We may not head to the polls to cast our votes until Tuesday, Nov. 8, for the statewide general election and municipal election, but the race is heating up in Raleigh. While the filing period doesn’t open until July (July 1–15), here is who has thrown their hat in the ring so far in races for mayor and city council. And before you flippantly flip the page, we implore you to get to know the field. Dig the local development? Hate it? Guess what—it’s the very people on these pages who will be making those decisions for us over the next several years. And in our last municipal election in 2019, an abysmal 13% showed up to vote. Read that again: 13% of our residents are responsible for how our city has been managed and developed over the last three years. Wouldn’t you like to have a say? If you’re registered, please vote. And if you’re not, there’s still time. You have until 25 days prior to Election Day to register. In the meantime, start knowing the field and what’s at stake. We’ll see you at the polls, Raleigh.
Here’s the way the Raleigh race is shaping up as of press time.
Raleigh’s City Council selected Stormie Forte from a pool of more than 50 applicants, and five finalists, to replace Saige Martin as the city’s District D representative after Martin stepped down due to sexual misconduct allegations. Forte, a Raleigh native, attorney and the first Black woman to serve on the council, was sworn into office in July. We spoke to Forte about District D, which covers southwest Raleigh including parts of downtown, and how she plans to tackle some of the biggest issues currently facing the city.
What is the most important issue in District D currently?
Development. District D has probably the most development projects in the works, and likely the most prospective projects. There is a lot going on.
Downtown South is one large project that’s proposed. It has its supporters but some residents worry about impacts on nearby neighborhoods, including gentrification, and on the environment. What are your thoughts?
With these large developments, the more engagement the city tries to have with residents, as well as with the folks who want to make contributions in the form of development, the better. There are ongoing conversations related to how to deal with traffic issues and how to deal with some of the surrounding communities. Looking at what the viability is going to be for the surrounding communities and surrounding neighborhoods will be very important.
You’ve spoken about building bridges between the city government and residents. Why is there a need to do that and what are the best ways to achieve it?
A lot of folks are protective of the community and the current composition of their neighborhood in terms of types of housing and felt they could share concerns through the CACs [local citizen advisory groups]. Now, they feel they are not necessarily being heard. Groups continue to meet as neighborhood associations and I have attended those meetings virtually and answered questions. Residents have invited me to walk the neighborhoods with them. Then, there are folks who have projects and want to talk about that they want to do, so I talk with them as well. I want to hear all sides and be aware of information from city staff. I intend to make decisions and vote based on information from everyone. I will not be able make everyone happy but I want to create a good balance. I will review everything that comes to the council table on a case by case basis and do what I feel is in the best interest of the district and the city.
What do you hope will come out of the community engagement study that consultant Mickey Fearn is currently conducting?
Transparency, making sure the taxpayers and citizens feel processes are inclusive and their voices are heard. I hope the outcome will be one where you would have more participation by folks who are not currently engaged in what is happening.
How do you think the council should address policing? Your predecessor was vocal about defunding the police. You personally have suggested creating an ombudsman program for police accountability.
There is a challenge in folks understanding what the meaning of “defunding” the police is. For some, the perception is the police department would be disbanded. That is not what activists and grassroots folks are advocating for. It is more along the lines of the reallocation of resources and talking to folks in the community. Police officers don’t want to be social workers, they don’t want to be psychologists, and the overwhelming majority of officers believe it is their mission to protect and serve. So, if there is a mechanism to give the police department some relief through setting up new channels to respond to different types of situations, I would be supportive. I would support a resource for the community to report things they felt needed to be addressed in the police department and also a mechanism for folks within the department—law enforcement officers, administrative staff or whomever—where, if there are things they want brought to the attention of city leadership without feeling repercussions, they would have a way.
You’ve floated the idea of using smaller city buses on less frequented routes rather than having large buses drive around empty. What are your other thoughts on tackling Raleigh transit?
My position is evolving but thinking about, ‘How do we make it more enticing to use public transportation to get to different places within the Triangle?’ Is there a way to make it easier to get from place to place? If you want to be able to attract an Amazon or Apple headquarters, having a good inventory of affordable housing, as well as a great transportation system, will attract business. You don’t necessarily want large buses moving through the city at non-peak hours, so if we can get smaller buses and shorter routes in place, have more express routes, that will help make sure people get from point A to point B more efficiently and be more attractive to people who utilize the buses.
What will you be looking for in city manager candidates?
Someone with a good amount of experience dealing with a municipality the size of Raleigh, or maybe larger, and with the challenges we will be facing. There is an affordable housing bond being proposed, so experience with expanding housing in the area. Certainly the challenges with the community as it relates to dealing with the police department. We need a person who has the skillset to navigate the city’s challenges but also to guide the city through opportunities.
