Name: Clark Rinehart
Age: 39
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: www.clarkforraleigh.com
Occupation and employer: Consultant; Coworking NC, LLC (self-employed)
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?
I support and acknowledge a lot of the progress that the City Council has made in recent years, but I also believe there are still several areas of opportunity and significant challenges that are facing Raleigh in this next season. As has been the case for some time now, our community is facing an acute affordable and attainable housing shortage, which has created a crisis for more and more neighbors. We must build more housing of varying types that is affordable and attainable across the city, not just in one district.
In an ideal scenario, this housing supply should be connected to efficient, reliable, and affordable multimodal transit options along with access to living-wage jobs. As Raleigh leadership manages our growing pains, we need to ensure that car dependency decreases and other modes of transportation increase over time. Our overall quality of life in Raleigh is noteworthy and consistently receives national accolades, but that does not translate in every neighborhood. Nevertheless, I want to continue to build off of that momentum and ensure Raleigh becomes the city with the highest quality of life in the nation for all neighbors.
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.
As an at-large candidate, I believe the three most pressing issues facing Raleigh right now are: (1) the lack of affordable housing options across the city, (2) the need for more efficient, reliable, and affordable multimodal transit options, and (3) concerns around public safety and security.
In my opinion, creating more affordable housing options throughout the city is the most pressing issue that our community faces. We must make it easier to build quality housing for teachers, city employees, and everyday Raleighites and, ideally, in a denser manner around growth centers to avoid some negative externalities of urban sprawl.
We also need to continue to invest in transit options that are not exclusively car dependent. At the moment, Raleigh is a city that almost always requires a car to get from Point A to Point B with few exceptions. As we grow, Raleigh must prioritize different ways to commute and experience the city, particularly in the urban core.
Lastly, public safety and security is on everyone’s mind as Raleigh manages growth. Community security and safety across the city need to be paramount and not an afterthought. Our first responders are overworked, short staffed, and often underpaid. Raleigh leadership needs to ensure that we are proactive with competitive wages, appropriate staffing levels, and improved training for first responders with the utmost accountability to make sure our community remains safe on all fronts.
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 believe I have the leadership skills, multi-disciplinary experience, community engagement expertise, and multi-sector relationships that it takes to thoughtfully manage Raleigh’s growth along with ensuring that our local government works for everyone. I’m a people person and have been engaged in community-building work, both personally and professionally, throughout my 17 years in the area. I’m not interested in simply talking about the work or virtue signaling; I’m committed to doing the work that will create more opportunities for more people across Raleigh.
I was raised in Miami and got my Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Miami. I moved here in August 2009 to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Duke Divinity School. After graduating, I served as a full-time, vocational local church pastor in North Raleigh. In late 2017, I decided to take a job at a fledgling coworking and collaborative community called The Loading Dock — near what is now the Raleigh Iron Works district. I loved having the opportunity to work with small businesses and entrepreneurs along with growing a hospitality brand across Wake County. At The Loading Dock, I got to serve the community in a fruitful way and learned what it takes to chase your dream and create life-giving jobs in Raleigh.
After leaving The Loading Dock to pursue my own entrepreneurial dreams, I have had the privilege of working at the intersection of community engagement, community development, and economic development. Over the last several years, I’ve helped scale local, regional, and independent coworking communities around the country, served as the Interim Executive Director of Innovate Raleigh, and am currently the Interim Executive Director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership (CHDP). The complexities and challenges of each of these management roles has prepared me for public service as a citywide councilor on Day 1.
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?
Production of quality affordable and attainable housing across Raleigh is my top priority. Therefore, I do believe that a future affordable housing bond referendum should go before voters in the near future. Although I’m not ready to provide an exact timeline of when I would like to see a future affordable housing bond on the ballot, ideally this would be sooner, rather than later since the crisis grows everyday. While I was at the last City Council retreat (January ’26), I learned more about staff recommendations for a future affordable housing bond, which could include a ~$21M revolving loan fund to finance construction of mixed income permanent affordable housing like Montgomery County, Maryland.
