At Town Hall for Districts A and B, Candidates Discuss Collaboration, Affordable Housing, Water Quality, and Transit.
Last Thursday evening, at the Marsh Creek Park Community Center in northeast Raleigh, around 50 residents came out to the latest event in our series of Town Hall-style candidate forums for the Raleigh municipal election coming up on October 8th. Thursday evening’s Town Hall featured the candidates running for Raleigh’s City Council District A as well as those running for District B.
This was the third event in our ongoing series of district-focused Town Halls. You can click here to read about our Town Hall featuring candidates running for District C, and you can click to read about our Town Hall featuring candidates running for District E.
The candidates running for District A are: Joshua Bradley, Patrick Buffkin, and Sam Hershey. In July, the current incumbent Council Member for District A, Dickie Thompson, announced that he would not seek a third term.
The candidates running for District B are: David Cox (the incumbent Council Member for District B) and Brian Fitzsimmons.
A few candidates running at-large also attended on Thursday night, including Russ Stephenson (an incumbent at-large Council Member), James Bledsoe, and Dr. Portia Rochelle.
Below is our recap of the evening, focusing primarily on the candidates’ answers to questions prepared in advance by WakeUP and submitted in advance online by members of the community.
But first, a few important disclaimers:
As a purely nonpartisan organization, we feel it’s important to point out that we neither support nor endorse any particular candidate, plan, agenda, position, or policy described below. Furthermore, although we’ve attempted to portray the candidates’ answers accurately and objectively to the best of our ability, mistakes can happen. So, if you feel that we’ve misrepresented any of the candidates’ positions, please feel free to reach out to us and let us know. Finally, given that our goal here is simply to share information about candidates and their positions with a wider audience — beyond those who have the time and resources to attend candidate forums in person — we’ve made no attempt to dispute or fact-check any of the candidates’ statements or claims.
Candidate Introductions
After a brief introduction and welcome from Nathan Spencer, Associate Director of WakeUP Wake County, the candidates took turns introducing themselves to voters.
Brian Fitzsimmons, candidate for District B, introduced himself by saying that he is running to bring a more proactive — rather than reactive — voice to City Council. District B is going to be the next area in Raleigh to see a lot of changes, he said. With that in mind, he said we’ve got to make sure we’re preparing for growth responsibly “by allowing different types of housing, allowing different types of people, and by creating an equitable environment.”
David Cox, the incumbent Council Member for District B, went next, saying that “he has been the proactive voice for District B for the past four years.” During his introduction, he emphasized his efforts to reach out to and connect with constituents, saying that, during his time on Council, he’s attended some 200 Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) meetings.
Joshua Bradely, one of three candidates for District A and a self-described Socialist, introduced himself by talking about his ideas regarding affordable housing and homelessness. He said that when it comes to growth, we need to turn from just building luxury condos to start “actually building affordable housing for everybody.”
“And not just focused on residents living at around 30 percent of the area median income (AMI),” he added. “I mean 30 percent of a minimum wage worker’s weekly full-time salary.”
Up next was Patrick Buffkin, another candidate for District A. Mr. Buffkin began by saying that he cares deeply about the Raleigh community and that he wants to see Raleigh continue to move forward. He emphasized his professional experience and talked about how he has worked in the community for more than 15 years to advocate for “more efficient transit, better parks and more open spaces, and better community relations.” Mr. Buffkin is a member of the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board, and he said he has established relationships with a number of present and past leaders at the state and local levels. He said he’s “ready to get to work on day one.”
Sam Hershey, the third candidate for District A, spoke next. He introduced himself as a small business owner, a stay-at-home dad, a long-time coach, and a high school football official. He said he’s running for City Council primarily because of his son.
“I really want him to grow up in a Raleigh where everyone has the same opportunity to succeed,” he said. “I want him to grow up in a Raleigh where we take on the big issues — like affordable housing and fighting climate change — at the local level.”
