Clout In The City

In the best way possible, Raleigh is in the midst of something like an existential crisis. The questions of who the city will be and what it will look like in 10 or 20 years guide every local vote residents cast, every choice made by every elected official, every developer’s decision to build, every new business that opens, every Tweet from every casual observer with a sense of civic pride.

We all know Raleigh will look different in the future from how it looks today, but different how? And who has the power to decide?

We attempt to answer that here by taking a look at the people we feel, in 2018, are driving the conversations and making the future-altering decisions. They’re not the richest Raleighites necessarily, or the titans of industries, banking or real estate—though some of them certainly fall into those categories. They’re more the folks who are using platforms they have to make a tangible difference in the community around us, whether by changing our physical environment through development and construction, by opening and running new stores and restaurants, by bringing art to our public walls, or by shaping the conversations we’re having about topics ranging from gerrymandering to immigration, sustainability to affordable housing.

In other words, these people have clout. If they don’t have the means to do something themselves, they certainly have some power to influence those who do. Right now, they hold the keys to the city and, more than anyone else, they’re shaping the answer to the overarching question on all of our minds: how will Raleigh grow?

Jennifer Martin, Director of Shop Local Raleigh

When outdoor dining was on the chopping block, Martin was the fiercest defender of the businesses that would have been affected. She helped city staff craft at an outdoor dining ordinance that, as far as compromises go, turned out to be pretty acceptable to everyone. Now, Martin has trained her sights on Amazon as it considers locating its second headquarters in Raleigh; as always, she’ll be doing her darnedest to get customers to shop at local stores, whether the e-commerce giant lands here or not. Combine that advocacy with Shop Local’s promotional events and other initiatives and there’s no one doing more to ensure the city’s locally-owned independent businesses stay afloat for the long run, and that Raleigh doesn’t drown in a sea of national chains and big box stores.

Ocracoke Observer

David Meeker, Small Business Owner

The son of former Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker, David Meeker has strong ties to the city and has built a successful business empire of bars, breweries and bottle shops with a running store thrown in for good measure; he also has a portfolio of real estate developments to his name. And, though he doesn’t much seek the spotlight, the younger Meeker has used his profile as a small business owner to speak out against gerrymandering on the basis that it’s bad for business, and therefore, bad for the state’s future. It’s proven a compelling argument; after business owners stressed the link between gerrymandered state districts and the lawmakers that brought us HB 2, Roy Cooper got elected; the bathroom bill was (mostly) repealed, and companies brought their business to the state once again.

Carolina Journal

Brent Woodcox, Legislative attorney

Woodcox’s blog, YIMBY Raleigh, chronicles everything from City Council decisions on rezoning, to real estate deals, to bike lanes and public art, to affordable housing ups and downs. An advocate for property rights and free market initiatives, Woodcox has been one of the most vocal proponents of legalizing Airbnb and allowing backyard cottages and he’ll occasionally drive newspaper coverage of city issues with a well-timed Tweet. His unrestrained style doesn’t endear him to everyone, but those who don’t like him, you can be sure, are paying attention to what he says.

Raleigh Philosophical Society

Jedidiah Gant, Media strategist

His now shuttered blog, New Raleigh, and associated social media presence broke news about new openings and closings all over town, driving folks out to local businesses long before there was ever anything like Offline or the 919 Blog. Since he’s stepped back from New Raleigh, Gant has helped bring dozens of murals to the city’s bare walls through the Raleigh Murals Project. While some are temporary and some are here to stay, all of the murals bring color and character to what would otherwise be humdrum or mundane. They also serve the very real purpose of reminding us that public art is beautiful, valuable, worth paying for—and something we should always strive to maintain.

f8 Photo Studios

Terrence and Tory Holt, Construction executives

The brothers and former football players have parlayed their success on the field to success in the construction industry. The pair won contracts for major projects in Raleigh including the City of Raleigh Central Communication Center, the Innovation Center at Wake Tech’s new campus, and Raleigh Union Station. The city, especially, recruits the brothers for projects it needs taken care of, such as the recently revamped Market and Exchange Plazas. But while they’re constructing Raleigh’s newest buildings and outdoor spaces, the Holts are also using their influence to make the future brighter; they’ve underwritten scholarships for student athletes at NC State and minority students studying construction at Wake Tech and they were key in raising some of the funding that’s making the Southeast Raleigh YMCA project happen.

