Name: Sana Siddiqui
Age: 42
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: www.sana4raleigh.com
Occupation and employer: Small Business Owner/Product Manager
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?
Overall, good things are happening in Raleigh. The city is growing quickly and attracting new people. But this growth needs to be managed more effectively.
Affordability is becoming a real issue for everyday people, from renters and homeowners to city staff and small business owners. We’re also seeing city departments stretched thin, including safety and emergency response, which is affecting how well the city can serve residents. Growth without enough attention to affordability, infrastructure, and staffing is creating a strain that’s impacting people’s daily lives.
If elected, I would focus on managing growth more responsibly. This includes pushing for policies that expand housing supply while including affordable options, preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, making sure infrastructure keeps pace with growth, and ensuring city staff are paid competitively so we can attract and retain qualified people.
I also want to focus on helping small businesses stay in business through improvements to existing programs and new tools and on stronger community engagement, so residents understand how decisions are made and have the opportunity to participate.
2. If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large candidate, please identify the three most pressing issues the city faces.
1) Affordability: Raleigh needs more housing to meet demand while protecting existing residents from being pushed out. That includes preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, encouraging affordable units in new developments, and making sure infrastructure can support growth. People should be able to live near where they work, including city staff.
2) Small businesses: As a small business owner, I’ve seen how rising costs make it hard to sustain and grow. I want to strengthen existing grant programs, explore tools like commercial rent incentives and hiring incentives, and audit the permitting process and other services to find ways to make it easier and faster for small businesses to open and expand.
3) Community engagement: Reinstating the CACs was a step in the right direction, but we can do more. We won’t reach every resident directly, but many people are already engaged through their own communities such as faith groups, small business networks, and advocacy organizations. I want to strengthen CACs by creating better ways to engage these community leaders, so information and feedback flow more widely and decisions reflect communities across the city.
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?
I bring a unique mix of professional experience, civic service, and close community connection that has prepared me to be an effective member of the City Council.
Professionally, I’ve spent years in the manufacturing industry, primarily in product management roles. That experience gave me a strong understanding of how large organizations function, how decisions are made, how budgets work, and how tradeoffs happen. I understand that good intentions must turn into practical decisions that actually work.
As a small business owner, I’ve worked alongside other local businesses at pop-ups and farmers markets, and I understand the day-to-day challenges we face, including rising costs, permitting hurdles, and a lack of resources or awareness. I’ve lived these challenges myself, which shapes how I think about supporting the local economy and what the city can do better for small businesses.
I have been working closely with the City of Raleigh for years to host a large, free monthly community event series in downtown Raleigh. I have served on multiple Raleigh advisory boards, including the Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs Board, and currently serve on the Environmental Advisory Board and the Human Relations Commission. Through this work, I’ve gained firsthand understanding of city processes, departments, and challenges.
Most importantly, I stay connected to the community through this work and through Get2KnowRaleigh, a digital community platform I created to highlight local businesses, events, and community voices across the city.
This connection allows me to listen, communicate, and bring more people into the process, and I’m ready to do that work on the Council.
4. Many Raleigh leaders publicly committed to supporting a future affordable housing bond before the 2024 city council election and again this summer. Do you agree that a future affordable housing bond referendum should go before voters? Please explain your position. If you support a future affordable housing bond, when should it appear on ballots and in what (estimated) amount? What else can the city do to make sure Raleigh housing is affordable for current and future residents?
I do support placing a future affordable housing bond before voters, but it needs to be clearly communicated and carried out with accountability.
With Raleigh’s 2020 Affordable Housing Bond ending in 2026, it makes sense to evaluate how that bond has been implemented, what worked, where gaps remain, and what the long-term repayment timeline looks like. That context should guide whether a new bond appears on the ballot in 2026. I would support a 2026 bond and would ask that the current council clearly communicate the expected outcomes and how the funds would be used.
Increasing supply alone isn’t enough. Most affordable housing programs focus on households earning up to 80% AMI, but the greatest risk of displacement is at 50% and 30% AMI. When public dollars or land-use incentives are used, we should require clear income targeting and longer affordability periods. New developments should also be paired with strong design standards and incentives to protect our tree canopy and be compatible with existing neighborhoods.
