...days since Raleigh City Council discontinued Citizen Advisory Councils (CACs) with NO REPLACEMENT.
Time until the 2021 Raleigh City Council election:
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Read up on our latest news…
Study Group on Council Terms/ Salaries and Voter Engagement/ Participation
City Council created a study group to explore if and how the council’s structure should change. That could include increasing terms from two to four years, upping council members’ pay (currently $17,412 for what’s considered a part-time job), and expanding the...
Raleigh City Elections 2021 Forum – Video, Slides, Poll Results and NOW Updated with the Q&A Document!
If you participated in our Raleigh City Elections 2021 Forum and want to share what you learned with others. Or, If you weren’t able to participate in our Forum live but want access to the information, here are the resources from the event: Watch the Elections...
Can Raleigh Become a Leader in Addressing Climate Change?
Linda Watson, a former member of Raleigh's Environmental Advisory Board, sent the following letter to the members of the Growth and Natural Resources Committee and the full City Council prior to the 1/26/21 GNR committee meeting. She points out Raleigh's climate goals...
This Council abused its white privilege to suppress all Black CAC voices
One year ago, this Council used the excuse of ‘too much white CAC privilege’ to justify and conceal their own white privileged suppression of all Black CAC voices.
What Are Tax Increment Grants? (TIGs) A Community Conversation
Saturday, Feb 20, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Livable Raleigh will host a Community Conversation over Zoom. Tax-increment grants to developers have never been approved in Raleigh or Wake County. But developer John Kane is asking for a giant TIG for his Downtown South...
Feb. 4: One Year Today Since the CACs Were Gutted by Mayor Baldwin’s Council, and Still No Replacement In Sight
Today, February 4, is exactly one year since Mayor Baldwin and her City Council mates voted to gut the 18 Citizens Advisory Councils, leaving Raleigh without any functioning system for bringing citizens into city government. You may recall that Baldwin launched...
Hey Raleigh: You Could Lead … Follow … Or, Get Out of the Way.
When Mary-Ann Baldwin was a candidate for mayor, she had this to say about Durham: "Durham’s got it going on. Every time I go to Durham, I’m like, wow, this is happening. And that is leadership, plain and simple. [Durham Mayor] Steve Schewel has thrown down the...
Warning: Kane Realty’s tax “ask” for “Downtown South” project could cost us mere taxpayers $450 million — or more
For all the attention it's getting in the press -- which is none -- you might think that Kane Realty has given up trying to avoid paying property taxes on the so-called Downtown South Project. In fact, however, Kane's man Bonner Gaylord, the former Raleigh City...
Stewart and Baldwin: Don’t Speak TRUTH to Power. Speak NICE to Power!
Raleigh resident Tim Niles delivered the following comments at City Council's Jan 19 meeting during the public comment period. Following Mr. Niles' transcribed comments is a discussion of likely Councilor violations of Council's own Code of Conduct. Tim Niles: Last...
INAUGURATION 2021
Terrance Ruth: A Breath of Fresh Air
In a recent interview with mayoral candidate Terrance Ruth, the Indy’s Jane Porter began by asking why he is running. His answer was plain and to the point: “because I have seen the slow dissolving of public trust in our city.”
Dr. King’s Unfinished Work: Economic Justice
American culture for the most part has grown comfortable with the “I-have-a-dream” Martin Luther King. We love his wonderful words like, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin...
Jane Harrison calls out INDYWeek’s Convenient Scapegoat narrative
Jane Harrison submitted a Letter to the Editor of INDYWeek with her thoughts on their coverage of Downtown South “In your writeup of what you’re watching for 2021, you mention NIMBY opposition to Downtown South—a convenient scapegoat to dismiss authentic and varied community concerns,”
“The Only Thing Worse Than A NIMBY Is A YIMBY,” and other truths about affordable housing and what the “Yes” crowd really means
Instead of building condos for the people who don’t need houses, and hoping that eventually market forces will slowly reduce prices at every level, it’s possible to build for the people who do need houses. There is also no need for progress to involve bulldozing beloved historic places.
Two Raleigh Women Spot a Local Tax Scandal
Did you hear about this tax increment thing that’s happening in Raleigh? Sounds a little sketchy to me! Mega-developer John Kane wants hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to pay for his Downtown South sports stadium.
The Week Ahead – Week of January 18, 2021
City Council work session and afternoon session on Tuesday, including update on Short-Term Rentals text change. Other meetings on Dix Park, Greenstormwater Infrastructure, and the Slave Dwelling Project. Check out our latest blogs on LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections, Council’s response to requests for an African-American Advisory Board, and Livable Raleigh’s January 30 Q&A forum on 2021 Raleigh City Elections
In Historic Victory, Hillsborough Becomes First North Carolina Municipality to Pass LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Protections Since Sunset of HB142. What About Raleigh?
Monday, Jan 11 the Board of Commissioners in Hillsborough, North Carolina voted to pass an ordinance broadly protecting members of the LGBTQ community from discrimination. The vote makes Hillsborough, a town with a population of 7,000 people, the first municipality in...
Raleigh City Elections 2021 – Q&A Forum
Saturday, Jan 30, 10:00 am - 11:30 am Livable Raleigh will host a Community Forum over Zoom. ALL are welcome! We want to hear YOUR voice! What issues are important to you for 2021? We will discuss Livable Raleigh's activities in 2020 and plans for 2021,...
Do Black Lives Matter in Raleigh? (And what’s with the mayor’s dismissive response of “whatnot”?)
At the Jan 5 City Council meeting, two residents spoke eloquently asking the city to create an African-American Affairs Board. Watch the clip to hear these comments and Mayor Baldwin’s denial of their reasonable request. Why did this Council approve a Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs Board, but not one for the African-American community?
The Week Ahead — January 11, 2021
Want the latest on Council’s Community Engagement Study? Tune in to Tuesday’s 4pm work session for an update on this and on the Housing Bond.
Five Points CAC and Southwest Community Engagement group each host Zoom meetings on Monday night.
Also on Monday at 8am the group studying Council terms and salaries meets.
There are a number of opportunities to share your input on parks and floodplain regulations.