The latest finance reports filed at the end of October provide us with some shocking numbers to add to our previous reporting. Clark Rinehart received HUGE additional spending support from the development community.
Despite Repeated Severe Droughts and a Record High City Budget, Raleigh Still Can’t Produce an On-time, Credible Water Supply Plan.
An independent analysis of this data suggests that Raleigh and Wake County may lack the long-term water supply necessary to sustain their current rate of population and economic growth. Slowing growth should be seriously considered because it is doubtful that conservation measures alone can provide the water needed if growth and water demand continue on their current trajectory.
Raleigh must demonstrate it can deliver projects already promised
Raleigh has legitimate transportation needs, and I support responsible investment in roads, sidewalks, and safety. But the City should first provide a transparent accounting of the 2017 bond, demonstrate better project-cost and schedule management, and explain the expected benefits of the proposed spending. I’m not against transportation improvements. I am against approving another $101.5 million before the City has made a sufficiently convincing case for how it will spend the money and deliver the promised results.
When Will City Planners & City Councilors Learn From Their Mistakes?
The Planners Pledge is a serious document, including a formal apology for the role planners played in creating the most inhospitable elements of our cites, including car dependent sprawl and its host of toxic environmental and health maladies. For those who resisted the legions of planning professionals and their transportation cohorts, the newly-discovered wisdom of designing cities for people and not cars has come much too late and has been replaced by a new and equally pernicious monetization of our lives.
Unfortunately, the planning profession’s old mantra of suburban mobility planning under the influence of the automobile industry has been replaced with a new mantra of density everywhere, under the influence of corporate real estate financialization.
October 20, 2026 City Council Meetings
Highlights from the October 20 work session and afternoon council meeting
Don’t Turn Lassiter Mill Road Into an Unsafe Service Road
A developer wants to build a 15-story building on Lassiter Mill Road at North Hills. Instead of putting shops or restaurants on the ground floor with windows you can look into, they want to build giant blank walls with huge garage doors. This space would be used for trash pickup, heavy equipment, and large tractor-trailer trucks driving in and out at all hours. Neighbors worry this will make Lassiter Mill Road dangerous for people walking, riding bikes, or driving.
Council Committees have basically stopped meeting. Closing off public access.
Council Committees are scheduled to meet monthly to review policies, vet proposals and take public input before items go to the full council. These committee meetings are cancelled more often than not. Three of the four committees stopped meeting entirely in 2026.
PROTECT THE SCALE OF SOUTH PARK – PUBLIC HEARING
South Park neighbors deserve to know what we are being asked to give up before we know exactly what will replace it. Removing the overlay first – without a specific development plan showing our neighbors what will actually be built – asks our community to surrender protections now and evaluate the consequences later.
Follow the Money – 2026 Campaign Finance Reports
This chart shows you the contributions made to the candidates for this election cycle through June 30, 2026. A large majority of what the City Councilors are responsible for are decisions related to development. These are the candidates that the development industry is supporting. It’s up to you to decide how you want to factor this information into your voting decision.
Press Pause on Data Centers
Livable Raleigh recommends that the Raleigh City Council pause consideration of any new data centers pending a careful study of their benefits and impacts, with public engagement and adoption of a data center review process.