Just about everything people read and hear about growth in Raleigh is bad: The School Board can’t cope with growth, the Water Company can’t cope with growth, the streets are clogged, the politicians say they have to keep raising taxes and borrowing money to pay for growth. Growth has caused such a myriad of problems…
Read MoreRaleigh’s developer community is already looking for a political savior. Looking overseas, in fact. They’re talking up Jim Cain, currently U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. Their scenario is that Cain returns from his pressing foreign-policy duties in Copenhagen, runs for mayor and restores what developers call “moderation” to City Hall. Not so fast. Cain would have…
Read MoreRepublicans, a few years ago, were a force in City politics. But no more. Today, Democrats hold six City Council seats, one is held by an Independent who might as well be a Democrat and only one seat is held by a Republican. What happened? In the 1990’s Republicans were elected Mayor and to the…
Read MoreGovernor Easley emerges from the Mansion to tell municipal officials we’re facing a drought emergency, but he doesn’t declare a state of emergency. City officials say they’re already taking action. Raleigh’s City Council waits until after the elections to take up a ban on all outdoor watering. Meanwhile, the sprinklers and hoses keep running. And…
Read MoreAl Gore won’t run for President. He doesn’t need to step down from the heights. No one has ever won an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace Prize the same year. His net worth is estimated at more than $100 million. And he doesn’t have to put up with the indignity of politics. Most of…
Read MoreThere’s been a debate raging in Raleigh for over three years about developers: Are they responsible citizens or greedy villains? But, so far, only one side has been debating: Mayor Meeker and his allies who say developers are villains. The developers have a story to tell: They build shops, offices, homes, provide jobs and have…
Read MoreRaleigh’s election this year recycles the results from 30 years ago. In 1977, a pro-neighborhood, anti-developer grassroots rebellion elected little-old-lady-in-tennis-shoes Isabella Cannon over the incumbent mayor, Jyles Coggins, a builder known as “bomber Jack.” Two years later, Smedes York rode to the rescue of the real estate industry. He ran against Cannon and won. Then,…
Read MoreThe Mayor or, rather, his allies second theme this election was that their opponents, Tommy Craven and Jessie Taliaferro, were pawns of developers. Because they voted against higher Impact Fees. Last year, Craven and Taliaferro voted to raise Impact Fees 72%. But the Mayor said at the time he wanted more and during the election…
Read MoreCongratulations are due to Mayor Meeker and his political brain-trust-strategist Perry Woods. The Mayor or, more precisely, his allies Nancy McFarlane and Rodger Koopman won big on Election Day. Mayor Meeker was on the right side of a powerful issue: developer John Kane’s proposal that the City give North Hills a $75 million tax subsidy.…
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