Thank you, Nancy
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, and her family, clearly need and deserve a break from the petty, polarized politics of the City Council. The question now is whether Raleigh will get the new mayor it needs and deserves.
McFarlane has been a great mayor for a great city. Her 12 years on the Council, including eight years as mayor, have seen giant steps forward for Raleigh. Dix Park will stand as the most notable reminder of her leadership.
But the last two years couldn’t have been fun. First came the divisive race, and needlessly damaging runoff, against Charles Francis. McFarlane won landslides in both the primary and runoff. But she had to endure the Wake County Democratic Party endorsing Francis, just because she’s a registered Independent.
Francis may be a Democrat, but I’ve never seen him at any of the dozens upon dozens of Democratic fundraisers I’ve gone to. I see Nancy and Ron McFarlane there regularly.
Francis may be a Democrat, but he went to the Wake GOP to ask for their support. He had the strong support of HB2 champion and ex-GOP gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith.
Then, at the first meeting of the new Council, fellow Council member Russ Stephenson – who has benefitted from the McFarlanes’ support and money for years – sabotaged her on committee appointments.
Then came the incident between Kay Crowder and Ron McFarlane. Ron clearly overreacted, but he was understandably upset that Crowder didn’t mention the Mayor’s leadership on Dix Park at a Dix Park event.
A personal note here: I had never been close to Nancy, but she came to me last year seeking political advice. I told her what I tell most people in politics who ask my advice: Do a poll. Don’t just listen to the loudmouths yelling in your face. Listen to the quieter voices of a representative sample of ALL the voters. They’re the people who count on Election Day.
The poll found that McFarlane is extraordinarily popular. She almost certainly would have won reelection. Her favorable rating was 71 percent. Her job-performance rating was 77 percent. Those are extraordinary ratings for a person in politics these days.
If she endorses candidates for Mayor and City Council this year, they’ll get a huge boost.
Plenty of names are circulating for Mayor, including Caroline Sullivan, Mary-Ann Baldwin, Sig Hutchinson, former Mayor Charles Meeker, Kay Crowder, Mitch Silver and Francis. Some of those would be great mayors. Some would be disasters. But that’s another blog.
Meanwhile, Nancy McFarlane deserves a break. She should consider how she might serve again in the future. She’d be a strong candidate for higher office. She’s been good for Raleigh, and she’d be good for North Carolina.
Thank you, Nancy
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, and her family, clearly need and deserve a break from the petty, polarized politics of the City Council. The question now is whether Raleigh will get the new mayor it needs and deserves.
McFarlane has been a great mayor for a great city. Her 12 years on the Council, including eight years as mayor, have seen giant steps forward for Raleigh. Dix Park will stand as the most notable reminder of her leadership.
But the last two years couldn’t have been fun. First came the divisive race, and needlessly damaging runoff, against Charles Francis. McFarlane won landslides in both the primary and runoff. But she had to endure the Wake County Democratic Party endorsing Francis, just because she’s a registered Independent.
Francis may be a Democrat, but I’ve never seen him at any of the dozens upon dozens of Democratic fundraisers I’ve gone to. I see Nancy and Ron McFarlane there regularly.
Francis may be a Democrat, but he went to the Wake GOP to ask for their support. He had the strong support of HB2 champion and ex-GOP gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith.
Then, at the first meeting of the new Council, fellow Council member Russ Stephenson – who has benefitted from the McFarlanes’ support and money for years – sabotaged her on committee appointments.
Then came the incident between Kay Crowder and Ron McFarlane. Ron clearly overreacted, but he was understandably upset that Crowder didn’t mention the Mayor’s leadership on Dix Park at a Dix Park event.
A personal note here: I had never been close to Nancy, but she came to me last year seeking political advice. I told her what I tell most people in politics who ask my advice: Do a poll. Don’t just listen to the loudmouths yelling in your face. Listen to the quieter voices of a representative sample of ALL the voters. They’re the people who count on Election Day.
The poll found that McFarlane is extraordinarily popular. She almost certainly would have won reelection. Her favorable rating was 71 percent. Her job-performance rating was 77 percent. Those are extraordinary ratings for a person in politics these days.
If she endorses candidates for Mayor and City Council this year, they’ll get a huge boost.
Plenty of names are circulating for Mayor, including Caroline Sullivan, Mary-Ann Baldwin, Sig Hutchinson, former Mayor Charles Meeker, Kay Crowder, Mitch Silver and Francis. Some of those would be great mayors. Some would be disasters. But that’s another blog.
Meanwhile, Nancy McFarlane deserves a break. She should consider how she might serve again in the future. She’d be a strong candidate for higher office. She’s been good for Raleigh, and she’d be good for North Carolina.