Quinn Ray is one of three members of the town of Elon town council up for reelection in 2023 and the first to announce his candidacy. His main goals if elected are to make Elon an example of what a successful college town can be, for both students and residents. Ray, a native of Alamance County, was elected to Elon Town Council for the first time in 2019. Ray was elected alongside Mark Greene, who was an incumbent at the time, and Monti Allison. All three town council members are up for reelection in November.

Ray previously worked at The Root Trackside and was also a business partner for The Root and Tangent Eat + Bar. He now works as an insurance advisor at The Peterson Agency. Ray came on Elon Local News to announce his candidacy live and to discuss his goals for the role, should he be reelected in November.


This interview has been edited for clarity.

Can you start by describing what town council is and what your role is currently?

When I first got elected, we were currently the Board of Aldermen and we have switched to the Town Council … The town council really is a nonpartisan position … The biggest role is making sure we're good stewards of the tax dollars, making sure public services … are well taken care of as roads and sidewalks and our water and sewer, things of that nature.

I know when you first mentioned coming on tonight, you talked about how you want to make this reelection campaign more of a county and statewide one. Could you talk a little bit about that?

I believe Elon has the potential to be a shining example of a community built on collaboration, innovation and mutual respect, where everybody has the opportunity to thrive and succeed. So, over the past four years with me on the board, we have definitely pushed initiative to improve our infrastructure, improve our public services, revitalize our downtown and even survive a pandemic, and also prioritizing a welcoming and sustainable community.

What do you hope to achieve if you are reelected?

I want to continue what I’ve built, then push forward that Elon can be an example to the state and to other college towns, that we are a place where everybody is welcome, that everybody has their needs and interests as residents met, where it's not just a place where people live, where people want to come, where people want to raise a family, and where people want to work.

The next town council meeting is 6 p.m. May 22 at town hall.