Russ Stephenson, one of the two incumbent at-large Council Members, talked about his long-time service in the community, noting that he’s been on the Raleigh City Council since 2005. He emphasized his pride in being a part of the team that has helped bring Raleigh to the top of various national rankings. He also talked about his professional background as an architect and planning consultant, noting that his skills and training have enabled him to be a leader on policy.
“If you look at our Comprehensive Plan and our Unified Development Ordinance (UDO),” he said, “you’ll see that my fingerprints are all over it.”
James Bledsoe, another at-large candidate, spoke next. He began by highlighting his 14 years of service to our country as a member of the United States Army. He said there are two major reasons he’s running for City Council. First, he said he wants to see Raleigh’s housing market and housing options expand in order to help address the current lack of housing. He also said he wants to better support Raleigh’s first-responders, many of whom he said can’t afford to live within the city.
The final candidate to introduce herself was Dr. Portia Rochelle, another at-large candidate. Dr. Rochell said she’s lived in and served the City of Raleigh for over 40 years, with 30 years spent working in state government. As an advocate for social justice issues throughout the City, she said she’s running for City Council because “I’ve protested, I’ve marched, I’ve yelled, I’ve screamed. Now it’s time for me to have a seat at the table.”
After introductions, the question-and-answer portion of the Town Hall began with a question about collaboration and compromise directed to all eight candidates.
In recent forums, it has been mentioned that a number of issues have been stalled due to a lack of collaboration between Council members. If you were elected, how would you change the environment to build more compromise?
Dr. Rochelle answered first, saying that a frequent complaint she hears from residents and organizations throughout Raleigh is the amount of time it takes to get things approved by the City. She said that with her professional background in rules and policy, she’ll be able to help streamline some of those rules so that we won’t be at risk of losing organizations and other groups that want to do business with the City.
Up next was Mr. Bledsoe, who began by saying that his professional experience as an engineer has prepared him to work collaboratively and efficiently. “As an engineer,” he said, “I have to take a lot of different ideas all at once, choose the best answer, and then expedite it.” He went on to point out what he sees as areas where the current City Council has moved too slowly, including on various rezoning requests, and on the approval process for a new roof-top restaurant on Person Street.
Council Member Stephenson spoke next about what he learned about effective vs. ineffective government back in 1999, during the Hillsborough Street Visioning Process. He said the goal of that process — and what has since become his mantra — was consus building. “Let’s find out what we all have in common and build on that,” he said.
Sam Hershey talked about the lessons he learned regarding collaboration from his time as a small business owner. “You learn how to listen,” he said. “You also learn how to ask not just questions, but the right questions.” Moreover, he added, you learn how to create a vision, and you learn how to identify and remove barriers to reach that vision. Finally, he noted his recognition of the fact that an effective Council Member can’t do any of this alone. “You need to be able to bring out the best in your employees,” he said.
Next was Patrick Buffkin, who began by describing his experiences working with others. “I’ve been an HOA president, I’ve been on the City Parks Board for five years now, I’ve been a part of our public transit planning processes,” Mr. Buffkin said. He noted that these have been environments where people have brought differing views, all passionately held. He added that working with others starts with “establishing common goals, building trust, being willing to listen, being willing to meet people where they are, and being willing to give up a little bit of what’s important to you to serve the common good.”
Following this, Joshua Bradley explained what he learned about collaboration during his 15 years spent working in customer service. He said that in order to solve problems, it’s always important to listen to and work with everyone at the table. But, he said, there are certain compromises that should never be made. “Anything that sells out working people and those in distressed community should be ignored and stopped at all costs,” he said.
Council Member Cox began by noting his different take on the question. “Over the past two years,” he said, “the vast majority of issues that have come before Council have, in fact, passed, either unanimously or nearly unanimously.” He stated that even on controversial issues, such as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and short-term rentals, “at least five of us have been able to talk to each other and reach areas of compromise and pass ordinances that previous councils have failed to act on.” He added “I just don’t see the problem.”
Brian Fitzsimmons spoke last, noting his perception of the current Council over the past four years has been one where “it’s come down to one single myopic view of but a few opinions.” He went on to say that it’s important to recognize that not everyone is going to agree, either on Council or throughout the city more generally. “We need to do everything we can to embrace and to listen to all of those opinions,” he said. He added that we also need to work as hard as we can to involve as many people as we can in city processes and decisions, which is something he says we’ve not yet done nearly enough.
