Nicole Stewart consistently uses coded language such as ‘right-sizing’ voices to find ‘the right voices’. Her code words sound vaguely progressive, but her motive is not to expand and empower all voices, but to conceal and distract from her real political motive: to silence voices she doesn’t agree with.
A comparison of Durham’s successful $95M Affordable Housing Bond in 2019 with Raleigh’s proposed 2020 Bond reveals stark differences: Unlike Durham’s precise commitments, Raleigh’s bond lacks details required for accountability and for judging if the spending will address Raleigh’s most pressing needs.
When Mary-Ann Baldwin recently called for “flexibility” in spending Raleigh’s proposed Affordable Housing Bond funds, what she really wants are fewer constraints on how the money will be spent, thereby creating more opportunities to parley taxpayer-funded development deals with supplicants in Barnhill’s back office.
It is the job of a conscientious City Council to mediate between profit-seeking developers and neighbors whose property rights — and quality of life — are in danger of being trampled.
This is likely your last chance to speak out and help save Umstead Park from the RDU Quarry.
The bond proposal is full of holes where the details should be. Still, we haven’t given up hope that we can persuade Council to focus on the real needs and fight gentrification in our historic African-American communities.