Several Raleigh residents attended the last meeting of the current City Council in order to praise the service of retiring Councilor David Cox. We are publishing two of the more poignant comments here and providing a video of all the comments from the final City Council meeting held on November 15, 2022.
The newly elected City Council will be sworn in at a special ceremony to take place on December 5, 2022 at Union Station.
Terry Henderson, a long-time resident of Raleigh, delivered these comments:
“Friends, Raleighites and countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to praise Cox, not to bury him. The evil that council members do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”
David Cox’s service to Raleigh will long live as an example for those that follow him for his research, his thoughtful synthesis, and his cogent and straight-forward statement of principled representation.
Not everyone agreed with David’s approach, his opinion, or his tactics, but it seems to me they were never mean, vindictive, or selfish.
His record recalls Ross Perot’s quote “my role in life is that of the grain of sand to the oyster — it irritates the oyster and out comes a pearl.”
If I have any quarrel with his judgment, which was mostly spot on, it is with his timing to voluntarily retire from the council, just when things are getting interesting.
Thank you David, for your service
Dianne Mayer, a more recent resident of Raleigh, had this to say:
I am here today to personally thank Councilor Cox for his time on council.
Dr. Cox has always conducted himself with integrity, thoughtfulness and transparency, including at times when he was treated disrespectfully by his colleagues.
His belief in citizens’ voices, thorough analysis of the issues and record of going out into the community to meet with all of his constituents is what is expected of every council member.
It is unfortunate we are losing him.
Our recent election rejected this current council. Mayor Baldwin, I hope you have heard this message.
I am confident the newly elected members will make Councilor Cox and all of us proud.
Thank You.
If you would like to watch the public comments from all the afternoon’s speakers, the video is available here:
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