After this initial question, the focus turned to the candidates running for District A.
Questions For District A Candidates
District A has a variety of existing housing stock and new developments. If elected, how are you going to work to keep people of all incomes able to live in your district?
Mr. Bradley started things off by saying “it’s going to take a lot of refocusing.” There’s a lot of really expensive housing going in, he said, but more focus needs to be put on the people who live and work in the district. As housing prices and rents increase, he added, it’s important to keep in mind that “people still work in the district, and they need to be able to live where they work.”
Mr. Buffkin went next, saying that our city has a lot of work left to do in the area of housing affordability. He noted that there’s presently a deficit of 56,000 affordable units throughout Wake County and that, in the coming weeks, he’ll be releasing a detailed plan to address the affordable housing shortage in Raleigh. He elaborated by saying that the plan will consist of three components: (1) Significant public investments through a housing bond referendum; (2) reforming our zoning laws; and (3) establishing a framework for agreements with private developers.
Mr. Hershey followed this by saying “we need more housing stock, we need more townhouses, and we need to find developers who will build actual affordable units.” He added that we need to be willing to allow duplexes and quadplexes in existing neighborhoods and “get over the stigma that this will somehow bring down the quality of life.” And while a housing bond would be good, he added, we need more than that. “We need to go out and find other sources of revenue,” stressing the importance of looking for small, creative solutions and focusing on jobs.
The Falls Lake basin is in District A. Development has the potential to affect our drinking water. What is your plan to protect our water quality?
Mr. Hershey began, saying that the number one thing he plans to do is to increase Raleigh’s watershed protection fee by 1 cent to 2.5 cents per 100 gallons. Doing this, he says, would generate an additional $1.5 million per year.
Mr. Buffkin began by noting the importance of Falls Lake as our primary source of drinking water in Raleigh. He said we need to continue many of the city’s policies that are already in place, including land banking upstream to provide natural filtration and water quality protection. At the same time, he added, we should implement changes to encourage people to use less impervious surface when creating developments and “get back on track” with making investments in our stormwater facilities. “We need to make these kinds of investments as we grow, before our problems get out of hand,” he said.
As an example of an event to be avoided, he cited an incident from last year along Newton Road in North Raleigh, where a major stormwater facility failed and opened up a giant sinkhole. The road was closed for months while the city undertook repairs.
Mr. Bradley wrapped up this question by expressing his frustration and disappointment that cities and towns in North Carolina are limited in what they can do when it comes to environmental protection. The General Assembly,” he said, limits our ability to regulate environmental protections. Therefore, one of the first things we can do, he added, is to force the issue and take the matter to court if necessary.
The next question was directed to the candidates running for District A as well as those running for District B.
Question for District A and District B Candidates
According to a recent report by the Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), the population in the area between I-440 and Triangle Town Center is expected to grow by over 10,000 people by the year 2045. In preparation for this, what is your approach to land use within this area and along Capital Boulevard?
Sam Hershey kicked things off, stating bluntly that we need to “build more housing.” In addition to this, though, he added that we also need to make sure we have a good transit system in place, which means buses running on time and good quality bus shelters that are easily accessible. Because with all that added development, he said, traffic is indeed going to get worse. Mr. Herhey also stressed the importance of consulting with Wake County to make sure they’re planning for new schools in areas where we expect significant population growth.
Mr. Buffkin spoke next, saying that the approach on Capital Boulevard should be the same as the approach on our busiest transit corridors all over the city. He highlighted that a portion of Capital Boulevard is slated to be used as a Bus Rapid Transit Corridor, similar to New Bern Avenue, and that there is a corridor study currently underway for Capital Boulevard North.
Mr. Buffkin described the Capital Boulevard North Corridor study as an incredibly important type of preparation for our future, adding that we “need to be providing walkable, urban environments where people can live, work, play, and get on transit.” Mr. Buffkin added that “transit, housing affordability, and mixed use development all go hand-in-hand.”