In terms of the overall amount, I think an exact figure would need to be established through comprehensive discussions with other councilors, city staff, constituents, and affordable housing experts. My initial thought is that the new bond will be in the $100-$115M dollar range since the last bond of $80M was passed in 2020 (with 72% approval) and costs have only risen. ~$101M is what was proposed at the last City Council retreat. From my perspective, housing supply and subsidy must go together to produce the units that Raleighites desperately need.
One big idea that I have been working on over the last several years connects to the growing YIGBY (“Yes In God’s Backyard”) movement. The core thesis is that nonprofit and sometimes faith-based (read: privilege tax class) parcel owners, particularly in the urban core, could be vital partners to create the kind of generationally-impactful affordable housing supply that is needed in Raleigh. Don’t imagine historical steeples being demolished, but rather surface parking lots that are owned by these tax-exempt organizations being activated for the public good. Want to be a better neighbor as an organization? Help our community build affordable and attainable housing in (ideally) mixed income developments on your parcels.
As numerous neighbors have already noticed, these faith-based and nonprofit entities are abundant in our community, often have by-right zoning for more dense development close to important infrastructure, national trends show less and less people are statistically engaged with mainline denominations, and these entities typically don’t utilize their large spaces throughout the week (mostly Wednesdays and Sundays). So, it only makes sense to continue to engage with these key stakeholders and leaders in the community. This housing supply would more-often-than-not be proximate to our most efficient and reliable public transit options along with living-wage jobs. It is a win-win-win that will surely have a significant impact on neighbors, especially those living closer and closer to the margins.
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?
Climate change isn’t a distant threat for Raleigh. Climate change is here and our community, state, and greater region are already feeling the impacts. The historic flooding in parts of the Triangle from Tropical Storm Chantal in July 2025 underscored a reality we can’t ignore. That reality is that more intense rainfall events are increasing the risk of inland flooding for families, businesses, and neighborhoods across Raleigh.
As a candidate committed to proactive, pragmatic, and equitable solutions, I believe Raleigh must continue to pursue comprehensive climate resilience strategies like the Community Climate Action Plan. We must focus on practical, data-driven solutions that protect residents, safeguard properties, and make smart use of public dollars. While climate resilience involves many facets, the single most important priority, from my perspective, is modernizing how Raleigh manages stormwater and flood risk across the entire city. In addition, we need to avoid building new dwellings in existing floodplains along with examining contemporary flood modeling data that could put areas not historically at risk in greater jeopardy.
Raleigh’s stormwater infrastructure was largely designed for a climate that no longer exists. Pipes, culverts, and drainage systems built decades ago are being overwhelmed by heavier and more frequent downpours. Addressing climate resilience starts with investing strategically in upgrading this infrastructure using updated rainfall projections. I believe this includes, but is not limited to, expanding capacity in known flood-prone areas where needed, improving maintenance schedules, and integrating green infrastructure like rain gardens, permeable pavement, restored wetlands, and expanding the tree canopy. These nature-based solutions will likely reduce runoff, ease pressure on infrastructure, and often cost less over time than reactive repairs after flooding has already occurred.
Just as important, these investments must be guided by fairness and foresight. Flooding does not affect all neighborhoods equally, and repeated damage can destabilize families and communities. A smarter stormwater strategy helps reduce emergency costs, limit property damage, and keep insurance premiums from rising for homeowners and renters alike. It also supports responsible growth by giving residents and businesses confidence that Raleigh is planning for long-term resilience, rather than responding crisis by crisis.
Ultimately, I believe climate resilience is about protecting people, first and foremost, along with property and Raleigh’s future. By investing wisely in infrastructure, planning responsibly for growth, and ensuring every neighborhood is part of the solution, Raleigh can reduce flood risks and lead by example.
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?