Q & A by Jane Porter; edited for length and clarity.
Note: The council held two special meetings in June and July to address Council member Saige Martin’s resignation in late June and to appoint Council member Stormie Forte to represent District D and serve out the remainder of Martin’s term. August 18 was Forte’s first regular meeting.
Council voted to allocate $300,000 to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance to assist in efforts to reactivate downtown following the coronavirus shutdown and civil unrest.
Council approved sending a letter, written by Council member Jonathan Melton, to state lawmakers asking them to grant the city’s police review/advisory board additional oversight authority, including investigatory and disciplinary powers. (Advisory board members were appointed in June and sworn in and trained in August).
Council voted unanimously to designate June 19, or Juneteenth, an official, paid holiday for city employees.
During its evening meeting, the council voted to authorize an $81 million affordable housing bond to appear on the November ballot.
Council voted 6-1 to allow residents to build and rent accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or backyard cottages, on their property, following years of debate. Council member David Cox voted against. Council also voted to allow cottage courts (inward-facing smaller homes) in most residential zoning districts citywide and reduced minimum parking requirements downtown, along transit corridors and for multi-unit residential projects.
August 18 Meeting
The council received an update on downtown’s public safety and economic recovery.
Raleigh police chief Cassandra Deck-Brown presented information on a new unit within the police department to address homelessness and mental health.
Council approved a new definition of micromobility, which covers transit options including electric scooters, in the city code and gave city staff the authority to approve new contracts with micromobility companies. Expect to see more options from electric scooter companies in Raleigh soon.
Council voted to cancel all city events through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will only consider allowing permits for special events for groups of 25 people or fewer. The council will hold virtual meetings through the end of the year and city staff will explore ways to make large city events, such as the New Year’s Eve celebration, virtual.
The council announced the Carolina Panthers will donate $150,000 towards building an NFL Play 60 course as part of a new playground and amenities at Barwell Road Park in southeast Raleigh. The total cost of the project is $600,000.
2020 has not been the year Raleigh’s City Council had planned for.
It’s a hell of a year to be in charge of running the City of Raleigh.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the city’s normally bustling streets have been quiet, with festivals, concerts and conventions cancelled, park facilities closed and many beloved small businesses struggling to survive. A planned-for parks bond, Raleigh’s moonshot in mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin’s words, has been postponed and, as if out of nowhere, heavily armed masked visitors are patrolling downtown streets and Subway sandwich shops. In recent weeks, our once-vibrant Southern capital city has felt borderline dystopian.
This month, as the council prepares the city’s budget for the next fiscal year, Raleigh could be looking at a $25 to $30 million shortfall, Baldwin says. While the city has committed to retaining workers, it has frozen new hiring and will be looking to save money by deferring non-essential contracts and cancelling conventions, travel and gatherings like the the Fourth of July celebration. Each city department will look at where it can make cuts, and we can expect fee increases for some services such as recycling. There is also likely to be a controversial proposal to raise the city’s property tax rate to pay for more police officers and firefighters.
“This is not the year we envisioned, dreamed about or planned for,” Baldwin says. “Who could have imagined this?”
Since COVID-19 emerged in March and Gov. Roy Cooper issued a stay at home order that closed restaurants, retailers and other commercial businesses, city leaders have scrambled to address a burgeoning crisis, quickly shifting gears from their earlier work to push forward with ambitious policy goals.
The council allocated $100,000 to nonprofits to assist homeless families and established a $1 million fund for small businesses to apply for economic relief; it is working to match that investment with corporate donations. The city also suspended water service disconnections for nonpayment and relaxed fees for increased use. And council members are looking at innovative ways to capitalize on reduced traffic, such as opening city streets and shopping centers to bikers and pedestrians and restauranteurs who can use the extra space to comply with social distancing. Baldwin is working with the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce to assemble a group of community leaders “who can look at our future and help guide us on where we want to go and how we can get there with big ideas and big thinking,” she says.
“There is a great sense of wanting to emerge from COVID stronger and better,” says Jonathan Melton, an at-large council member serving in his first term. “This has brought some attention to some areas we can tweak and improve. COVID has changed the way we are looking at how the city is structured, how our services are provided and how we engage with each other.”
Jonathan Melton | Photo by Jennifer Robertson
On the topic of engagement, the council recently voted to hire consultant Mickey Fearn who, over the next 10 months, will explore new ways to get the public interested in city initiatives and get a new structure in place for public outreach. The move comes following a controversial council vote to disband the city’s Citizen Advisory Councils.
