In Southeast Raleigh, Candidates for City Council Gather for an Engaging Town Hall, Emphasizing a Need to Listen to Residents

It’s municipal election season here in Wake County. And on October 8th — as is the case every two years — all eight seats on Raleigh’s City Council, including the Mayor’s position, will be up for grabs. If you need a crash course on what exactly Raleigh’s City Council does, you can check out our earlier post on that matter here.

Undoubtedly, every election is important. However, this one carries extra significance because, for the first time since 2011, the City is poised to select a new Mayor. In March, Mayor Nancy McFarlane announced that she would not seek re-election.

Moreover, as Raleigh continues to grow and change, it’s facing a whole host of serious issues, including gentrification, concentrated poverty, inequitably distributed resources, and a lack of affordable housing. Meanwhile, as conversation and debate swirls about how to create walkable and bike-friendly communities that provide enough housing for everyone, there’s a push among some to protect and conserve the character of established neighborhoods.

As voters prepare to head to the polls in October, we want to make sure that residents are well informed on the candidates and their respective positions. That’s why, over the course of the next several weeks, we’re hosting a series of Town Hall events that will bring the candidates directly to their potential constituents and give residents the opportunity to listen, learn, and ask the questions that matter most to them.

Last Wednesday evening, in partnership with our friends at Passage Home in Southeast Raleigh, we hosted the first event in this series — a Town Hall focused specifically on Raleigh’s City Council District C. This district encompasses East and Southeast Raleigh as well as a portion of Downtown.

In an intimate setting, with around a couple dozen residents in attendance, candidates running at-large and for District C took part a substantive and, at times, spirited discussion spanning a wide range of issues. Indeed, over the course of two hours we touched on some of the most important issues presently facing Raleigh this election year, including affordable housing, public transportation, our city’s aging water and sewer infrastructure, and elected officials’ responsibility for setting the tone of conversation and debate throughout the city.

Below is a brief recap of the evening, focusing primarily on the candidates’ answers to questions prepared in advance by WakeUP.

But first, a few important disclaimers:

As a nonpartisan organization, we feel it’s important to point out that we neither support nor endorse any particular candidate, plan, agenda, or policy described below. Furthermore, although we’ve attempted to portray the candidates’ answers accurately to the best of our ability, mistakes can happen. So, if you notice 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 is merely to relay to voters information about candidates, we’ve made no attempt to dispute or fact-check any of the candidates’ statements or claims.

District C Town Hall Recap

After a brief welcome and introduction by Seth Friedman, Executive Officer for Passage Home, and Heather Keefer, Executive Director for WakeUP, the four District C candidates took to the stage, joined by two of the six at-large candidates. They were accompanied by Sean Maroney of Habitat for Humanity, the moderator for the evening.

*Seth Friedman, Executive Officer for Passage Home, welcomes residents to the District C Town Hall*

The candidates for District C included: Corey Branch (the District C incumbent), Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi, Wanda Hunter, and Dr. Ricky Scott. The two at-large candidates were Russ Stephenson (one of two at-large incumbents) and Dr. Portia Rochelle.

From left to right: Sean Maroney (moderator); Russ Stephenson (Incumbent Council Member At-Large); Dr. Ricky Scott (District C Candidate); Corey Branch (Incumbent Council Member for District C); Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi (District C Candidate); Wanda Hunter (District C Candidate); Dr. Portia Rochelle (At-Large Candidate)

After everyone introduced themselves, the discussion kicked off with a timely question directed to all six candidates:

In yesterday’s [August 20, 2019] council meeting, Mayor McFarlane stressed that the Raleigh City Council sets the tone for our city and elected leaders, and that, as such, representatives on City Council need to embrace collaboration. If you are elected to the City Council, how would you create a collaborative environment?

Many of the candidates’ answers emphasized the importance of engaging with local residents and listening to the unique concerns residents have about what’s currently happening in their communities.

Councilor Stephenson started things off by contrasting what he called “effective government vs. ineffective government,” stating that ineffective government is characterized by black or white, right vs. wrong thinking. He stressed the importance of “finding common ground,” holding up the Hillsborough Street Visioning Process as a prime example of effective collaboration between the community and local government.

Dr. Scott echoed those ideas, stating that, “at the core of effective government is collaboration and respect for everyone involved in the process.” Dr. Scott said that, to him, this means you listen to opposing views and always search for compromise.

