Editing Cary, North Carolina (section)

== Government ==
{{see also|List of mayors of Cary, North Carolina}}
[[File:Harold Weinbrecht 0614 (1).jpg|thumb|upright|Mayor [[Harold Weinbrecht]]]]

Despite its sizable population, Cary is classified as a "town" because that is how it was incorporated with the State; North Carolina has no legal distinction between a city and a town for size.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bolejack |first=Scott |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Should Cary call itself a city or a town? Does it even matter? |work=[[News & Observer]] |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article207684979.html |access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/towns-and-cities |title=Towns and Cities |last=Stick |first=David |date=2006 |website=NCPedia |publisher=North Carolina Government & Heritage Library |access-date=August 4, 2022}}</ref> Cary has a [[council-manager government]]; the mayor and council members serve a four-year term, with half of the council seats being up for election each odd-numbered year. Four of the six council seats are elected by [[single-member district]]s; the remaining two seats are elected as [[at-large]] representatives, meaning they must attract a majority of votes across the whole town.<ref>{{cite web |title=Town Council |url=https://www.townofcary.org/mayor-council/town-council |access-date=June 3, 2021 |publisher=Town of Cary}}</ref> Notable mayors include [[Fred Bond Jr.]] (1971–1983), [[Glen Lang]] (1999–2003), and [[Harold Weinbrecht]] (2007–present).<ref name="Cary-2022b" /><ref name="carycitizen-2022">{{Cite web |title=150 Moment: Mayor Fred G. Bond – CaryCitizen |url=https://carycitizen.news/2021/09/17/150-moment-mayor-fred-g-bond/ |access-date=November 8, 2022 |website=carycitizen.news}}</ref>

As of August 2024, the town council consists of mayor [[Harold Weinbrecht]] and representatives Jennifer Robinson (District A, Mayor Pro Tem), Michelle Craig (District B), Jack W. Smith (District C), Sarika Bansal (District D), Lori Bush (at-large), and Carissa Kohn-Johnson (at-large). On October 9, 2007, Weinbrecht defeated incumbent mayor Ernie McAlister in the 2007 mayoral election.<ref name="Carlson-2007" /> Citizen concerns that rapid growth was adversely affecting infrastructure and environment over the effect rapid growth was having on the town, especially on roads, schools, and the environment, led to McAlister's ouster and Weinbrecht's reelection in [[2011 Cary, North Carolina mayoral election|2011]], [[2015 Cary, North Carolina mayoral election|2015]], and [[2019 Cary, North Carolina mayoral election|2019]], and 2023.<ref name="Carlson-2007">{{cite news |first=Kelcey |last=Carlson |title=Town of CaryWeinbrecht Wins Upset in Cary Mayoral Race |date=October 9, 2007 |publisher=[[Capitol Broadcasting Company]] |url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1908306/ |work=WRAL News |access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref><ref>Brown, Trent. "[https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article235853302.html Cary mayor re-elected, new council member elected, according to unofficial results]", ''[[The News & Observer]]'', October 8, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2020.</ref>

On December 26, 2009, ''[[The Nation]]'' reported that [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE) had secret prisons in the United States, where it held suspected illegal immigrants indefinitely before deportation.<ref name="Stevens-2009">{{cite news |last=Stevens |first=Jacqueline |date=December 16, 2009 |title=America's Secret ICE Castles |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/americas-secret-ice-castles/ |access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref> It reported that at least one of these secret federal prisons was allegedly located in an office building in Cary.<ref name="Stevens-2009" /> Part of the federal government's [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], ICE has leased an office in Cary for more than ten years.<ref name="WRAL-2011">{{Cite web |last= |date=June 27, 2011 |title=Cary neighborhood opposes potential immigration office |url=https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9787378/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=WRAL.com |language=en}}</ref> However, both ICE and the town says that no detainees are kept overnight at this location.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Administration/pio/factsheet-caryice.htm |title=Get the Facts - ICE in Cary |access-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628232324/http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Administration/pio/factsheet-caryice.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name="WRAL-2011" />