Jim Young is running for Graham City Council because he enjoys serving the community and wants to keep large housing developments out of the city.

“I want to promote entrepreneurs, local entrepreneurs to open up businesses, not franchises coming in,” Young said. “And whatever money a franchise makes goes right out. It doesn’t stay in the community.”

Young is a member of Graham’s Historic Resources Commission and the city’s Planning Board. He said through these groups, he has been able to voice his concerns about building high-density developments, such as apartment complexes, in the area.

Young said adding more apartment complexes to the area puts a strain on police and fire departments.

Young is the owner and founder of Salvation Coffee Company in Burlington, which opened in 2018. He said he has been a small business owner for 42 years.

According to Young, if elected, he will look for grants and other incentive programs to support entrepreneurs.

“You can keep it small and still have big town amenities,” Young said.

Young was born in Alamance County but grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to North Carolina and has lived in Graham with his wife for 29 years.

Young said he understands that Graham needs to grow, but he would rather promote home ownership over the construction of apartment complexes if elected to Graham City Council.

“There’s something special about being a homeowner. Especially when you’re young and you’re able to buy your first home. It’s really great,” Young said.

Young said he previously ran for Graham mayor in 2017 on a whim because the then mayor, Jerry Peterman, was running unopposed and Young said the only requirement to run was a $10 fee. However, he said he is now running for Graham City Council because he wants to serve his community.

“I’ll put the people first and I’ll make sure to listen to them,” Young said.

Originally from Mississippi, Chin moved to Graham in 2019 and was elected in 2021. He said preserving Graham’s small town atmosphere is one of his main focuses because he supports keeping small businesses in the area instead of bringing in larger chain businesses.

“Distribution centers are fine when the economy is growing,” Chin said. “But if the economy should take a downturn, those big distribution centers, if they went away, if they had to shut down, it has an impact versus if you’ve got a lot of small to medium sized businesses, you know, the impact is less.”

Chin said he is most proud of the council’s ability to secure an updated waste and water treatment plant contract. He said the previous city council did not agree on a contract and eventually the federal government told the City of Graham it would be fined if it didn’t start replacing infrastructure, which Chin said is almost 100 years old in some areas. The contract cost Graham between $82 and $84 million, Chin said.

If reelected, Chin said he is looking forward to the possible construction of a new fire station in the city. There is one fire station in the city of Graham, located at 201 S. Main Street. He said Graham purchased around three acres of land near Graham Regional Park to build a fire station and the new location would be a good opportunity to partner with the community, including a fire training center with Alamance Community College.

Chin served in the Army for 30 years and described himself as a Christian and conservative. He said he wants people to know that while he understands that taxes serve a purpose, he doesn’t want community members to pay more than they should.

“I recognize taxes serve a purpose to provide for the health and well-being of our community. You know, in regards to infrastructure, police department for safety, fire department, things like that,” Chin said. “But I don’t think the taxpayers should be looked upon as the bank of any and all ventures that some of them undertake.”

Randy Phillips has lived in Graham for 57 years and is running for Graham City Council because he said decisions made by the current city council have not been made in the city’s best interest.

Phillips pointed to the city council’s push to move Sesquicentennial Park which has been closed since September 2024.

“There are people who are just totally upset about the dismantling of it and moving the Sesquicentennial Park,” Phillips said. “The current city council is just trying their best, in my opinion, to do just that, and don’t really take into account the issues of the citizens of Graham about that.”

Phillips is the General Manager of Sutton’s At The Wrike. Before his current job, he was a paramedic, retiring 10 years ago, and was a volunteer firefighter with the City of Graham Fire Department for 15 years.

He said Graham needs more fire stations because citizens need to be closer to emergency services and it would lower insurance ratings. If elected, he said he would advocate for new fire department substations.

According to Phillips, he is also focused on lowering Graham tax rates. He said the city needs to grow its presence of large businesses and small industries. He said that since most people in Graham work outside of the city, businesses that can employ more than 100 people would help keep people in the area for work.

He said he has a good understanding of what the city council is allowed to do, but wants to dive deeper into how the council operates.

Phillips also said if elected, he would retire from Sutton’s in order to have more time to dedicate to the city council.

“I get devoted and I put my mind to it and I dedicate myself to that,” Phillips said. “And that’s why if I do get on the city council, that’s why I’m going to retire, so I can devote myself to the city council and the things that the city needs.”

Phillips said he is supported in his candidacy by his wife of 39 years, Denise Phillips, and their two children.