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A Soft Coup of Democratic City Government
I call on City Council within 30 days to formally and individually notify the 30,000 owners of the parcels of land in the frequent transit areas, in easy-to-understand language, of what may now be built next to and across the street from them as a result of stripping traditional zoning protections
Calling All Volunteers
Volunteers Needed for City Council Elections November 8th and for Early Voting starting October 20th We need your help! Livable Raleigh is gearing up to provide and distribute relevant information to Raleigh residents regarding those running for office and to...
Raleigh’s Affordable Housing Open House: Effective or Merely Performative?
Many attendees (including single mothers) were disappointed in the event because they had high expectations for housing solutions that they need NOW. So, this appears to have been no more than a manipulative ploy to generate attendance numbers for positive press in advance of the election, without producing any real results.
City Council Meeting Highlights – September 6, 2022
City Council Meeting – September 6, 2022 HIGHLIGHTS Authorized acquisition of land for the New Bern Crossings affordable rental development project (192 units) City Attorney reports that local governments can restrict public comments from being used to campaign for...
Mayor Nancy McFarlane Speaks Out. What’s Happening to Raleigh?
Former Mayor Nancy McFarlane sent an email to the members of Raleigh City Council on Sept 6, 2022, the morning before council is scheduled for a public hearing and anticipated vote on a contentious North Hills rezoning case. In it she says she is increasingly hearing...
Increasing density without building the support infrastructure serves only the development industry
Council’s sledgehammer efforts at planning have been both thoughtless and undisciplined. Density does not improve quality of life or lower housing prices.
Equitable Public Transit in Raleigh Begins With Workers’ Job Satisfaction
Raleigh City Council would do well to listen to the transit workers of GoRaleigh services who have made their concerns known, in terms of both wages and working conditions, particularly as Raleigh moves towards a transit-oriented approach to development.
Livable Raleigh announces City Council Endorsements
Terrance Ruth is a breath of fresh air for our city, a man Raleigh will be proud to say is our mayor. His election will restore the integrity and decency to the mayor’s office that Raleigh voters could count on in the past, but that’s been missing these last three years.
With Ruth at the Council table, LR recommends a slate of “change” candidates that, as a group, reflect our organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and social justice across racial, gender and age differences.
Each of our endorsed candidates brings a unique, valuable set of experiences that, when brought together on Council, will help Mayor Ruth lead the way to Raleigh’s best future.
Raleigh City Council Election Flyer
Livable Raleigh volunteers will be distributing campaign materials throughout neighborhoods for the Raleigh City Council election. Watch for yours! Election Day is November 8th Early Voting is October 20th - November 5th.References 1. Poll of Key Issues for Raleigh...
Help Keep the Information Coming
If you rely on the kind of information you are only able to find through Livable Raleigh, we need your help to be able to continue to provide that valuable information to you. We have recently published all the data you need to keep up with the coming City Council...
Follow the Money 2022
After the 2019 election, we reported to you how much money the development industry poured into the candidates’ campaigns. Those developers found out how easy it was to buy council seats for their preferred candidates. It appears they plan to run the same playbook again in 2022. When you ask yourself, why do councilors vote the way they do? You will always find the answer when you FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Public safety employees are leaving Raleigh in huge numbers. What is City Council doing about it?
IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A CITY? Raleigh can't hire enough lifeguards to fully open the City's pools. Raleigh has shortages of Public Safety personnel in firefighting, policing and the 911 call center. Mostly due to resignations. Raleigh can't hire enough bus drivers...
August 16, 2022 City Council Meeting
Highlights Councilor Cox asked that $332,033 in funding for Dix Park Cultural Interpretative Plan be held six months due to other pressing needs – motion failed due to lack of a second Several public comments about lack of engagement by this council, lack of...
Neighborhoods are not buying what she’s selling!
Good, thoughtful, inclusive processes result in good decisions. It takes a diversity of perspectives to avoid the most damaging, unintended consequences. Mary-Ann Baldwin is selling the lie that growth and development at any cost is good for the people who live, work and visit Raleigh.
The “Best” City Council Money Can Buy.
First we “Showed You the Money.” Then we “Followed the Money.” In this third of our series about the money in Raleigh’s politics, we examine the effects of Special Interest money pouring into the campaigns.
Baldwin “Reconsiders” Giving Money to Other Democrats?
Mary-Ann Baldwin, the mayor of Raleigh, has some $500,000 banked for her election campaign. It’s a tribute to how completely she’s owned by Raleigh’s developers – led by mega-spender John Kane, a right-wing Republican known for backing, among other crazies, our very own GOP Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. (And, of course, Trump.)
In a New Poll of Key Issues, Raleigh Voters Call for Change
As the NC primary election season comes to an end and the summer season arrives, it is time to start focusing on Raleigh's upcoming municipal elections. We are rerunning this release of polling data showing what Raleigh voters think of their local city government. You...
Mayor Baldwin disses Democrats, says she will buy election without them
“I have $500,000 in the bank,” she said in an interview with The News & Observer. Her response was in sharp contrast to the more statesmanlike response from challenger Terrance Ruth:
Multiply your Vote!
Every Raleigh voter gets four votes in the November City Council election – one for Mayor, one for your District representative*, and one each for the two at-large seats. But wait – there’s more. Every council member gets to vote on every issue and it takes five votes...
Follow the Money 2019
As a follow-up to Livable Raleigh’s previous blog, “Show Me the Money”, about the development community money spent in the 2019 City Council election, this time we look at the specifics for individual Councilors.