Councilor Branch called attention to the fact that, as Mayor Pro Tem, it was his responsibility to run City Council sessions during Mayor McFarlane’s months-long absence due to back surgery. Emphasizing both his willingness to engage in “difficult conversations” with colleagues and community members and his knowledge and understanding of the policies and procedures that run the city, Councilor Branch stated he believes Council generally worked well during the Mayor’s absence and under his leadership.

Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi, who previously served on Raleigh’s Human Relations Commission, meanwhile argued that the City’s efforts to engage with and listen to the community have been hampered by a tension that presently exists between Council and the City’s Boards and Commissions.

“There must be a collaboration with your city boards and commissions, also with CACs. Then your community can listen,” Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi said. Along similar lines, she stressed that without collaboration — and when Council assigns tasks to city staff rather than to members of our volunteer boards — there’s no order, which leads to a “dysfunctional Council and a dysfunctional city.”

Ms. Hunter said that Council members should, “seek to understand and then be understood.” By this she said she means that one should always listen first and look at “relationship building.” District C has been “left destitute” for a long time, she said. And the City needs to rebuild a relationship with area residents who are distrustful of City Council. “You can only move at the speed of trust.”

Similarly, Dr. Rochelle stated that you cannot serve the community if you don’t know what their concerns are. “Then you’re just representing yourself.”

With the issue of engaging with constituents in mind, the discussion turned next to focus squarely on the concerns of area residents, with questions from WakeUP for the four candidates looking to represent District C.

What will you do to preserve the existing affordable housing that already exists in our community? And how will you ensure that residents can afford to stay in their homes long-term?

Ms. Hunter stressed that the first step is to understand exactly what affordable housing is. Because definitions of Affordable Housing are based on the Area Median Income (AMI), she said, many people who live in District C have been unfairly excluded as the AMI in District C has risen.

Meanwhile, Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi pointed to the potential for Community Land Trusts to preserve existing affordable land within the community and to allow for lower-income residents to pay for housing but not land. To back up her claim, she pointed to the success that the Durham Community Land Trustees has had so far in preserving affordable housing in Durham. Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi also stressed the importance of creating Community Benefits Agreements to protect businesses that stand to be pushed out of their present locations by the arrival of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along New Bern Avenue.

Councilor Branch talked about the need to identify where current plans are failing us. He also described how the complex interaction of local, county, and state government can create challenges for creating more affordable housing by slowing down the process. For one thing, he said 4% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) is generally most effective at targeting populations at around 60% of AMI. As such, he said, that limits the usefulness of the 4% tax credit for very low-income residents and families. Meanwhile, the 9% LIHTC can go deeper into around 30% AMI, but it’s very competitive. Councilor Branch described how, this past year, the City of Raleigh had two affordable housing projects that were eligible for the 9% LIHTC. Although the projects received money from the county and the city, they were later turned down by the state.

Returning to the matter of how to define affordable housing, Dr. Scott said that federal policy guidelines set a minimum standard. For him, the topic of building more affordable housing comes down to a matter of political will. “How committed are we to this initiative in this city and in this specific district?,” he asked. According to Dr. Scott, the City needs to explore wider options for generating the revenue, whether through property taxes, additional collaborations with affordable housing developers, or collaborations with private banks.

A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is being discussed as part of the Bus Rapid Transit plan for New Bern Avenue. If you had a say in what was included in this agreement, what would be the key items you would like to see?

Dr. Scott said that in adopting a CBA, the most important thing is to “make sure that our citizens are going to be positively impacted.” He reiterated talk from earlier in the evening about the need for collaborating with members in the community, specifically at the level of Citizen Advisory Councils.

Councilor Branch stated his eagerness and willingness to work with property owners along New Bern Avenue. “What are the tools and resources they need to stay in place?,” he asked. Councilor Branch also pointed out that most CBA’s are between the community and developers. He stressed that, as a governing body, City Council must look at our policies.

Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi meanwhile said that we’ve been down this road before and nothing happened. Residents have asked for CBA’s in the past and the city must help. She reiterated her calls for a “trustworthy council” and the need for both commercial and residential CBA’s.

“Residents need someone they can trust. We have the same conversations over and over again. This shouldn’t have just happened yesterday.”

Finally, Ms. Hunter stressed that, whatever happens, the CBA “needs to be inclusive,” taking input and insights from the business owners who are already there and from the people who already use the bus system. When it comes to gathering public input, she said, links to online surveys are not the way to go.

As improvements are made to our drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure overtime and as we see more intense storms and frequent flooding that impact our lives – what is your plan to ensure a more resilient community?

