1. Given the direction of Raleigh government, would you say things are on the right course? If not, what specific changes will you advocate for if elected?
No...Our homeless population has been growing. We simply do not have enough places to live. First step is to speed up zoning change, building permits and inspections downtown. Second, I would like to get a task force of city council members, builders/developers and city administration to speed up our building in Raleigh to meet market demands for housing at all levels.
2. If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large or mayoral candidate, please identify the three most pressing issues the city faces.
a. Widen Six Forks Road...this has been kicked down the road for over a decade.
b. Make sure that the upgrade to sewers at Shelley Lake are performed as quickly as possible once they are started with as little impact to the environment as possible.
c. Look into why we have empty retail commercial space in North Raleigh. In my opinion the district is not being serviced well with lots of empty retail spaces.
3. What in your record as a public official or other experience demonstrates your ability to be effective as a member of the city council and as an advocate for the issues that you believe are important?
a. Experience in corporate management in the boardroom. b. Experience for several decades in small business ownership and management. Years of networking the Raleigh small business community.
c. Experience with Raleigh Chamber of Commerce including Chairing the CEO Roundtable Committee for two years. d. Running several Jobs for Life classes in my church as a site manager.
4. In 2021, the Raleigh City Council enacted a missing middle policy to allow for the construction of new, diverse types of housing across
the city. More than 2,000 newly-allowed units have been added to the city's housing stock under the policy, yet there has been pushback from residents, including lawsuits. Do you support Raleigh's missing middle housing policy as is, or do you think it needs amending? If you feel it needs to be changed, please explain.
I am against missing middle. Other than building tiny homes or duplexes, I do not feel it is fair to residents to have their neighborhoods insert multi-unit dwellings when no zoning hearing has taken place. In general this is a bad practice. There is also the question of room for parking and capacity of sewers meeting demand that they were not set up for.
5. Raleigh has many funds, programs, and partnerships in place aimed at addressing affordable housing, but still has a deficit of some 23,000 affordable units. What more can the city do to secure affordable housing, and what more can it do to ensure that low-income residents don't face displacement?
a. I would like to get a task force of city council members, builders/developers and city administration to speed up our building in Raleigh to meet market demands for housing at all levels. Step one is to stop the slow walking of zoning changes, building permits and inspection downtown.
b. We need to approach the state government about making unused state owned land downtown for use.
c. Move Central Prison and women's prison out of Raleigh.
6. The recent resignation of GoTriangle's CEO raises questions about the future of the county and regional transit strategy. How do you see the future of transit in Raleigh when it comes to Bus Rapid Transit, microtransit, and commuter and regional rail projects?
I am for further development of the BRT; however, I believe that we need to look at augmenting it with some type of ride share partnership, so
that it is more practical for more riders to use the system. I would like to see for example special routes like from North Raleigh, with pick ups along the way to the Amazon Distribution Center. In a time where the trend is for professionals to work at home, I believe that introduction of a rail system will not have the use, leaving taxpayers footing the ball for operation. One way to build up demand may be to have it connected with the airport. If the rail system is underutilized, the burden for funding operations will fall on the tax payer.
7. A common complaint from residents is that the city council doesn't do enough public engagement, with the plan to relocate Red Hat Amphitheater being one recent example. Do you agree with this assessment? If so, what more should the city government and council do to engage residents with city business?
I support introduction of the CAC's for City Council to engage with the citizens.
8. Downtown Raleigh has had a rough five years following the COVID pandemic with the transition to working from home and business owners reporting an increase in crime and other issues. Many see keeping Red Hat Amphitheater downtown as a positive step; what else does the city need to do to help downtown with its recovery and plan for its future?
Build more living spaces downtown so there is an ever present segment of population that will use businesses like restaurants and stores there.
9. Since 2012, the City of Raleigh has paid more than $4 million in settlements to 47 individuals, families, and estates related to RPD officer's use of excessive force and other unconstitutional
interactions. What are your thoughts on the current culture at RPD? For what changes would you advocate to improve the culture of policing in Raleigh, if any?
The RPD is underpaid, overworked and understaffed creating a caldrum for problems. We are working with the same numbers of officers as over 20 years ago. We need to start paying them a market wage (they are the lowest paid in Wake County) and work on keeping our best officers. With more officers the RPD can spend more time in community relations.
10. Some municipalities, such as Durham, have seen success with crisis response units that deploy trained workers to respond to non-violent behavioral health and quality of life calls for service. Should Raleigh consider such a crisis response program that's NOT housed in the police department?
I would be for some type of mental crisis swat team. As to whether it would report into the RPD, I would think that it would report into the same group as the paramedics.
11. The next city council will transition from two-year to four-year terms with staggered elections. What other changes, if any, should the city council make to how voters elect its members? Should any additional changes be put to voters in a referendum or should the council make those decisions?
I was against the decision to go to four year terms without a voter referendum. It was a gigantic power grab. The city council promised to let the voters decide this and promptly passed it
themselves. In regard to how the council members are elected, these matters should be confirmed with a public vote.