The mayor and other councilors SAY that Affordable Housing is their number one concern. Let’s take a look at the smoke and mirrors going on here. This first slide shows that in Fiscal year 21-22, council has FAILED, for the 3 rd year in a row, to meet the paltry goal of providing 570 affordable housing units. This council only accomplished providing 156 units, just 27% of their goal!
Working with CACs, instead of fighting against us, benefits residents as a whole
Christina Jones has chaired the RCAC and is a member of the Parks Board. She is currently running for City Council District E and Livable Raleigh is proud to endorse her candidacy. Christina shared these remarks at the September 20 Council meeting. Today marks my 40th...
Allowing virtual public comments at in-person meetings would increase citizen participation
First, I would like to address a statement Councilor Stewart made at a recent meeting. She said that it’s the same people who participate in public comment time after time, but this simply is not true. I collected data from City Council minutes for September 4, 2018 to September 7, 2022 for a total of 64 meetings: 32 meetings before Council began meeting virtually and 32 meetings after. You can see this data displayed in the bar graph. During the virtual meetings, participation in public comments increased 17%, and the number of individuals that spoke only once before council increased 23%.
More Advocacy Groups Charge City Council with Misrepresenting Them
At the March 1 public hearing to review and approve new District Maps for Raleigh’s City Council, the City Attorney claimed Raleigh is not covered by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and City Staff claimed that the Advocacy Groups who reviewed the proposed maps...
A Haiku for the City of Oaks
Raleigh’s stately oaks
slain by greed and apathy
fall with silent screams
— Terry Snyder
A New Year’s Resolution: Engage with us! Negotiate for us!
Dear Mayor and City Council, As we start a new year, it is typical to make resolutions for self-betterment and better times in the upcoming year. I am no different. However my resolutions are for the Mayor and Council as we move forward in 2022. On behalf of the...
City Council, Community Engagement and the Code of Conduct
Tim Niles, a founding member of Livable Raleigh, delivered the following remarks to City Council during Public Comments on January 4, 2022:210 days ago, in a secret plot, with no public notice, no public input and no public vote, you moved your election by eight...
Adding Density without Infrastructure Planning Makes No Sense; So Why Are We Doing It?
Midtown Raleigh resident Larry Helfant shares his insights and concerns about deficiencies in Raleigh’s planning for growth. The recently announced phase of the North Hills expansion (Z-67-21) will result in a further degradation of neighborhood quality to the people...
One more reason to recall Baldwin – Raleigh does exist outside the belt line – Guest Commentary
Kris Door, a North Raleigh resident, submitted the following commentary to the N&O as a letter to the editor. It was not published. We are publishing it here as part of our series of Community Voices. There are many reasons why Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin should...
Poor Communities Are Not Devoid of Hope or Role Models, Just Resources
In the current issue of INDYWeek, Courtney Napier challenges Raleigh City Councilor Buffkin's assertion that the children of poor people need wealthier people as role models. What follows are some excerpts from her piece: As I was putting the finishing touches on a...









