City Council Election Focus: Will Best

In addition to being the only Independent in the race, Will Best is also the youngest. At 29, he believes that he stands the best (no pun intended) chance of representing the changing demographics of the city. “Think about it, in 2005 the Census estimated there were 100 thousand residents between the ages of 18-35 in Raleigh and they have little to no representation.” Best told me. While he says that his age has raised questions along the campaign trail, his work experience on the city’s planning department and current employment with the Policy Division of NC Department of Commerce makes him the perfect candidate to attract hip new business and tourism to Raleigh.

Best and his wife live downtown and admits that more can be done to attract people downtown. “It’s time for us to put money where our mouth is.” Best said, and acknowledged that increasing awareness of downtown was key to getting more people downtown, which would in turn boost development. Unlike other members of the council, Best pledged to be seen downtown and said meeting and listening to people would break down the barriers between the public and the politician. “If you see me out having a beer at the Raleigh Times, come see me, say hello.”

As far as specific policy changes, Best said that the city could do more as far as tax incentives to encourage growth downtown. He said the Convention Center was just the tip of the iceberg. Best said that the city should be actively encouraging basic services downtown such as laundry and grocery stores. He heaped praise on the development of mixed-use facilities but said people won’t come in truly large numbers until middle income earners are able to move downtown and have all the amenities they would have if they moved to the suburbs.

Transportation was another issue with Will Best. He encourages incentives similar to the “go-pass” to boost ridership. He also said there needed to be a major re-evaluation of the stops offered by the city, as well as the width of roads used by many of the CAT routes. Best did not support the construction of a multi-modal hub, and instead argued that the same services were already provided and could be augmented at the Moore Square station.

In closing, Best said that Raleigh was ready for 21st Century leadership, and that required more than just developing a good perception, but developing good governance. Best pointed to one estimate that had Raleigh’s population well over 600,000 in 10 years, with most of that growth happening in South and Southeast Raleigh. Best believes that Raleigh is a welcoming place and a place where people want to be, and most importantly we should do our best to prepare for coming population boom through encouraging business downtown, and bringing forth fresh ideas and solutions.

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