North Carolina's capital city has continued gentrifying to the point that it's officially become the fourth least affordable city nationally for singles, which might as well apply to various other demographics. Other key issues have involved the relocation of the Red Hat Ampitheater and overhauling the City Council.
On the latter, vested interests like Eric Braun (hat tip ex-City Council candidate Kristen Havlik) made the recommendation to stagger the terms of the Raleigh City Council and to expand said terms from two to four years. The problem? This was done without any public input, and the working group Braun was a part of also nixed a proposal that would have added three district seats. These vested interests (which are not unlike the various political factions in Greensboro) have help made Raleigh unaffordable to anyone who isn't a part of the professional managerial class--different from my days as an NC State student.
As for the former, the amphitheater is being forced to relocate because the convention center is being expanded. This caused a lot of consternation throughout the summer and early fall as threats to take live music out of Raleigh were mentioned. I just don't see the need for the convention center to take up two blocks when Red Hat could have been converted to a downtown arena at its current site.
Mayor
Mary-Ann Baldwin is stepping down after two terms due to simultaneous cancer diagnoses to her and her husband. She's largely responsible for the gentrification. Five candidates are running to replace her.
Paul Fitts is an automatic no-go. In addition to his Republican affiliation, his extreme pro-police stance disqualifies him from consideration for any contest. He's the reason why ex-Mayor Nancy McFarlane was forced into a runoff seven years ago.
James Shaughnessy IV has ties to pro-Ukrainian groups, which would have made him a good fit on the previous City Council. No thanks.
Janet Cowell is the undisputed frontrunner in this race. As a major note, I voted for her as a student when she ran for the At-Large seat twice and years later during her successful runs for State Treasurer. Why the change? She was the progressive in the early 2000s but after her simultaneous promotions to the NC Senate and NC Treasurer, Cowell is now a face of the Democratic establishment in NC with Roy Cooper term-limited and likely focused on 2028 or 2032 and Josh Stein likely the next governor. Both ex-Mayors Charles Meeker and McFarlane have already backed her.
In the end it's Eugene Myrick over Terrance Ruth for me.
District A
Whitney Hill, like Fitts, is extremely pro-cop and Republican.
Mitchell Silver is the city's former planning director and has firm establishment support lined up behind him.
This makes reelecting Mary Black a very easy choice.
District B
I empathically support Megan Patton for reelection in Northeast Raleigh.
District C
Corey Branch was forced back into defending his seat after it became clear that various groups in Southeast Raleigh were going to back Cowell in the mayor's race and that there was very little to no confidence in any of the six people aiming to replace him. Given that he's a status quo face on the current City Council, he's a no-go for this blog.
Tomara DeCosta pretty much disqualified herself the moment she said that she was a conservative Republican.
Tolulope Omokaiye has the official Wake County Democratic Party endorsement, making her the establishment's pick (sorta).
Out of the other four, Daniel Grant-King gets the nod over Portia Rochelle, Daquanta Copeland and Jared Ollison.
District D
Jane Harrison is running unopposed, but the fact that she supported the failed ceasefire resolution is a green light for me.
District E
Christina Jones deserves another term even though NC State alum and 9/11 hero John Cerqueira is also in this race.
At-Large
Stormie Foote and Jonathan Melton do not deserve to be reelected--and I'll leave it at that.
James Bledsoe is aligned with Andrew Yang's Forward Party.
Robert Steele, Jr. lost his fiancée in the October 2022 mass shooting in East Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood.
Reeves Peeler is endorsed by the NC Triangle DSA, but there's one major problem that prevented me from endorsing him: The Red Hat Ampitheater. On September 24, Peeler was one of the five votes on the Planning Commission that went against the City Council's decision to close South Street between Dawson and McDowell Streets. Ultimately, the Planning Commission's decision didn't matter but if it did, Peeler would have been blamed for Downtown Raleigh being less lively.
As a true socialist and the only Green Party member running in the capital city, Joshua Bradley is the only choice for this contest.
