2009-2011 Council

Please enjoy this short video of reflections on my first term and goals for the upcoming year!



Tonight, November 30 the new City Council will be sworn in at 7pm in the Cabarrus Street Lobby of the Convention Center. The public is invited to attend. Hope to see you there!

2009 Endorsements

In District A, the clear choice is Nancy McFarlane. As an advocate for neighborhoods, parks and green space, she has worked for years to get northwest Raleigh’s out-of-control stormwater problems under better management. She’s helped to protect Raleigh taxpayers by making new growth pay more of its own way so that property taxes don’t have to, and brings a strong business perspective to management of city affairs in a fiscally sound way. McFarlane was instrumental in ensuring that the 2030 Comprehensive Plan protects the city’s infrastructure, growth, economy, and well-being over the next 20 years. - Betsy Kane, newraleigh.com

The Sierra Club
Raleigh Wake Citizens Association
Raleigh Police Protective Association
Raleigh Professional Firefighters Association

Early Voting

Early Voting is going on now through Friday October 3rd for all Wake County elections! The only site is at the Board of Elections at 337 Salisbury Street, on weekdays from 8:30-5:00. I f you have any conflicts with Election Day October 6th than this is a great option!

Since the voting trend for municipal elections is usually around 10% (or less), it is very important for you to get out and vote! This low turn out means that every vote counts, so the more you can help spread the word with your friends and family the more impact you can have. Local elections really do have an impact on your quality of life because of the close proximity of city and county governments to our daily lives. The City is responsible for your drinking water, sewer service, road maintenance, zoning and regulating developments, public safety, developing infrastructure and maintaining parks, just to name a few. I believe that getting involved in local politics is one of the best ways to help shape our community for the better.

I appreciate your continued support as I move forward into my second term. It is an honor that no one has chosen to run against me this election, and I look forward to continuing my work on the Raleigh City Council.

Raleigh Council Candidates Square Off

A huge thanks to WakeUp Wake County, Wake County League of Women Voters and the Raleigh Downtowner for hosting this great candidate forum!

READ REVIEWS BY:

NEWRALEIGH.COM

MYNC.COM - video of Nancy available online!

RALEIGH PUBLIC RECORD

Transcript from Raleigh Public Record

Q: (moderator) What measures should the City of Raleigh take to protect the Falls Lake watershed and what measures should be taken to address stormwater regulations?

Nancy McFarlane: “There are many regulations we can improve on. One we’re considering is to increase the stormwater runoff requirements during construction. Silt is the biggest pollutant in Falls Lake, and it causes all kinds of problems. One of the things we are able to control is the amount of silt and stormwater that does wash off the sites. We’re looking at beefing up those, and they should be coming back for a vote before too long. The other thing we need to do is to start thinking about acting regionally. We can work together with municipalities to help beef up regulations.”

Sierra Club Endorsement

The Capital Group of the Sierra Club announced their endorsements for the 2009 Municipal Elections. Locally, the Club has a comprehensive process that identifies candidates whom they think are friends of the environment. Nationally, the Sierra Club is the largest, oldest and most effective environmental organization in the country. They do a great job of educating their members about opportunities to advocate for the environment both with their own time and at various levels of government. Thanks to the Sierra Club for being such great environmental advocates!

I am grateful to have received their endorsement for the second time, and look forward to continuing to earn this honor through my work on City Council! I have worked hard for tougher stormwater standards to protect our local waterways, and also served as the council liason to the Upper Neuse River Basin committee. I believe it is important to always consider the environmental impact of developments and I have consistently proved that during my work as Chair of the Comprehensive Planning Committe .

2009 Municipal Election Candidate Forum

Please come hear candidates discuss local public policy issues, including growth,

drinking water supply, transit, housing, infrastructure funding and more.

