Bring elections and voter engagement into the 21st century

Bring elections and voter engagement into the 21st century

Barry Eriksen has been a rustbelt refugee and Triangle transplant for over 40 years and for the last 22 years has lived in West Raleigh’s Fairmont neighborhood. This blog post is adapted from his remarks made during the September 21, 2021, Raleigh City Council...

Respect is at the Core of Democracy

Respect is at the Core of Democracy

On September 20th Livable Raleigh hosted a virtual meeting to discuss the state of democracy in Raleigh.

One of the featured speakers was Bob Hall, who for more than 50 years has been NC’s foremost advocate for the idea that government should be for the people.

It’s Never Too Late to do the Right Thing.

It’s Never Too Late to do the Right Thing.

Bob Geary, resident of Raleigh’s District D and member of the Wake County Housing Justice Coalition, delivered the following remarks about this Council's move of the next City Election to Nov 2022 at the City Council meeting on August 17: Mayor and Council – I suspect...

What if Mayor Baldwin was a Republican?

What if Mayor Baldwin was a Republican?

I recently submitted a letter to the editor about Mayor Baldwin and her pattern of undemocratic behavior. The News & Observer deleted my main points (in red), and left just my partisan comments. With that heavy edit, the N&O should have titled my LTE “What if...

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Raleigh resident Larry Helfant submitted a response to a recent editorial by Gerry Cohen published in the N&O. An edited version was published on Aug 1, 2021. We are publishing the full, unedited response here. The True Cost of Delayed Elections I read a recent...

Mary-Ann Baldwin seems confused

Mary-Ann Baldwin seems confused

Mary-Ann Baldwin's campaign sent out a recent fund-raising email and she and her campaign team seem very confused. If her grasp on reality is this fragile, can you trust her to run the City of Raleigh? Here are excerpts from her campaign email:Those of you who are...

Terrance Ruth: A Breath of Fresh Air

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.”

Two Raleigh Women Spot a Local Tax Scandal

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.