In the race for the top developer donations, Raleigh City Council candidates Jonathan Melton, Mitchell Silver and Corey Branch, are the clear developer favorites. Livable Raleigh’s analysis of NC Campaign Finance Reports show that more than 50% of these candidates’ donations – over $88,000 for Melton and $72,000 for Silver – came from development industry donors alone, with many individuals giving the maximum $6,400. One thing is certain: developers don’t hand out thousands of dollars in donations unless they expect serious payback. And sadly, it shows.
Jonathan Melton has a long record of taking big donations from questionable donors with hard right wing and anti-LGBTQ positions [report here]. He has publicly stated he’ll take campaign money from anyone.
What you won’t see in his pro-scooter campaign ads is his record of community suppression – the worst in recent memory with votes like these:
- sacking CACs – only partially restored after 4+ years [reports here & here],
- Council redistricting that harmed minority voting power [reports here, here & here],
- conspiring to secretly give himself an extra year in office without public input or vote [report here],
- giving himself 4 year terms without the voter referendum he’d strongly supported only days before [reports here & here],
- and a long list of votes putting developer profits ahead of the environment [reports here. here & here] and neighborhoods across the city, [reports here, here, here & here] spurring developer lawsuits against modest neighborhoods, and accelerating gentrification and dislocation in Raleigh’s most vulnerable minority neighborhoods [reports here, here, here & here].
Mitchell Silver doesn’t have the same record of elected disservice, but during his brief time back in Raleigh, he has managed a whopper of developer-funded disinformation.
Paid as a lobbyist for developers seeking to build 30-40 story buildings next to a historic downtown neighborhood and speaking as a Raleigh planning expert, Silver made false presentations to both the Planning Commission and City Council, insisting Raleigh’s growth policies did not support neighborhood protections [reports here & here].
Raleigh’s planning staff eventually rebutted his assertion and Council voted for the neighborhood protections. Despite this setback, Silver has shown his value to developers as a Councilor who’d be willing to use smooth talk to manipulate city policies on behalf of developers – and it shows in his fundraising. An upcoming final fundraiser hosted by Raleigh’s top developer attorney will surely boost Silver’s developer donations far beyond his currently reported $77,450.
What about Corey Branch, whose development industry donations are also more than half of his reported campaign total?
He fits the Melton mold, voting with Melton on almost all the community suppression items listed above. And as District C representative, his record of pro-developer votes for very tall buildings next to historic Black neighborhoods explains why developers are putting their big money bets on Branch.
The last 4 years of Council have been an absolute low point of voter suppression, with Council approving tall buildings, gentrifying vulnerable communities, passing anti-neighborhood infill regulations and self-serving rule changes to ensure their grip on office – all with little or no community input.
Reject the coercive influence of big money in Raleigh elections. Vote for Councilors with the strength of character to resist the corrupting power of developer-funded campaigns. Early vote through November 2nd or on election day November 5th. [Full Election Info provided by Livable Raleigh here]
Livable Raleigh Editorial Team
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