Raleigh City Council Candidate Forum

Thursday, September 10, 2009

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Doors open at 6:15

Temple Beth Or, 5315 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh

Cosponsored by the League of Women Voters of Wake County

WakeUP Wake County

& Raleigh Downtowner

Light Refreshments

Free and Open to the Public

For more information, contact:

Karen Rindge, WakeUP Wake County, 828-3833, krindge@earthlink.net

Marian Lewin, League of Women Voters, 845-0064, mlewin11@bellsouth.net

Re-Election 2009

I want to thank you for the privilege of serving you on the City Council for the past two years. I have learned a lot and truly worked hard to represent District A and the best of Raleigh. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve you, and am extreamly fortunate by the fact that no one has chosen to run against me this year.

However this does not mean that this election will be a quiet time for me. The Comprehensive Plan is being considered and that requires a vigorous public process. It is also extremely important that we elect a strong council that will continue to move the city forward. The election is a great time to get out and meet with the citizens of Raleigh, and if you would be willing to host a Meet & Greet than I would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss issues of local concern to you and your neighborhood.



We've only got about 2 months to get to work during this off-year election. Early voting opens at the Board of Elections on Sept 17, but election day is October 6. Mark it on your calendercalendar now and please help us get out the vote to assure a progressive and visionary council!

Campaign Kick-Off Event!

A huge thanks to Joanne Casey & Brooke Berson for hosting a wonderful Re-Election Campaign Kick-Off Event! About 50 people dropped by throughout the afternoon on Sunday and I am very grateful for such a positive show of support. Thank you to each of you for the opportunity to represent you on the City Council. I have learned so much and met so many people in the past year-and-a-half that it is not only an honor to represent you, but truly a gift. I hope that you will reinvest your support in me for another two-year term!

It is important to me that my priorities as a City Councillor accurately represent those of people living in District A. So at this event we asked each person to cast three votes for the issues they think the City Council should focus on in the upcoming year. Below are the tallied results along with some expanded clarification based on my experiences, accomplishments and future goals -

18 votes -Transit - The City is currently working to expand connectivity within our current bus system, such as the recent addition of a line between Raleigh & Wake Forest. We also recently welcomed the R-Line - a hybrid-electric downtown circulating bus that is free to all riders. As we look at developing a transportation system to alleviate our traffic and congestion problems it is clear that the smartest investment is a regional model (public opinion survey 3/09). This requires the cooperation of Wake, Orange and Durham counties along with the major cities on the corridor. Currently there is State Legislation (HB148, SB151) which would give voters in a county the option to approve locally-funded investments in transit in order to help determine their mobility future. The legislation seeks to balance local control and flexibility within a regional framework which is exactly what the Triangle needs to assure eventual operational success. Interested in helping transit move forward? Heres how.

18 votes - Responsible Growth - There continues to be a resounding call that "growth must pay for itself." This Council strongly supported that principle by significantly raising impact fees for the first time in years. We also increased the fees for new water/sewer connections to cover a greater share of the cost of expanding the utility service. We must continue to require that the true cost of development, especially environmental, be discussed and reflected in our policies. I have continued to be an advocate for attention to stormwater runoff resulting from poorly executed developments. As Chair of the Comprehensive Planning Committee I have consistently aimed to balance the benefits of development with neighborhood concerns and protection. We welcome investments in our community as long as they are responsible, sustainable and respectful of the local landscape. For more details on Growth Issues in Wake County, check the WakeUp WakeCounty review.

8 votes - Schools - Many people at the event pointed out that City does not have any explicit responsibilities in regards to WCPSS; but inevitability the quality of our public schools affects the quality of life in Raleigh. During my first term I authored a Resolution that requires our planning department to inform our schools of new projects before they are approved, and I now serve as the liaison with our schools. Therefore it is important to me that the City and WCPSS work together effectively whenever there is need or opportunity.