Building community trust, in the short- and long-run, and ensuring there is appropriate accountability on elected officials is vitally important. Keeping faith with voters starts with disciplined planning and honest execution. When residents approve bonds or major investments, the city has a responsibility to deliver what was promised. In the event that they are not delivered, which will inevitably happen, then the public is due a clear and compelling explanation for why changes occurred or were necessary. As a pragmatic leader running for an at-large City Council seat, I believe Raleigh must ensure major projects are truly ready before moving forward, with realistic cost estimates, early coordination with the appropriate agencies and utilities, and procurement strategies that reflect current market conditions so projects can actually attract competitive bidders.
Equally important is transparency and accountability throughout the life of a project. City leaders should provide regular, clear updates on costs, timelines, and risks (along with the risk management strategies), and be willing to adjust course early, rather than after years of delay. Finally, Raleigh must better match its ambitions with its capacity to deliver by phasing projects realistically and strengthening project management oversight. This will be an ongoing area of opportunity for improvement, not something that I’m specifically pressing on this Council. By planning more carefully, communicating more transparently and regularly, Raleigh can rebuild trust and ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and outcomes are delivered as expected by the public.
From what I have researched, historically Raleigh did not start planning large infrastructure projects until after a bond passed to finance such a project. At the recent City Council retreat, there was acknowledgement that moving forward, the city will attempt to put bonds on the ballot for projects that have already been planned and some preliminary engineering analysis completed to ensure that they are ready to move forward when the bonds are approved by voters. In addition, using the new steady state approach, bonds will be placed on the ballot every 4 years, so planning will be more predictable. I’m also aware that the steady state bond approach does not require a tax increase for each bond package.
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?
Masked federal agents who are terrorizing neighbors have no place on American streets – not in Minneapolis nor in Raleigh. From my perspective, Raleigh has a responsibility to be both lawful and welcoming, and those goals do not need to be in conflict with each other. With the recent efforts of federal immigration enforcement around the country along with here in Raleigh, the Council responded quickly and regularly with updates on how to remain safe. No one should lose their life in this scenario. Period. But, the targeting of particular communities persists as I write these answers and the outcomes have been unthinkable. As someone who has identities and privileges that are not often targeted, I will do what it takes to keep more vulnerable community members safe.
I also believe city leaders should be clear with the public about what Raleigh can and cannot control, while doing everything within the law to ensure immigrant residents feel and are safe accessing city services, getting to work, and taking children to school. That starts with transparency and ongoing communication—making sure residents understand their rights, how city agencies interact with federal immigration authorities, and that local services like police, fire, and emergency response are focused on public safety, not immigration enforcement.
At the same time, Raleigh should continue supporting trusted community partners that provide legal information, language access, and social services, especially during periods of heightened enforcement activity. City officials should also advocate at the state and federal levels for policies that prioritize due process and family stability, while ensuring local law enforcement maintains the trust of the communities they serve. Safe, welcoming communities are built when residents are not afraid to report crimes, send their kids to school, or seek help in an emergency. In my opinion, Raleigh should use every lawful tool available to uphold that principle.
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?
Bus operators are essential to keeping Raleigh moving. The city has a responsibility to ensure they can do their jobs safely and with dignity. Raleigh officials must continue to listen to the concerns of drivers and riders, then act quickly to resolve their baseline needs. To be honest, I have not investigated all of the safety measures that have been put in place to date to rectify these concerns, but I would like to see more protective enclosures and silent alarms for drivers along with other best practice standards.
I believe Raleigh should take a more proactive role in setting clear expectations for its transit contractor by strengthening oversight of working conditions, staffing levels, and training. That includes working with RATPDev to address operator shortages that lead to forced overtime and fatigue, expanding de-escalation and mental health training, and ensuring operators have direct, responsive channels to report safety concerns without fear of retaliation. Raleigh can also expand the use of transit ambassadors or non-law-enforcement safety personnel to help manage conflicts and provide support on buses and at transit hubs. Supporting operators is not just a labor issue. I believe it is a service reliability and public safety issue, and treating transit workers as valued partners will lead to a safer, more dependable system for riders and employees alike. Beyond additional support from personnel, the city should invest in practical, on-the-ground improvements such as better lighting, security infrastructure, and operator-only safe spaces at terminals, as well as improved access to more restroom and break facilities along routes.
