – including keeping families from being displaced.
Finally, we have to have initiatives in place that support our small business community. Addressing their concerns that will attract and keep customers; support their employees with affordable housing, transportation and parking options; and keep their leasing options affordable to remain in Durham. Maintaining our values of supporting local businesses who will support our community are key to economic growth and job creation.
How would you improve transportation and infrastructure, including road maintenance and public transportation systems?
Jovonia Lewis: There is an urgent need to improve mobility within Durham. Being in a time when people who were working remotely and young adults had less means to purchase a car or pay for gas, mass transportation can offset these needs for employees coming into Durham.
We need to explore an infrastructure that will support multimodal transit options and expanded connectivity. With a comprehensive network of transit choices, I would focus to improve our bus system, incorporate rails, and safety needs around bike lanes. Being car-centric is a policy choice, and although some of this is because our county is hampered by state regulations, we can also do a better job of prioritizing this.
Bike Durham’s advocacy for safer streets is but one example of the passion our county residents have for exploring a less car-centric, safer Durham. This advocacy makes Durham safer for everyone.
What do you consider the most critical challenges faced by Durham County?
Jovonia Lewis: Durham residents deserve to have access to high-quality, fully funded public education; housing; and healthcare. They deserve to feel safe, have purpose, and feel empowered. When people are wondering if they will get displaced, if they will have enough food, if their child will experience injustices, they cannot thrive.
While Durham County Commissioners’ scope is limited, our most critical issue is to recognize the challenges being faced by our most vulnerable. As one of the community leaders on the city’s Racial Equity Task Force, there were various recommendations that crossed the 3 local governing bodies. I continue to rely on that research to support the most critical challenges faced by Durham County.
As stated in the Report of the Durham Racial Equity Task Force: An Urgent and Loving Call to Action: “In a city born during Reconstruction and reared under Jim Crow, shocking inequities between white people and people of color are still evident in 21st Century Durham. If we reject the notion that these disparities are normal, due to differences in capability or culture, it is imperative that we take significant strides to undo the negative legacies that haunt our local and national history. We need to be not merely anti-racist in thought, but actively and continuously anti-racist in deed.”
Our priorities need to have the greatest impact for those closest to inequities. With innovative funding and programs to eradicate poverty, while also supporting our small business community who maintains employment opportunities for community members.
Over the next four years, I would advocate for budgeting that supports workforce development and building wealth for Durham citizens and economic development for Durham County, public health, and public safety.
What are your plans to promote environmental sustainability and green initiatives in Durham County?
Jovonia Lewis: We need collaborative partnerships with organizations like Keep Durham Beautiful in the form of public/private partnership to ensure Durham is environmentally just.
We need to review policy that impacts environmental sustainability and support development that includes green initiatives; I think the recent conversation with the city government around requiring new developments to be designed for pedestrians, transit-riders, and bicyclists, while working to reduce sprawl, is key to sustainable growth here.
We can be leaders in developing a bold climate action plan with others in our region. And as mentioned previously, the Vision Zero plan combined with working to make Durham safer for bikes, buses, and pedestrians, will be crucial. We must plan more sustainably and dramatically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
In terms of my plans, I am interested in countywide green infrastructure, working to make sure development is built using pedestrian-oriented design principles, and fighting to make Durham more transit-accessible. Let’s make Durham green!
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