Seems awkward for sure. It’s not like the council just up and decided to stay on for another year as there were some circumstances they had to deal with. I do think they should probably create some kind of vote for their “extra” year where it has to be “consent agended” by the next council. Some kind of transition period seems fair.
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Yeah, they’re going to have to delay the elections at least a little bit because the previous U.S. presidential administration mucked up the Census. There’s not really anything the city council can do about that. Beyond that, it’s up to the state legislature. If the legislature wants to move the election to November 2022 and make them even number year elections and all that, well, then that’s just the way it’s going to be, regardless of what Liveable Raleigh or whatever thinks about it.
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What did the previous presidential administration do, specially, to muck up the last census?
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This probably covers some of it. I didn’t read the article, but I googled it for you. 
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@GucciLittlePig looking for a little more balanced source than the LA Times.
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On balance, I’m sure Trump had the country’s best interests at heart because he’s such a nice guy.
Anyways, this just passed the House unanimously and had already been passed in the Senate. I don’t think Liveable Raleigh is going to be able to stop it by asking for the manager and complaining by email about how unfair it is for all of them.
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So the state gov sets the municipal election cycle? Is that for everywhere in state, or just Raeligh?
It’s a part of every city’s charter (a city’s version of a constitution), which is granted by the state. Cities don’t work or exist until the state grants them that power.
In Raleigh’s case, it’s the first division in the city’s Code of Ordinances.
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Honestly I’m not sure. This is all new to me, and pretty wild. If we get to keep our Council of Yes for another year, and see some more development to make up for the pandemic year, I’m pretty happy. But I also (maybe in the minority in this country) would rather see people I don’t agree with it power fairly than people I agree with in power unfairly. That being said, the census delay and potential state involvement doesn’t really seem to be a fairness thing, just a unique circumstance. So I’m ok with it.
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I’m not upset by another year of the current CC… but I will say, this will cement MAB’s loss in the next election. I see nothing but hate and disdain for her online (Raleigh Reddit, Facebook, etc) and this will only be seen as a power grab by those that dislike her (of which there are now many). I will say, I voted for her (based on her previous actual experience on the Council, and her pro-development/density approach) but have definitely not had much more reason to like her as a person based on the past year or so. She doesn’t seem to care much for coming across as likeable and approachable, and instead comes off as very elitist and disinterested in common people. Not sure who has my vote for Mayor next (holy hell, not even thinking about another damn election right now) but I can say with confidence that this move will cement her as a one-term mayor. Again, I’m not upset by another year with this CC in general, and I totally get their thinking with this move, I’m just saying it’s not going to work out well for her in the end.
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I’m afraid you may be right, but based on the options we had last election, there was no one I would vote for that I think would be better than what MAB has done. I might add that she and the CC has had an unparalleled challenge to deal with the past 14 months. We’re a capital city with very diverse perspectives and I can’t imagine any other mayor regardless of political alignment would have come out of this past year with a positive overall perspective.
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Oh, ABSOLUTELY. 100% with you there.
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Agreed this will be her downfall. Sounds like it’s a State decision and not a city decision to delay the election. But she will get the blame for it, and get accused of a power grab.
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And that’s exactly how it’s being presented
I strongly share the sentiment that MAB is just staggering egotistical, power-hungry, and closed-minded to other viewpoints (even compared to politicians in general, which is really saying something!), even though I generally agree with (most of) her policies and think the current city council has done an extraordinarily good job, especially under the current extraordinary circumstances.
That said, it’s useful to remember that when it comes to politics, the internet is not real life. MAB has vastly more name recognition than anyone else who will be on the ballot, and generally speaking, things in Raleigh are going pretty well right now and likely will be going really well next year. It’s hard to see any other candidate beating her. What’s more, a move to a plurality election with no run-off will make it even harder to unseat her because you have to unify all of the anti-MAB vote around a single candidate. And moving the election to the 2022 general election will make it even more likely that she gets reelected based on name recognition, because you’ll have a lot of voters who don’t follow municipal politics very closely and are there to vote in the U.S. Senate race.
Also, I hope the city council upzones a ton of **** in 2022. Just keep upzoning stuff left and right all year long.
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This Republican supports MAB & The Current Council . I like what David has said . In 2017 , David Cox was the only one on council that picked up the phone , called the city manager to ask for a baseball meeting with a local developer & this got a meeting with our current city manager & the economics director. Because of David doing this , I distributed 750 door campaign cards for David . I don’t say this to make me look good , I say this to mention that all of us need to do things for MAB next year . David Cox & I do not communicate hardly any now because of my support for 40 story projects , TIG Tax support for DTSouth , Ect.
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I agree, in general, that it can be helpful to support the politician you like and it’s important to get involved in local elections (since so few people actually follow and care about it). But…
Why should this matter? All elections for Raleigh’s City Council are nonpartisan.
I’m not asking this to nitpick, and everyone who actually reads and thinks about the news knows how hyperpartisan American politics is (at least nationally). Rather, I’m asking because I wonder if Raleigh’s lack of party-based virtue signaling could be a part of why the mechanics of getting voters interested and involved in Raleigh- and Triangle-related issues.
We’re headed back eventually to a Council of NOthing…as in, gridlock, whenever the next election rolls around. I would not wager on MAB winning. I think this Council has done little to defuse the perception that they’ve made their minds up before they lean into a decision and their ‘engagement’ strategies have landed like a lead balloon. Even the get back to ‘normal’ approach of in-person meetings coming this month doesn’t lean into keeping a virtual speaking aspect for public comment. THAT is SO easy to pile on if you like to shout about the lack of access to engagement / feedback and it flies in the face of the argument to move away from the CAC model. It fails both ways…? Still, I hope they upzone where they can / we should and keep drafting text changes that streamline the speedbumps to reasonable progress and they absolutely need to better COMMUNICATE why they think that’s the path forward and keep doing the work. Onward the cycle continues…
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I feel like all of the City Council (except Cox), MAB included, do have their minds made up about a lot of decisions in terms of approving rezoning. I do too. I want to see as much height and density downtown as possible. Unless something stupid gets proposed, I’d approve it too. And their perceived lack of interest in engagement to me seems more they accept there’s a very vocal, loud, and repetitive 1% (or less) who are just going to oppose almost all development because they don’t like change or growth, and blocking new buildings is their way they can pretend to control their little world.
Also, I think there’s a certain amount of people on the political fringes that are always going to be mad about something. Whether it’s the ultra left who want them all to basically ban the police and won’t be satisfied with anything less, or the ultra right who blame them for not having the police shoot rioters in the streets or defy the executive orders for the pandemic. I see them trolling a lot of their social media accounts. I think there’s a huge block of municipal election voters who like Raleigh and want it to continue going strong, and aren’t looking for a change. Those people aren’t going to be on email lists and going to community complaint sessions, though, so we forget about them. I’m always worried my candidates won’t win an election, but I don’t have any specific concerns about the City Council election more than any other ones…
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Very well said ! I agree . For so many years , we have had council members that feel & think the very opposite of what this Mayor & Council is doing & I So Appreciate This from our current leaders !!! Most seem to be Democrats & that’s why I mention my Republican Status .
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