Mr. Bradley began his answer by noting that “we’re not going to stop people from moving in.” So, he said, we’re going to have to make some decisions, and we need to talk more about multi-unit housing and affordable multi-unit housing specifically. At the same time, he said, we need to be conscious about preserving green space and not pushing people out of their neighborhoods through gentrification.
Mr. Bradley went on to say that, as we grow, it’s also important to think more about promoting environmentally friendly forms of transportation. We should think about ways to better integrate the City’s Bike Share program with public transit, he said, and perhaps even consider expanding the upcoming Bus Rapid Transit system beyond the four corridors for which it is presently exclusively planned.
Up next was Council Member Cox, who began by noting his close involvement with city staff on the Capital Boulevard North Corridor Study. Given that the Corridor study is already looking at land use issues along Capital Boulevard, he said he supports continuing and completing that public engagement process. “It’s really through the public that we’ll understand what the land use should be along the corridor,” he said. He also stressed that the Corridor Study is specifically looking at ways to promote alternative forms of transportation by envisioning fewer roads along Capital and by planning greenways and bridges that permit safe crossing for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Mr. Fitzsimmons concluded this question by first noting the importance of Capital Boulevard as the highest-use transit corridor in the city. “What can we do to align proper housing and adequate housing along that corridor?” he asked. He went on to underscore the need to advocate for more walkable, livable neighborhoods along the corridor and the need to address the current dangers that exist in the area for bicyclists and pedestrians. For the last ten years or so, he said, we’ve seen an increase each year in the number of crashes along Capital Boulevard. He stated that we need to be advocates for planning Capital Boulevard in such a way as to make it walkable and amenable to everyone in the area. He furthermore stressed that we need to “be open to different ideas, be open to different housing types, and be advocates for what’s important, which is our people in the City of Raleigh.”
The final round of prepared questions were directed solely to the candidates running for District B.
Questions for District B Candidates
District B borders many towns east of the City of Raleigh. How do you plan to work collaboratively with these neighboring municipalities?
Mr. Fitzsimmons began by describing the relationships he formed with leaders in neighboring municipalities during his time as chair of the Wake County Democratic Party. He said that he plans to use those relationships to foster as much communication as possible between the City of Raleigh and neighboring municipalities. He furthermore noted that he’s very familiar with the corridor connecting east Raleigh to Knightdale and Wendell because his children go to school in Wendell. On the importance of paying attention to the eastern portion of Raleigh and Wake County in particular, he said “I think it has to happen. A lot of our area in District B, in the northeast corner of the city, is some of the newest incorporated sections of Raleigh. So, we’ve got a lot of new Raleighites in that area.”
Council Member Cox went next, saying that, over the past several years, he’s been promoting specific ways to communicate with other communities. He added that northeast Raleigh and northern Wake County need a good comprehensive regional transit plan, which is something that is presently lacking in the Wake Transit Plan. “We have a lot of communities — like Wake Forest, Youngsville, and Rolesville — that are growing rapidly,” he said. “We need a good transportation plan so that we have more options than people just driving south everyday to reach I-540 or traveling into the city.” Council Member Cox went on to say that we need to have more conversations with neighboring municipalities about “rotating businesses in those communities,” so that not everyone has to work in Raleigh or RTP. “People should be able to find jobs in their hometowns and be able to live and commute to those jobs in those hometowns.”
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is proposed to go up Capital Boulevard, and it will have land use implications all along the corridor. How do you propose addressing housing affordability and expanding a multi-modal transit network?
Council Member Cox began by stating that, currently, the average house price along Capital Boulevard is $150,000. “That’s actually quite low for Raleigh,” he said. He went on to say that with more than 300 private businesses along the corridor, Capital Boulevard is home to about 30 percent of all the businesses in Raleigh. “So, what I would like to see is more property redeveloped, he said. “I would like to see us go tall on Capital Boulevard, I would like to see more apartments being built, I would like to see missing middle being built along Capital Boulevard, and I would like to see Bus Rapid Transit come to reality.”
