City Council Election Focus: Russ Stephenson

Russ Stephenson is no stranger to the workings of the Raleigh political machine. He was quick to tell me the story of how he, an architecture student at NCSU in the 1970’s, watched as his great aunt fought with the city developers who had hoped to run a major thoroughfare through her house on Oberlin Road. Stephenson said this was his early introduction to the way city governments worked. Since then, the house has become part of the North Carolina Historic registry and a quick tour was a stroll through the local history of art, horticulture, design.

Stephenson now lives in the home with his wife of 26 years, Ellen and teenage son, Jasper. He has worked as an architect, in residential, industrial and commercial design, and currently is a partner in an Urban Planning Consulting firm. He credits his drive for public office on the need to stand up for the underdog and is an advocate for increased stakeholder involvement in governance.

He credits the council and his work with Mayor Meeker on getting funding for the new Convention Center and heaped praise on private industries such as Progress Energy, who have been supportive of downtown development. Stephenson likened the opening of Fayetteville Street (and its inaugural celebration Raleigh Wide Open) as a way to bring people downtown and introduce people to a part of the city they had never seen before. He said that eventually the goal is to make Fayetteville Street a “midway” like one would find a fair, drawing crowds to all sorts of attractions and shops.

“Transportation” Stephenson said, “is at a crossroad” and described how dwindling resources and continued development are forcing the city to face “economic realities”. He described cities around the country that were already taking the initiative and building infrastructure that supported multi-modal transit systems. One example was Portland, which he credited for integrating bus, streetcar, and light rail that allowed for pedestrian friendly development and a healthy urban core. His support for environmental responsible planning hasn’t gone unnoticed; Stephenson was recently endorsed by the local chapter of the Sierra Club.

Councilman Stephenson also discussed graduated impact fees, which he introduced into council when the subject of impact fees was brought forth. The idea here being that developments, both residential and commercial would pay a rate upon construction to cover the cost of city infrastructure. The move towards impact fees, said Stephenson, would eliminate the need for higher property taxes and eliminate an approaching $10.3 billion infrastructure gap held by the city (based on the 2006 Blue Ribbon Committee Report).

He also added that he applauded John Kane’s decision to try and redevelop the old North Hills Mall, and would support economic assistance towards any public benefits from that project. However, that did not include a $75 million subsidy from the city of Raleigh for private condo parking.

Stephenson was quick to also mention that he held a personal affinity for the local music and art scene. He and several friends formed a band that played locally and up-and-down the east coast for eight years. Stephenson emailed me one of their songs which has been attached to the bottom of this post. “A creative class” was necessary for any city to thrive, he said, and ensuring that the city could attract an artistic class was one of his main priorities.

UV Prom - Upper Room [Click to download AAC File]- Recorded by Mitch Easter at his studio in Winston Salem and produced by Don Dixon featuring Russ Stephenson. 

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