“The prior system of community engagement had been in place for 50 years and it’s a good idea to retool and refresh systems periodically, as times have certainly changed,” Melton says. “The way we send, receive and share information has changed from 50 years ago and our system of government should respond accordingly.”
Proponents of CACs say the community meetings were a good outlet for residents to engage with city staff from various departments, as well as with developers proposing new projects. Residents could vote on controversial rezoning proposals for their neighborhoods and the CAC votes would go to the council for potential consideration before council members voted on the project.
But, rather than ceding control of input from residents to developers as CAC fans have argued, Baldwin says the council has actually broadened opportunities for input from residents. Neighbors within an expanded geographical area are now notified of proposed projects. They now have two meetings with developers and city staff that they have opportunities to attend and the city’s outreach about such meetings now extends to renters, not just homeowners.
Additionally, the council has established a new advisory board for Hispanic and immigrant affairs and is working to create a police advisory board to inform the council on potential policy changes it could make to improve relationships between residents and the police.
“It’s opening the doors of communication, trying to figure out ways we can build trust with the community,” Baldwin says of the police board, which is still seeking applications.
In the months and perhaps years to come, transit will be another challenge the council will need to address. With the first phase of the design for Raleigh’s piece in the Wake County transit plan—the New Bern Avenue corridor—complete, city and county leaders will still have to find ways to convert car dependent residents into choice users of the new Bus Rapid Transit system, a challenge in the best of times, much more so during a global pandemic. Work on micro-mobility issues—think scooters—has been temporarily stalled, but Melton says it should resume soon. He believes the city can lead on the issue, including expanding micro-mobility options in Raleigh.
So what about that mini militia that keeps turning up in and around the State Capitol?
Well, it’s complicated. North Carolina is an open carry state, First and Second Amendment rights are in play and Baldwin says city officials are working with the district attorney to get some guidance about how to address it.
“Because of state law, we are pretty powerless to do anything about it and that is frustrating,” she says. “When I talk to small business owners and explain what we’re up against, their mouths are hanging open. No one has ever seen anything like this.”
All told, Baldwin and Melton say they feel the council has accomplished much of what it set out to address this year. A majority of members worked quickly to allow short-term rentals and accessory dwelling units by right, and there is more to come on missing middle housing in the affordable housing bond referendum that will appear on ballots this fall.
Expected to be valued at around $80 million, the council will likely vote to approve the bond referendum early this month. The bond, which will cost the average homeowner around $20-$25 a year, could cover gap funding for purchasing affordable housing units, buying land on transit corridors to be used for affordable housing, money for public-private partnerships, for first-time home buyers and for people who want to stay in their homes but need to do repairs.
“The consensus seems to be that this is exactly what we need to be doing right now, helping those most in need,” Baldwin says.
As for opening city streets to bikers, pedestrians and restaurants, it’s something Raleigh is very likely to see in the next 30 days.
“As we start to slowly reopen, more people are going to be leaving their homes but it’s still important to be mindful of social distancing requirements,” Melton says. “Whatever we can do to allow people to frequent small businesses, restaurants, to get out and exercise, to give them space to do that in a safe way, I’m in favor of.”
Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin requested city staff bring planning proposals for ADUs (backyard cottages) and cottage courts before the council on June 2.
The council voted 7-1 to hire consultant Mickey Fearn, a professor at NC State’s College of Natural Resources, to study ways to engage local communities in place of CACs at a cost of $72,000 from council’s contingency funds.
The council received a report on the city’s COVID-19 response. City staff is working to ensure PPE is available for city workers and implementing wellness checks at downtown facilities and for some employees.
At its evening meeting, the council voted unanimously to allocate $1.8 million in federal CARES Act funds to provide rent, utility and mortgage assistance, and $1 million in federal emergency solutions grants to assist with homelessness and eviction prevention, to low income households.
May 19 Meeting:
Under its Shared Streets for Social Distancing Accommodations initiative, the council voted unanimously to authorize city staff to start identifying streets across town that could close to car traffic to make more space for bicyclists and pedestrians to use. Council also voted to allow staff to look at ways for restaurants and bars to expand seating options for diners as they begin to reopen at limited capacity.
Council voted 7-1 to accept new terms governing a partnership between the City and the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy, the nonprofit tasked with raising private funds for creating the park. The new Memorandum of Agreement governs appointments to the Conservancy board and term lengths, among other considerations.
The council received a report on the city’s COVID-19 response. The city has aligned its reopening efforts with the state’s three reopening phases and is taking measures to ensure safety of city workers.
The city manager introduced a $1.01 billion proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year. The city will hold a public hearing on the budget, and will consider adding an $80 million affordable housing bond to the November ballot, on June 2. The council appointed 15 members to its newly established Commission on Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs.
