Donnan's interest in labor has rural roots
Published: May 12, 2008
Mary Fant Donnan of Winston-Salem grew up in rural Grayson County, Va., with a family that believed in hard work.
Now as the top vote-getter in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the state Commissioner of Labor, she is competing for North Carolina's top labor job. That position is now held by Cherie Berry, a two-term Republican incumbent.
"I have been from one of those rural communities that is affected by job losses," Donnan said. "That's what I think birthed this interest.
"The more I spend time on it, the more passionate I become about it."
Donnan got her start working on labor issues as a policy analyst for the N.C. Department of Labor in the 1990s.
In seven years as a program officer at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the core of Donnan's work has centered on understanding the plight of workers in communities, she said, many of which are rural and have suffered job losses in the past few years.
Donnan has worked closely with advocacy groups on farm-worker housing and a living-income standard -- a way of looking at what it costs to raise a family in a community factoring in location and family size, she said.
Donnan says that her work at the foundation increased her understanding of the issues that the state faces.
Donnan led with 327,530 votes in Tuesday's primary, according to unofficial results. She faces a potential runoff against John C. Brooks of Raleigh, a former labor commissioner who got 289,816 votes. Those results do not include all absentee ballots and provisional votes.
After official results from the state board of elections are posted Tuesday, there is a chance that a recount could be called and positions of candidates may change, said Gary Bartlett, the state elections director.
If that happens, Bartlett is required by law to notify the candidates within 24 hours in case the runner-up wants to call for a second primary. The runner-up has until noon Thursday to decide to call for a second primary or accept the official results, he said.
Donnan said that a runoff could provide the chance for people to get a deeper understanding of the office and labor issues.
"From my point of view, it's good government," Donnan said of a possible runoff. "It's a lot of work to be a candidate. Ultimately, we're working very hard as Democrats to be in a position to challenge Berry in the fall. I think all of us have that goal."