Dean Debnam + wife are still pissed over downtown being a lively destination and is putting his $$$$ to keep the slow growth advocates in place. He is unhappy that he invested & (did a nice job of ) restored the Boylan Pierce property, that just sits. Was he responsible for the drunktown ads?
I like MAB, we know her.
Why does it just sit?
Yes, I was told Dean Debnam funded the drunktown ads during the 2017 elections. I kept a print copy of that, I need to bring it out for a laugh. 
I went to high school with at least one Debnam family member that wasn’t scared to spend a little time in Drunktown. 
Pretty interesting. John Kane gave $2,500 each to the following candidates:
Mayor (not playing favorites, I guess)
Mary Ann Baldwin
Charles Francis
Caroline Sullivan
District D
Kay Crowder 
District E
David Knight
He also gave $1,000 to one at-large candidate: Jonathan Melton.
@Buck I’ve wondered quite a bit about why the Boylan Pearce building has sat idle, but I haven’t really seen much effort go into leasing it. It has more of a “get off my lawn” feel to it than anything. Plus, it seems like only the front of the ground floor may have been renovated (the rest is hidden by a plywood wall). Wasn’t Debnam planning to add a floor to the top for his residence? Also, isn’t this building part of the Fayetteville St rezoning request?
I guess he expects Kay Crowder to win. Kill’em with kindness (or donations)!
I wonder if Kay laughed when she got the check.
Maybe she hinted that if he supports her campaign, she’ll approve his projects. Or, maybe, he’s trying to buy her support for his projects. The usual local politics.
I’m sure that Kane is playing his cards for both the existing council and its future make-up. I still predict a Baldwin-Francis runoff.
Many of us depend on Equality NC and their endorsements. They told me they are reorganizing & that includes their endorsement procedures. Some of their endorsements are hard to figure. Longtime ally MAB did not get their endorsement for Mayor, nor Nicole Stewart, Brian Fitzsimmons and David Knight, for Council. I’m doing my own research this year, without their input.
Sounds like a solid plan (do own research) based on that data.
From The Raleigh Magazine:
Interesting opinions on JK’s Smoky Hollow “40 story tower”
MAB is still the best, but I like most of Baloch’s answers. Francis’ answer about Council-staff relations scares the crap out of me. Council needs to set the vision for staff, but it’s up to staff to inject a dose of reality into those visions, that’s literally what they’re paid for. Cox has already overstepped his bounds with staff and it seems like Francis would be joining him in doing so.
Got this email from Crawford and Sons just now:
JOIN US TO DISCUSS A NEW COUNCIL
Dear Friends,
As a downtown restaurateur and a son and grandson of entrepreneurs, I believe that small businesses are the lifeblood of a developing city. I’m eager to continue to serve our community with inspired restaurants and gracious hospitality through Crawford Hospitality, and as a result, am excited to host a Small Businesses for New Council event Monday August 12th at Crawford and Son with David Meeker for David Knight and Brian Fitzsimmons.
As a small business owner in downtown Raleigh, the quality of the growth in our developing city and the avenues through which we can operate and advocate for our business and city is of utmost importance to me. Since opening Crawford & Son in 2016, and now through the many challenges that have presented during the opening of our next restaurant, Jolie – especially as it relates to opening a rooftop deck for dining, I have had increasing visibility into how our city operates. I am eager to find solutions together with our community so that we may continue to shape Raleigh into the thriving and vibrant city we know it can be.
Please join me, David Meeker, David Knight and Brian Fitzsimmons for an intimate discussion on August 12th from 5:30-7pm. We will be serving small bites from Crawford & Son and Trophy Brewing Co. beer.
We’re excited to also share a sneak peak of our new restaurant, Jolie (& our rooftop dining area) – opening next door soon!
Thank you for your on-going support,
Sincerely,
Scott Crawford, Chef/Owner, Crawford Hospitality
Crawford & Son
Jolie
Fantastic! I may have to skip the Raleigh Beer Garden nOg run club anniversary but so be it.
Okay, so Knott would be the city’s worst nightmare based on the answers. Sutton would be really bad as well.
I loved the way that MAB answered the SH rezoning request question as an immediate neighbor. That was terrific. It seems that most candidates have some level of support for more density in SH and DT in general, with the exception of Knott and Sutton.
MAB, experience & realistic about growth & density requirements for a successful DTR.
Good article on the battle for the progressive label on the Raleigh City Council:
OMG, what a nice read. While I have some problems with the article, the vast majority of it I liked. It tries to be objective and show both sides, but it sure does read to me like a huge slap at the council of no “progressives”. Neighborhood protectionism is really just about protecting the status quo, and property values for certain people. It’s an unsustainable strategy for a rapidly growing city and county like Raleigh/Wake.
Remember folks, it’s the council of no thinking that led San Francisco into its housing crisis and astronomical housing costs.