Raleigh City Election Results - Final Thoughts
With most votes being reported the winners are clear. McFarlane, Koopman, Stephenson and Baldwin have all been elected to their respective seats. (Taliaferro Challenges Koopman to a runoff) It looks like a very growth minded slate of candidates, save Baldwin, which I wholly feel is tied closely to real-estate interests. Congratulations to everyone as I know it was a tough campaign that had the city strongly divided. New Raleigh also wishes the best to all of the other candidates, particularly the four six that granted us “chats” as Below the Beltline called them. Speaking of Below the Beltline and Baldwin, a new term has been coined by Dr. de Gama: “Develocrat.” Head over there to see what the hell he is talking about- I think it will be a very popular adjective for at least the next two years. Update: de Gama is being reported as having given up on his blog. New Raleigh will go ahead and call this horse-shit and ask him to please come back to life asap. Lastly, I wanted to personally congratulate Helen Tart. While New Raleigh never made endorsements many publications and local groups did. Helen was on some lists and left conspicuously off others. She has been an active participant on the site and with very little advertising (I appreciated *not* seeing your sign at every intersection) or funding, Helen was able to pick up almost 10% of the total votes cast.
October 9th Polling Experience
I went by two polling places this morning and both were virtually empty. Russ Stephenson stood outside of Lacey Elementary on Ridge road along with a representative of Mary Ann Baldwin. Baldwin’s signs peppered the schools public property along with a scattering of Bond and Clark for School Board. N&O is reporting a “trickle” of voters and my voting machine read 116 at 9:30 this morning. What was your experience?
Betsy Kane’s Raleigh City Council Endorsements
New Raleigh is fortuitous enough to open the election week with this piece by one of our favorite community leaders: Betsy Kane. Ms. Kane is a professional land-use consultant and attorney who previously spent time working with the city on the Urban Planning Commission. She represents the thoughtful leadership that the New Raleigh writers want to see more of in Raleigh government. Geary once described Kane as “the sharpest member of the Raleigh Planning Commission, she does the hard work of thinking through and considering the consequences of every development case in the city.” So in this eleventh hour New Raleigh presents Betsy Kane’s City Council Endorsements. Endorsements At-large: Russ Stephenson (single vote, no second) District A: Nancy McFarlane District B: Rodger Koopman In the at-large race, six candidates are running for two seats. Russ Stephenson stands head and shoulders above the rest of the field, combining depth of understanding of Raleigh’s issues (he’s an architect and award-winning city planning consultant) with a nearly pathological commitment to reaching out with courtesy to all groups (including those that disagree with him). In his first term as an at-large councilor, he has shown a dedication that defies the paltry $7,000 after-tax compensation that accompanies this full-time job. More Below the Fold
District B: Spin Cycle
“The View” applauses Koopman’s grassroot effort, but the selfish fell for hotdog machines once and don’t plan on it again. There are multiple citations of Taliaferro’s pledges to help Kane and we have visual evidence of Kane’s willingness, along with every other developer, to help her. We can only imagine the massive reaction of JT’s campaign on Friday with PPP’s announcements of small local phone polls showing Koopman and Taliaferro tied with a large margin of error.
Close like a Barber Shop Shave, says Public Policy Poll
Public Policy Poll is showing some extremely close numbers as we go into next weeks election. Their sample sizes are very small and they are predicting up to a 6%+/- margin of error. The break down is as follows: 1st At-Large Choice Anderson: 18% Baldwin: 24% Best: 1% Stephenson: 33% Tart: 2% Williams: 8% Undecided: 15% 2nd At-Large Choice Anderson: 13% Baldwin: 16% Best: 4% Stephenson: 16% Tart: 9% Williams: 2% Undecided: 32% N/A: 8% District A Craven: 46% McFarlane: 48% Undecided: 6% District B Koopman: 40% Menendez: 8% Taliaferro: 40% Undecided: 12%
MABWTF
Photo by Anonymous From Mary Ann Baldwin’s website: “It’s important to have someone on Council who supports growth, but also understands that we have to guide growth, preserve the character of our neighborhoods and conserve our natural resources.”
Vote Early! (Or Register Late)
Just a reminder for anyone that missed the last day to register to vote: you can register to vote at a One-Stop Site during the One-Stop Absentee Voting period up to 3 days before the election. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has guidelines available on registering and voting at a One-Stop Absentee Site. Below are the hours and locations to vote early. More…
Craven, Anderson, Taliaferro & Baldwin Real Estate Funded
With five days until the election, information is flowing and the candidates are pushing their campaigns hard. The last Public Policy Poll was showing the numbers close but there are other sets of numbers that the public is most interested in. The tension is around growth and the candidates that are most funded by big real estate have drawn the most scrutiny. Well being the concerned citizens we are, New Raleigh has been down at the campaign finance Offices also. You see, that’s the funny thing about local elections. The Campaign finance office just has big notebooks of photocopies of finance records. They either don’t have or refuse to share digital databases of the Wake County Campaign Finance Reports, to find out who has received what, you have to go down and check for yourself. 81% of you said you wouldn’t vote for someone receiving large developer based donations, well avoid these 4.
Election Focus: Bond Referendums
In addition to election new candidates to the city council, Raleigh voters will have the opportunity on October 9th to approve a $88.6 million bond for the expansion of city parks and greenways.