7 votes - Comprehensive Plan Update - This is going to be our guiding document for the next 20 years and so it is important that we get it right even if it takes some extra time. The projected timeframe for adopting the CompPlan is currently July2009. Details available at http://www.planningraleigh2030.com/

7 votes - Parks & Rec & Greenways - In District A we are fortunate to have a variety of active and passive recreation facilities including the most recent gift of 157acres off Raven Ridge Road for the Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park. While the addition of a park is great assest to any community, it is important to assure that the purpose and design of the project reflects the needs and concerns of adjacent neighborhoods. The current park planning process involves seeking input from the community, but it is important that their opinions are honored in the final design. The City is always striving to expand our current 63 miles of Greenway trails which provide interconnectedness within Raleigh and between parks. Raleigh Public Record provided this great introduction and insight into the history and beauty of our Greenway System.

6 votes - Falls Lake Watershed Protection - Falls Lake, the drinking water supply for residents of Raleigh and eastern Wake County, has been declared "impaired" by the State, due to polluted runoff and wastewater from upstream. While clean up efforts in the lake are slowly underway, without improvements to current wastewater treatment and stormwater practices the lake will continue to remain impaired. We must continue to strengthen regulations which in any way affect our watershed and make its protection an unyielding priority. Since Falls Lake is shared by Wake & Durham counties, we must proactively work together to share the responsibility of protecting its health and water quality.

4 votes - Road Maintenance - As all governments are re-evaluating their budgets this continues to be an area of contention between the City and the State. We must continue to work together to define responsibility for some of the major roads in need of improvement - for example Glenwood & Wade continue to be mentioned as in major need of attention but responsibility for those roads currently resides with the State.

4 votes - Affordable Housing - Access to safe and affordable housing is a growing concern not only in Raleigh but in Wake County, and there are a variety of non-profits and advisory boards working on addressing this problem. I am supportive of iniatives such as Inclusionary Zoning which aims to avoid a dense concentration of low-income developments but rather integrate varying levels of housing throughout our community.

4 votes - Water System/ Utility Improvements - This is an ongoing conversation about the need for improvements in our current Public Utilities Department to assure that we maintain a sustainable and modern water delivery system. I am in favor of concentrating all of the City's water related services (stormwater, drinking water, water/sewer, incentive rebate programs,etc) under one umbrella to allow for better communication, effectiveness and delivery of services. Check out some of my previous posts labeled "water issues" for more information.

4 votes - DIX 306 - Mayor Meeker has stated that this is one of his major priorities during his final and fifth term as Mayor. Currently the land is owned by the State and we are working on negotiations to acquire all or some of this acreage for a park.

3 votes - Public Safety - Last year we raised the salaries for Police & Firefighters, including a raise for bi-lingual ability, and also compressed the advancement scale. The Police Headquarters will be relocating within the next year to SixForks Rd in District A. I also introduced and worked to establish an Ordinance to restrict the tethering of dogs because this practice has been to known to make animals more aggressive thereby endangering neighbors and kids. This Ordinance has been well-received by the community (thanks PUP) and takes effect July 1.

3 votes - Afterschool Programs for at-risk students - There are various programs currently funded or supplemented by the City and we would like to expand some of the most successful ones into areas with the most need.

2 votes - Communication from the City - It is important to me that there is transparency in our municipal government and that citizens are consistently informed of our actions. The City should be aggressive in its efforts to educate neighborhoods, CACs and citizens about accessing the local government process including any changes in policies or ordinances, as well as events happening in Raleigh.

2 votes - Neighborhood Protection

2 votes - Bus connectivity between North Raleigh & Downtown - It is important that our bus system connects the major arteries of the City and that North Raleigh be included as such. Particularly we hope all of Raleigh's citizens are able to enjoy the revitalization of downtown. The idea has been floated of a connector between North Hills and the R-Line to alleviate the hassle over parking downtown.

2 votes- Energy Efficiency Investments - Upcoming projects funded by stimulus money.

Other suggestions -Attracting & maintaining businesses to the Warehouse district & Glenwood South, Arts Funding