Investment in infrastructure and preserving existing affordable housing are just as important as building new units. This includes homeowner repair programs, and infrastructure investments like stormwater management, so growth doesn’t create long-term costs for existing residents.
5. As climate change leads to more intense rainfall, communities are at greater risk of inland flooding, such as the historic floods in parts of the Triangle caused by Tropical Storm Chantal in July. How would you like Raleigh to address climate resilience, particularly flooding?
Raleigh needs to take climate resilience seriously, especially when it comes to flooding, which is already affecting neighborhoods across the city.
Growth has to be paired with infrastructure investment. Stormwater management is a critical issue, with the city carrying roughly $900 million in outstanding stormwater projects. As we add housing and density, we must continue investing in infrastructure that protects neighborhoods and water quality, especially in areas where flooding has been a long-standing issue. We need to proactively maintain and upgrade existing systems, instead of waiting for major storms to expose gaps.
We also need to be careful that new developments do not make flooding worse by increasing runoff or by building in flood-prone areas. Flood risk should be a clear part of rezoning and development decisions.
Protecting our tree canopy is also critical. Trees and natural spaces help absorb water and reduce flooding, and once they’re gone, they’re hard to replace. Preserving existing trees and requiring planting as part of development is a practical, long-term investment in resilience.
6. After a decade of planning, Raleigh scrapped a proposal for the Six Forks Road widening project for bike and pedestrian lanes that would have been financed by transportation bonds that voters had already approved. In southeast Raleigh, construction on Phase 1 of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system was delayed two years after the city initially failed to attract a bidder. How can city leaders ensure Raleigh keeps its commitments to voters and taxpayers and keeps projects on track from planning through construction, as well as within their budgets?
Unexpected challenges will always come up in large infrastructure projects. What matters is how we respond. Clear communication, early course corrections, and accountability when plans change are essential to maintaining public trust.
City leaders can do a better job of keeping commitments to voters by being clearer and more realistic from the start, and more transparent throughout the life of a project.
When projects are first communicated, the city should clearly outline the scope, known risks, and areas of uncertainty in plain language, and not just the ideal outcome. Residents need to understand where the uncertainties lie and what could cause delays or cost changes, so expectations are grounded in reality.
We should also maintain a publicly accessible, up-to-date dashboard or calendar of major capital projects that shows timelines, funding sources, key milestones, and any changes as they occur. Ongoing updates about delays, cost increases, or scope changes should be shared in a timely manner.
7. Recently, Customs and Border Protection agents carried out immigration enforcement operations in Raleigh with no official warning to elected officials or the public. At the same time, the Trump administration is working to ramp up deportations and curtail visas, while the legislature has passed laws requiring cooperation with ICE. What do you think Raleigh officials can or should do to ensure safe, welcoming communities for immigrants in light of these policies?
No government agency should operate without accountability or unchecked authority, and all residents, regardless of immigration status, have the right to due process.
ICE is a federally funded agency, and the City of Raleigh does not control its actions. However, the city does control how its own departments operate and how residents are treated. City services, emergency response, and reporting crimes should not be tied to immigration enforcement. Residents need to know they can call 911, report crimes, or access city services without fear.
Ensuring access to quick and reliable information and legal resources is one of the most effective ways the city can support safety and stability. When the city becomes aware of federal enforcement activity, it should share verified information quickly and responsibly through trusted city channels.
The city should also continue and expand partnerships with legal aid organizations and community groups so residents know their rights and where to get accurate information and help.
8. GoRaleigh’s bus operators, who are officially employed by international transit system operator RATPDev USA, have brought complaints about difficult and unsafe working conditions to the city council on numerous occasions in the past year. Besides working with the Raleigh Police Department on more patrolling and safety at bus terminals, what could the city be doing to make the bus operators’ jobs safer and more manageable?
The City does not manage GoRaleigh bus operators directly, but we do have a responsibility to ensure the transit system we fund is safe for both workers and riders.
Beyond increased patrols, we should ensure the operating contract includes clear safety standards, regular reporting on operator safety incidents, staffing levels, and response protocols, along with documented follow-up when issues are raised.