Regarding affordable housing in District B, Council Member Cox also said that although it’s true we’re losing affordable housing faster than we’re gaining it throughout the city as a whole, that’s not true in District B. In fact, he said, we’re gaining it. He went on to say that, “through our penny tax, in 2018 we approved 576 affordable housing units in District B, and this year we approved another 167 affordable units in District B.”
Mr. Fitzsimmons spoke next, saying that he thinks Bus Rapid Transit provides “a great opportunity to re-imagine what Capital Boulevard can be.” He added that this specific corridor is going to see transformative change over the next 15 years. But in order to support BRT, he said, “I think what we need to do is focus on different housing types and focus on concentrated, mixed use density up and down Capital Boulevard and Louisburg Road.”
Questions from the Audience
For the rest of the evening, the candidates answered written questions submitted by residents in attendance at the Town Hall. The questions addressed such topics as the controversial RDU Quarry, climate change, neighborhood conservation overlays (NCOD’s), single family zoning, and why residents are denied the opportunity to speak before City Council unless they sign up to speak two weeks in advance.
All eight candidates noted their opposition to the planned RDU quarry, with only Mr. Fitzsimmons taking the position that legal action to stop the quarry at this point might be “too little, too late.” Meanwhile, Councilors Stephenson and Cox expressed their shared opinion that, although no one can guarantee the outcome, the City has “legal standing and firm claim” to join the lawsuit that’s already been filed by the Umstead Coalition.
On the issue of NCOD’s — zoning overlays meant to preserve the general quality and appearance of neighborhoods through regulations of things like lot sizes, setbacks, and building height — the candidates expressed mixed views. Candidates Fitzsimmons, Bradley, Buffkin, Hershey, and Bledsoe expressed at least moderate reservations, while Dr. Rochelle and Councilors Cox and Stephenson each noted that they are in favor of NCOD’s. Council Member Stephenson said specifically that, in order to increase density, we should explore the possibility of requiring NCOD’s to include allowances for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s).
On the question of whether to eliminate single family zoning as a way to encourage greater density and more variety in housing types throughout the city, most of the candidates expressed reservations. Only Mr. Bradley said he would be willing to support a temporary ban on single family zoning. Meanwhile, Councilor Stephenson and Mr. Fitzsimmons both agreed that the question of whether or not to eliminate single family zoning is too simplistic for what is an otherwise complex issue.
Finally, all the candidates agreed that current policy should be changed to allow residents to sign up to speak before City Council on the same day that Council is in session. Council Member Stephenson explained that the current policy requiring residents to sign up two weeks in advance was originally put in place to provide City staff with the time they might need to prepare relevant reports, etc. to address resident questions. Mr. Fitzsimmons elaborated on this, saying he’s less concerned with whether staff is prepared ahead of time.
“It should be okay for us to say ‘I don’t know,’” he said.
Still More Town Halls to Come and Don’t Forget to Submit Your Questions Online
We want to extend our thanks to all the candidates and residents who came out on Thursday evening to participate in yet another informative Town Hall event. Special thanks also to Sean Maroney for moderating and to our friends at tilde Language Justice Cooperative for providing Spanish translation services.
Our next Town Hall event will provide residents the opportunity to meet and ask questions of the six candidates running for Raleigh’s Mayor. That event will take place on Wednesday, September 4th, at 6:00pm, at Raleigh Brewing Company.
The candidates running for Mayor are: Mary-Ann Baldwin, Zainab Baloch, Charles Francis, George Knott, Caroline Sullivan, and Justin Sutton.
To indicate your interest in attending our Mayoral Town Hall, simply head over to our event page on Facebook. And don’t forget — you can also submit a question for this or any other upcoming Town Hall event through our website.
Finally, don’t forget that early voting for the Raleigh and Cary municipal elections begins Wednesday, September 18th. Click here to view a list of all early voting sites throughout the area. And if you’re a resident of Raleigh, you can click here to look up your City Council District.
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- At District D Town Hall, Candidates for City Council Trade Ideas for Ensuring Raleigh’s Continued Progress