Ms. Hunter started out by describing Raleigh’s infrastructure as “outdated,” saying that, too often, the City has focused on growth to the detriment of the environment. She cautioned against becoming like New York City, which has suffered large-scale blackouts because of “too many people on the grid.” Ms. Hunter also expressed her concern about how new development affects water quality for residents in nearby older homes. She described an East College Park meeting at which a local woman brought with her a bucket of brown water from her house. Her water had seemingly been dirtied as a result of new housing construction in the area.

Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi echoed those frustrations and said that stormwater, whether many people understand it or not, is a major problem in Southeast Raleigh. She went on to describe the case of a resident in the Worthdale neighborhood in Southeast Raleigh who has a city-owned Water tower in her backyard. That infrastructure, she said, is now old and having problems, leaking and attracting mosquitoes. “It should not be in our neighborhoods.”

Councilor Branch started his answer to the question by pointing to the City’s Stormwater Management Advisory Commission as an opportunity for concerned residents to get involved. Regarding the issue of the Water tower in Worthdale, Councilor Branch said that, although there are issues with the tower, this is also a stormwater runoff problem. He said that the City has had many conversations with the property owner in whose backyard the tower is situated, and it’s clear that residents simply “don’t want the tower.” However, it’s not a simple matter to move the tower. Emphasized his desire to continue working with residents to resolve the matter, Councilor Branch invited residents to attend the monthly District C community meetings, at which there was a recent presentation on the topic of environmental justice.

Dr. Scott finished things up by saying that we need to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to addressing our aging infrastructure. Moreover, he said, residents just want local government to “act in their best interests.” But, too often, Council fails to act. “Once ideas are presented, what kind of commitment will there be from council?”

Housing and transportation make up half of the average household’s budget. How can City officials make sure residents can live in an affordable location and also be able to afford to get to work?

Dr. Scott said that many Southeast residents use alternative transportation, such as Raleigh’s bus system. He emphasized the City’s need for a comprehensive transit plan with easily accessible, reliable, and safe buses, again saying that the City needs to be proactive and that “sometimes we don’t move fast enough.” Then, pointing out that children, teens, and elderly can now ride the bus for free in Raleigh and that everyone is eligible to ride the bus for free in Chapel Hill, has asked, “Why can’t that work in Raleigh?” He also said that Raleigh needs a living wage, although that’s outside the control of Council.

Councilor Branch said, similarly, that everyone needs access to our transit system. He pointed to Council’s success in establishing bus service to Barwell Road, but said there’s still a lot of work left to do. He pointed to the need to build a safe and accessible multimodal transit system that depends on not just private cars and buses but also bicycles and micromobility options such as e-scooters. Finally, Councilor Branch stressed the importance of forming partnerships, particularly with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which owns majority of roads in NC and Raleigh.

Taking issue with some of what Councilor Branch held up as a past success of Council, Ms. Alamin-Khashoggi said that Barwell Road is not safe. “The bus stops are not safe, and the bus stop should not be in a ditch, where people need to cross the road.” She furthermore argued that, while she owns a bicycle, many areas throughout Raleigh are not safe to ride. She pointed to Creech Road in Southeast Raleigh as a prime example.

Ms. Hunter followed up on this, saying that the City needs buffered bicycle lanes and more multi-use paths that connect to areas where people are employed. However, she said that, at the same time, our transportation network needs to be inclusive. Ms. Hunter described a recent situation in which a bicycle lane was installed along Person Street near Downtown, in front of the home of a resident with accessibility needs. As a result, the resident could no longer park her car in front of her house. Ms. Hunter said that to prevent such issues from arising in the future, we need to “engage citizens to find what their needs are.”

More Town Halls to Come and Don’t Forget to Submit Your Questions Online

We want to extend our thanks to all the residents who came out on Wednesday evening to participate in this, the first event in our series of district-focused Town Halls. Given the issues Raleigh is presently facing, we believe it’s more important now than ever for residents to be engaged with, and take an active role in, local government.

Special thanks also go out to Passage Home for hosting, Sean Maroney for moderating, and tilde Language Justice Cooperative for providing Spanish translation services.

Our next Town Hall event will be on Monday, August 26th, at 6:00pm at Temple Beth Or on Creedmoor Road. That Town Hall will feature the candidates running for District E, namely Stef Mendell (the incumbent Council Member for District E) and David Knight. As in our District C Town Hall, at-large candidates are also invited to attend.

You can indicate your interest in attending the District E Town Hall by going to the event on our Facebook page. You can also submit a question for this or any other upcoming Town Hall event by clicking here.

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.