Mary-Ann Baldwin, Marketing executive, former City Council member

Since stepping away from the Council, Baldwin has had her fingers in lots of pots, and when it comes to speaking her mind, she doesn’t hold back. Along with advocating to bring a professional soccer team to Raleigh and making the city more welcoming for entrepreneurs and innovators (not to mention recruiting them here, too), Baldwin is working with some of Raleigh’s most civically engaged young people to bring about the changes that are important to them. Look for Baldwin’s impacts in the realms of transit, affordable housing, sustainability and politics; near-future changes are on the horizon and in them, she’s sure to have had a hand.

Stef Mendell

Russ Stephenson

The Pro-Neighborhood City Council Bloc 

David Cox

Kay Crowder

David Cox, Kay Crowder, Stef Mendell, Russ Stephenson

While many of these Council members are popular in their districts, easily winning their elections (or re-elections) to their seats, they each only have one vote on the council. Lucky for them, and the constituents who voted for them, they usually come together as a bloc to vote in favor of policies that promote smart, measured, or moderate growth, as they like to say. These council members regularly draw the ire of the YIMBY crowd for their reluctance to move on high-profile issues like short term rentals, accessory dwelling units, high density development projects and anything that could negatively impact neighborhoods. But they insist they want to get it right and truly believe Raleigh will benefit from a thoughtful, more considered approach.

The Foodie Activists

Vansana Nolintha

Angela Salamanca, Burning Coal Theatre Company

Ashley Christensen, Van Nolintha, Angela Salamanca

Ashley Christense, genconnectu.com

Van Nolintha, owner of Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, and Centro owner Angela Salamanca, had a novel way of getting downtown Raleigh residents to the polls in 2016. They put on a parade or two with towering puppets and a mariachi band, but the fun of the spectacle belied the seriousness of the issues at stake that election cycle, including immigration. Both Nolintha and Salamanca are immigrants and have used their prominence in the community to make Raleigh a more welcoming place; it’s hard to believe Raleigh residences and businesses would proudly display welcome signs in different languages from a local nonprofit without their good-natured advocacy. Ashley Christensen also has used her position at the helm of a restaurant empire to advocate for causes important to her. If she wants to open a new restaurant downtown, you have to believe she’ll do it, but she’ll want that restaurant’s staff paid a decent wage—and you know she’ll make sure that happens, too.

The Developers

Greg Hatem, News & Observer

Greg Hatem, John Kane, Jason Queen

John Kane

As a growing city, Raleigh is flush with real estate developers looking to put up a building and make a buck, but among the many, these three stand out—their ideas are good, they know the right people, and they do their jobs well. All are behind some of the city’s more interesting recent projects, including the Dillon, John Kane’s mixed-use landmark project in the Warehouse District, and Transfer Co., Jason Queen’s food hall and market opening in the old Stone’s Warehouse this summer. Kane is best known for redeveloping North Hills, but the Dillon and Smoky Hollow see him venturing downtown, and opening the first (and second!) downtown grocery stores. Like Queen and Monarch Property Co., Greg Hatem and Empire Properties places a premium on historic preservation and redevelopment. Historic buildings give our city character and remind of us of our culture and complexity; we’re lucky to have the Monarch-restored old homes in southeast Raleigh, as well as Empire’s redeveloped Odd Fellows and Raleigh Times buildings to enjoy for many years to come.

Jason Queen, News & Observer