LWV and WakeUp’s Candidate Forum
UPDATED WITH VIDEO BELOW THE FOLD Thanks to the League of Women Voters and WakeUp who put on the candidate forum last night. About 100 people showed up at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, mostly an audience of senior citizens but with sprinklings of other age groups. Thomas Craven, Nancy McFarlane, Questions were asked in turn to each district with the at-large candidates being split into two groups. Paul Anderson, Will Best, and Russ Stephenson were in one group and Helen Tart, David Williams and Mary Ann Baldwin were in another. The first set of moderator questions as well as the candidate’s initial introductions focused around Impact fees. Most of the candidates said they did support them while Craven, Menendez, and Williams did not. Taliaferro, an incumbent who claimed to have whole heartedly supported them is largely considered to only support them in a capacity enough to pacify her constituents. As our reader Ann describes below the fold.
Canvassing for Russ & Rodger in Wakefield
A local grassroots effort prior to the election: If you haven’t heard, Mary Ann Baldwin recently had a fundraiser hosted by Elizabeth Dole’s Treasurer (Brent Barringer). Folks, he raises money to defeat Democrats. He’s supporting Mary Ann Baldwin because she is bought and paid for by the real estate and development industries. Unfortunately, the other main Dem candidate, Paul Anderson, was also listed on the invitation. The stakes are high. We need 25% of the vote on Oct. 9th to avoid a runoff. Full Letter Below
Public Policy Polling says the Council Races are Close
In anticipation of tonight’s candidate forum, the Public Policy Polling Blog has released the results of a recent survey of almost 900 Raleigh voters. You can read the full report here: PDF Report and PPP’s take on things here. PPP Blog’s details are telling: At-Large First Choice, Second Choice (Vote for 2) Stephenson: 20, 7% Baldwin: 16, 10% Anderson: 12, 6% Williams: 3, 2% Tart: 2, 3% Best: 2, 2% Undecided: 46, 69% Russ Stephenson and Mary Ann Baldwin have a clear lead for the two at-large seats on the city council, with Paul Anderson a clear third. However, neither is anywhere close to the 25% needed to avoid a run-off. If everyone voted for two candidates as they are allowed, Stephenson and Baldwin would currently have the support of 13.5% and 13% of the votes respectively. A whopping 57.5% of the vote is still up for grabs. Much More Below The Old New Raleigh Fold
City Council Election Focus: David Williams
When I sat down with David Williams, candidate for Raleigh City Council At-Large, he told me he was running with “enthusiasm and fire in his belly.” In our conversation he stood by those words and explained what ideas he would bring to the city council.
Tommorow is the Last Day to Register to Vote
Don’t forget that you have to have your registration postmarked by tomorrow in order to be eligible to vote in next months elections. It’s going to be a big one folks, and if you have any interest in the future of our city - do your part! Chad’s excellent guide can be found here: Register to Vote in Wake County.
City Council Election Focus: Will Best
I sat down with the only Independent running in the at-large race, Will Best, at the Raleigh Times and discussed what the two biggest things he hopes to bring to the City Council: youth and fresh ideas.
City Council Election Focus: Russ Stephenson
Friday afternoon I sat down with Councilman Russ Stephenson, the only current council member running for re-election this cycle (Kekas decided not to run again) at-large. The visit was a journey through Raleigh’s history and a look into Raleigh’s future. Russ Stephenseon Below the fold
Betsy Kane on Jessie Taliaferro
The excellent A view of the city posted the letter below on Saturday, saying that it is circulating Raleigh neighborhoods. Well, who am I to stop the flow of information. Betsy Kane, no relation to John Kane (in fact they may be dopplegangers), has a long history of active involvement in the Raleigh politics and often she has been the lone dessenter on big local issues. Because of the respect I personally have for Ms. Kane, I repost this letter in full below the fold. I also invite both Betsy Kane and Jessie Taliaferro to comment or refute any of the following. New Raleigh supports an open voice for all candidates and this letter comes prior to contacting her for interview. Please keep this in mind but enjoy Betsy Kanes Letter to Raleigh Citizens on Jessie Taliaferro.
City Council Election Focus: Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson believes that this election will grant him the ability to affect change in not only city governance but in the well-being of all the citizens of Raleigh. I joined him at a local coffee shop and learned how he intends to represent the city.
Geary’s Breakdown of the Council Races: Districts A & B
Last Week’s Independent article by Bob Geary has some nice profiles that compliment our own city council candidate profiles. Geary gets black and white and it comes down to development. While I think “pro-development” is a weighted term as it implies that the alternative is “anti-development.” I think the alternative is responsible development while the incumbents are supportive of any developer that pays them. But really that is my two cents and Geary does a better job of staying neutral. Bob Geary on the Council Race and Raleigh Development.
City Council Election Focus: Helen Tart
The next installment of interviews with the at-Large City Council candidates is here. I sat down with Helen Tart at the new Oakwood Dog Park, one of the many projects she has helped engineer in her active career of community involvement. Some of the other accomplishments include: using federal funding to get bike racks placed on all CAT buses, neighborhood organization to combat irresponsible development and crime reduction, and participation in the creation of the 2003 Five Year Transit Plan. Her past careers have included work at North Carolina State University’s Technician newspaper as well as the News and Observer as a proofreader. Tart and her husband have lived in the Oakwood neighborhood since 1989, and have worked hard to preserve the character of their community. More on Helen Tart Below the Fold
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