Raleigh Elections and Council Overall

Maybe Dr. Seuss for the new council members?

How many of the new members actually have jobs? I know Jones doesn’t…or hasn’t as best I can tell.

They should have plenty of time to read.

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We don’t know if 3 of the 4 are full on NIMBYs yet just that they support some things those people like like CACs. Which means they might support getting back CACs but also approve dense housing measures more than they will vote against. At least some have hinted at this on Twitter and other social media. So there’s hope still.

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“Jones says she’s willing to deny CACs the power to vote on new development projects if it will help bring back regular community meetings.”

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I hope there’s a good discussion and conversations between the incumbents and the newcomers on the current office of community engagement, rather than this ridiculous nostalgia the CAC conversation is typically dominated by.

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That’s actually a good article. I don’t hate a lot of what they’re saying, even if I do disagree with a few minor points. I’m curious how much progress they can actually make on a lot of these issues, but I could see at least Melton and Forte partnering with them on some of their initiatives.

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7 posts were merged into an existing topic: Raleigh at the movies!

I’m glad people like to come to speak in person at council meetings about the most random things. You’d think more people would come out for this kind of thing. Apparently this isn’t the first time this has happened, and it even got permitted by the fire marshall. Wild…

This was not a planned/controlled burn. The only reason they’re calling it “controlled” is because it is considered contained. Whoever is in charge there needs to be fined- heavily.

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She doesn’t seem like the most stable person…

Former Raleigh city council candidate faces assault charge (wral.com)

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Wow, W.T.F. is she doing??? As if setting fire to the openly gay city councilmember’s campaign sign to be “edgy” wasn’t embarrassing enough…

She was actually at the swearing in ceremony last night.

So apparently she’s friends with Mary Black - makes me much more skeptical of her now. And friend or not, had I known about this if I were Mary? I’d tell her “hey hun you’re my homie and I love you… but please stay TF away from the swearing in. I don’t need that association for my first day on the job.” Yikes all around.

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I think a lot of us have friends that are battling some mental health issues (which this sounds like). I wouldn’t tar Mary Black by association.

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OH definitely, I have my own battle with my own mind daily, so I empathize. I guess I’m just saying when you cross the line to “allow” your mental health issues to result in a criminal charge (not for nothing, but I certainly haven’t…) - perhaps that’s a good time to step out of the public eye, and into your own personal journey of healing. In other words, I wouldn’t disassociate with a friend for doing what she did, but I def wouldn’t want them at my swearing in ceremony for a new public office position I’ve just been elected to for the first time hahaha - it just doesn’t look good, as she really needs to take a step wayyyy back and focus on herself, at this time.

Aside from this news, she’s already made herself look like a :clown_face: when she thought it’d be a good look to post pictures of herself burning an (actual) city councilmember’s campaign sign (in itself a criminal offense LMAO) - AFTER having been a victim of someone vandalizing her own campaign sign in a past election. Doesn’t help that the campaign sign she lit on fire was that of one of the only openly gay councilmembers… this just further degrades her public image.

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Just as a reminder, Stormie Forte is lesbian, and I’ve seen you comment two or three times that she’s burning “the gay” or “the only gay” candidate’s sign a few times. Maybe you are using the term “gay” to only mean “gay men,” but we should not erase the historic win of Stormie Forte as being our city’s first openly lesbian councilmember. You may have not known Forte is lesbian.

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I did not! Well then, I retroactively update my comments to be “ONE of the only openly gay councilmembers”! (Edited my last comment above to reflect that, don’t feel a need to try and find and edit any past comments where I stated that blunder - the intent is/was still well-meaning)

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Sitting here with the council meeting in the background, hoping to hear about rezonings and see the new members. :popcorn:
But holy crap it’s been an hour already of people just talking about the most random stuff. Don’t get me wrong, the people concerned about armed antichoice protesters blocking sidewalks outside their homes and harassing their families trying to walk by have a very valid point and maybe need some visibility. But so many of these people’s issues could’ve been communicated with an email. I hope the new members are getting what they hoped for out of their roles. Lol. Maybe they’ll support raises for themselves at least after a few weeks of this.

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Here here to the raises. I saw the afternoon session. It was mainly introductions. Melton put forth a motion to have the city research the cost to offer rebates for electric bikes.

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I watched some of the afternoon session and Jane Harrison looks like she’s hitting the ground running with fair and challenging questions to the council and mayor. MAB is going to have to be on her toes with her.

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The bits I did see, I saw some of the new folks actually asking and saying some reasonable and insightful things. There’s a lot more to City Council besides rezonings, so I’ll continue to wait at see. Disappointed it’s gonna be another 3 months till they figure out North Hills, but I guess it’s a 3 year wait anyways so what’s the rush?

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