We also need clear processes for operators to provide regular, proactive input on safety conditions, separate from emergency incidents. Safety concerns should be tracked and addressed in a timely way and improvements should be implemented quickly based on lessons learned.
We also need to invest in safer transit infrastructure, including better lighting and visibility at transit stations, improved station design, and clear procedures for handling disruptive or unsafe situations without putting operators at risk.
9. This year, the Raleigh Police Department has come under scrutiny for its handling of the investigation into the crash that killed Tyrone Mason. Additionally, a former senior officer was fired in May; it was later revealed that the officer conducted illegal searches. How do you think the city should work to build trust between residents and RPD, and what role do you think the council should have in overseeing the culture of the police department?
Rebuilding trust between residents and RPD is going to be a slow process, but it has to start with clear communication and transparency.
When serious incidents like these happen, residents need clear answers, timely information, and confidence that investigations are being handled properly and not managed behind closed doors. Each investigation should also result in lessons learned, identifying gaps in policy, process, or training. These findings must be used to prevent similar failures in the future.
City Council does not run the police department’s day-to-day operations, but culture is shaped by what leadership tolerates. Council should ask tough questions, review recurring patterns, and ensure internal affairs and independent review processes are strong, transparent, and taken seriously.
If we want officers who are qualified and understand the responsibility of the job, we also need to support them through competitive pay, consistent training, and clear expectations for conduct. Accountability and support go together. We should demand high standards from the police department and give officers the tools to meet them.
10. Over the last year, Raleigh rolled out a crisis call diversion line and a care navigation team under the CARES umbrella. Those programs join the preexisting ACORNS unit within the police department as part of the city’s tool kit for responding to mental health, substance use, or homelessness concerns. Are you satisfied with the rollout of Raleigh CARES? Where do you want to see more investment or additional services? Should Raleigh consider creating a mobile crisis response team separate from the police department?
I support the idea behind CARES and the goal of expanding alternatives to 911 for mental health, substance use, and homelessness-related calls. However, it is difficult to assess how successful the rollout has been because there isn’t enough publicly available data.
To evaluate these programs properly, we need clear information on call volume, response times, the types of calls coming into the CARES line, and how many of those calls might otherwise still be going to 911. We also need to understand citywide awareness of the program and whether usage has changed since it launched. Without that information, it’s difficult to measure impact or identify gaps.
That said, I do believe the city should continue investing in CARES. The focus now should be on implementing improvements to the program using data, strengthening staffing and training where needed, and making adjustments so the program works as intended.
I would also support evaluating whether a mobile crisis response team separate from the police department could strengthen this work. Any expansion should be driven by data, outcomes, and what best serves residents in crisis.
11. Raleigh’s Citizen Advisory Councils have been fully restored, and the city has introduced civic assemblies for paid community outreach, among other measures. What more could or should the city do to engage and inform residents?
Reinstating the CACs is a step in the right direction. CACs are a strong platform with the potential to do much more, but we need to make an intentional effort to expand awareness and participation. Many residents don’t know what CACs are or that they even exist.
It’s also unrealistic to expect every resident to engage directly with the city. Many people don’t participate in formal city processes, but they are deeply connected to their own communities such as faith-based groups, immigrant communities, small business networks, and environmental advocacy organizations. CACs can play a stronger role by intentionally involving trusted leaders from these communities and bringing them into discussions around city initiatives, so information reaches more residents through people they already trust.
The city also needs to close the loop on engagement. When residents take the time to participate in listening sessions or provide feedback, they deserve to know how that input was used and why decisions were ultimately made the way they were. Even when people disagree with the outcome, transparency builds trust and encourages continued participation.
12. If there are other issues you want to discuss, please do so here.
I’ve lived in Raleigh for a long time and have built a close connection to the community. I’m stepping up to represent residents from across the city, and I take that responsibility seriously. My campaign is grassroots and is supported by everyday residents across Raleigh.
If elected, I would prioritize the interests of Raleigh residents by focusing on clear communication and using data alongside community input to guide decisions. I believe trust in local government is built through consistency, accountability, and showing residents that their time and input are taken seriously.