Cole McMullin is a member of Triangle DSA, North Carolina Green Party (NCGP), and is currently an at-large member of the Raleigh Police Advisory Board. The views expressed in this public comment represent his individual thoughts and not that of any affiliated board or organization.
Cole spoke to City Council on February 11, 2025:
Democracy is more than voting in elections and requires lengthy thoughtful discussion.
Local government is generally more democratic than other levels of government and that is largely due to public comment which provides the chance for residents to publicly share thoughts and ideas, and conversely to listen to the thoughts and ideas of other ordinary residents.
This structured public discussion helps foster an indirect exchange of ideas that have the potential to build consensus around solutions and future directions for our community. In the past, there have been several issues that residents have spoken to during Public Comment proposing various alternatives and solutions.
Public policy requires nuance and attention to details, both of which require time for residents to make meaningful statements about the solutions they would like to see implemented in our community.
By limiting the time allotted for public comment, the amount per speaker will inevitably be reduced, which hampers the ability for an individual to contribute in the process of building much needed consensus.
In other words, an attack on public comment is an attack on democracy itself.
It may not be as egregious as the litany of attacks on democracy at the state and federal level, but that does not make it any less of an attack.
At a time when our nation’s democratic institutions are actively being threatened, the last thing we need is to have our local democratic institutions withered away.
To vote in favor of such a time reduction means that YOU, a Raleigh City Councilor, voted to strip people of what little power they may have and have actively contributed to the dismantling of grassroots democracy.
Please do the job that you were elected to do, which is to listen to your constituents, and make the time (just 1 more hour) to foster a stronger democratic consensus for Raleigh’s future.
Separately, I’d like to once again express my strong support for the Raleigh firefighters to have separation allowance.
Thank you!
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