Voter Guide – 2024 – District B
Our Voter Guide provides candidate responses to voter concerns gathered from our citywide poll.
For incumbents, relevant Council record items are included.
Click on candidate images to view their Full Questionnaire Answers
See Poll Findings Here: Polling Results
Finding More Details
If you don’t see an issue you care about addressed for an individual candidate, they may not have addressed the issue in the answers they gave in response to our questionnaire. Click on a candidate’s image to review their full responses.
Restoring Confidence in Council
Declining confidence in Council marked one of the biggest changes from two years ago. In our new poll, 73% of voters said the city does not do a good job of keeping residents informed, up substantially from 49% in 2022. The undue influence of special interests is still a big concern, with 71% of voters saying the city is still too beholden to developers. To correct that imbalance, 73% of 2024 voters said Council campaign donations should be capped at $500. Only 23% of voters approve of Council doubling their terms to four years. (See Questionnaire Items Q1 – Q6)
McCollum– Strong support for improving transparency & communications, with monthly TV press briefings. New convention center not needed. Councilors too beholden to special interests. Keep 2-year terms unless voters say otherwise. Strongly opposes Council’s action to secretly add a year to their terms.
Patton(Incumbent)– Supports continuous improvement; giving residents confidence they are heard & informed. Says public trust is at historic lows. Takes no PAC money. Supports publicly funded elections. Strongly opposes Council’s action to secretly add a year to their terms.
Record in office– Voted against the move to 4-year terms saying it should have been put on the ballot for the voters to decide.
Empowering Residents
In the 2022 election citizen engagement was a top campaign issue. Our polling has found that the city has gotten worse at keeping residents informed since then. 73% say the city does a poor job of keeping residents informed compared to 49% in 2022. 74% of respondents say neighborhood rezoning meetings should be returned from developer control to CACs. (See Questionnaire Items Q7 – Q10)
McCollum– CACs should share control of rezoning meetings with developers.
Patton(Incumbent)– Supports strong CAC input & expanding number of CACs: one for each community center. Supports the power of community & feedback, which is a gift and a responsibility. Strong support to restore pre-2020 CACs, plus continuous improvement. Strong support for restoring support in the city department best suited to serve the CACs. Finding the best balance of support and independence is essential.
Record in office– Holds regular District B community meetings to engage with constituents. In Feb 2024 voted to reinstate CACs but has taken no concrete action to make that happen since.
Mitigating Growth Impacts
Raleigh’s Missing Middle rules were another big issue in the 2022 election. Our poll shows only 29% of voters support these new rules. Criticisms include failing to inform the public about rules affecting their most important investment and enacting rules promoting market profitability at the expense of best practices that would incentivize affordability, neighborhood compatibility and walkable access to transit. (See Questionnaire Items Q15 – Q18)
Missing Middle was a prominent issue in the 2022 election. Four new members of council (Black, Patton, Harrison and Jones) were elected on promises of reforms and/or repeal. The other current councilors (Melton, Forte and Branch) all voted in favor of implementing the Missing Middle policies during the previous council. There has been little to no meaningful action taken in the nearly two years since the current council was seated. Council has been hiding behind the two lawsuits that have been filed against the city on the issue saying they can’t discuss Missing Middle in public while the lawsuits are ongoing.
We disagree. One lawsuit was about a specific project and its failure to meet the city’s UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) provisions for Compact Subdivisions. This suit was resolved AGAINST the city in July. The other suit, still outstanding, is against the city for alleged failure to properly notify affected property owners of proposed Missing Middle changes. To date the court has denied all attempts by the city to have this suit dismissed.
We see no reason why either of these suits should have stopped any public discussion of reforms for Missing Middle. Neither of the suits is about the Missing Middle policies. In March 2023, the Planning Director told the council they could Repeal or Reform Missing Middle. Watch: Time for reform
McCollum– no answer
Patton(Incumbent)– There is room for improvement in infrastructure delivery, but also should highlight many successes. Transition from car-based to multi-modal infrastructure requires thoughtful planning. Committed to ensuring growth benefits all & preserves sense of community & historic neighborhoods. Respect adopted NCODs, HODs & Area Plans. Need systematic process for Missing Middle infill rule review & refinement.
Record in office– Took the lead on New Bern TOD rezoning to try to ensure thoughtful and equitable decision-making. With regards to abiding by NCOD, HOD and Area Plan Guidance, voted to remove property from the Prince Hall HOD but, voted against rezoning Shaw University property which is located in a protective Downtown Transition Area.
Expanding Affordable Housing
Raleigh’s highly ranked growth rate has increased the cost of living in Raleigh, with low and fixed income households being especially hard hit. Given the strong voter sentiment that current efforts are not keeping up with Raleigh’s deepening affordable housing crisis, what changes you would enact – beyond existing programs? What measurable goals and performance tracking would you set so the public can hold Council and staff accountable on this top issue? (See Questionnaire Item Q19)
McCollum– no answer
Patton(Incumbent)– Housing is a human right & foundation of healthy communities. Suggests a variety of housing improvements, but needs better data in order to design the best programs.
Improving the City Budget Process
In our citywide poll, only 1 in 4 voters said this year’s city budget reflects their priorities. What would you do to improve voter satisfaction with future city budgets? (See Questionnaire Items Q11 – Q14)
McCollum– no answer
Patton(Incumbent)– Raleigh residents deserve predictability. Proposes a more predictable ‘steady-state’ approach to budgeting for more tax & funding predictability. Supports expanding participatory budgeting. Council should take more responsibility for setting and publicizing clear Manager goals. Focus on basic needs like sewers & sidewalks. Eliminate data gaps & use innovative digital decision making tools. Provide competitive employee pay. Was a leader on new Alternate Crisis Response & Civilian Crash Investigators.
Improving Our Environment
Promoting urban densities can conflict with environmental protection, such as clearcutting forested land, including infill and teardown lots. What are your key considerations for deciding if the growth benefits of a project outweigh environmental impacts? (See Questionnaire Items Q20 – Q21)
McCollum– no answer
Patton(Incumbent)– Our climate change actions now will determine future outcomes. Supports a list of new and expanded renewable energy initiatives. Each rezoning must be judged on its competing merits to find best growth/enviro balance.
Record in office– Voted to rezone a property in the Falls Lake Watershed.
Local Government Experience
Each Candidate’s campaign website is listed. We also include here any experience a candidate has in Raleigh government whether as a member of City Council or a member of any of the city Boards and Commissions.
McCollum– jenn4raleigh.com
Patton(Incumbent)– pattonforraleigh.com
Elected to City Council District B in 2022.