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?
Public trust is the foundation of effective policing and when that trust is damaged, I believe city leaders have a responsibility to respond clearly and constructively. Despite appropriate and ongoing criticism from various parts of our community, I have consistently noted that public security and safety must be a community standard as we manage growth across Raleigh. This is a delicate balance, but I would argue that we must invest in proper staffing levels for RPD (benchmarked on the size of our city) along with having comprehensive and exhaustive transparency from the police department. Improper activity will not be tolerated nor should underfunding these important positions.
That is to say, I believe Raleigh must continue to prioritize transparency, accountability, and consistent standards within RPD and other departments where the truth (and the whole truth) comes to light. From my perspective, that means timely and honest communication with the public when serious incidents occur, independent review of misconduct investigations, and clear consequences when policies or the law are violated. I want to emphasize that I think this should happen regardless of rank.
Raleigh City Council has an important oversight role in setting expectations for department culture, even while respecting the day-to-day independence of law enforcement. Council should ensure strong civilian oversight like the Police Advisory Board, support regular reporting on use-of-force, internal discipline, and training outcomes, and invest in training that emphasizes constitutional policing, de-escalation, and community engagement. Building trust requires sustained effort and Raleigh can move forward by making accountability routine, supporting officers who do the job the right way, and keeping residents informed and involved. Again, I believe that this is a tension that needs to be held in our community.
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?
In my opinion, Raleigh CARES represents a meaningful and positive shift in how the city responds to mental health, substance use, and homelessness-related calls. I give the city credit for moving beyond a one-size-fits-all, police-only response. I’m also encouraged by the direction of the rollout, particularly the crisis call diversion line, but I also believe this work is still in its early stages and needs continued refinement, transparency, and investment to reach its full potential.
Where I see the greatest need is in capacity and follow-through. Confessionally, I’m not a mental health professional, but I believe diversion only works if there are enough clinicians, case managers, and community-based services to respond quickly and remain engaged after the initial call. In order to do all of this important work on behalf of the community, there will need to be ongoing investment in staffing, extended hours of operation, and stronger partnerships with local providers for behavioral health treatment, housing navigation, and substance use services.
Although not an expert on these topics, I am open to Raleigh moving toward a fully civilian mobile crisis response model that is separate from the police department, as long as it is done thoughtfully and safely. In many cases, a clinician-led response is more appropriate and can reduce trauma for people in crisis while freeing up police to focus on different public safety concerns. My goal wouldn’t be to remove police from every situation necessarily, but to build a system that responds with care, dignity, and effectiveness.
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?
Integrity, transparency, and community engagement are very important to me, both personally and professionally. They are key pillars that have led me to raise my hand for this public service role as an at-large councilor. Hearing from residents and constituents, hopefully a greater cross section of the public over time, is the only way that we can become the best version of ourselves in Raleigh. I have often remarked that I love our “City of Oaks” nickname, but I also want us to be known as the “City of Opportunities”. In order to create more and more opportunities for more and more people, we will need to hear from neighbors who are experiencing different versions of Raleigh every day.
In hopes of engaging and informing more residents, I will push for plain-language budgets and online tools that clearly show how the city dollars are spent. In addition, I will push for earlier and more meaningful community input before major rezonings and budget decisions. Traditional town halls can be effective in this way, but I would also like to see more interactive forms of community engagement like charrettes and other hands-on planning processes. Another strategy that I’d like to pursue is canvassing neighborhoods that are affected by major rezonings and hosting multiple meetings – at varied times and days for those who work 9 to 5 – to ensure we hear from as many residents as possible about the particular case. As a parent of young children, I’d love to see onsite childcare provided, as much as possible, to encourage participation as well. In my opinion, community engagement and transparency should be ongoing efforts – not limited to election season or formal hearings.
12. If there are other issues you want to discuss, please do so here.
Very few candidates (if any?) understand the nuances of every issue facing Raleigh on Day 1 of service. I think most neighbors assume this to be true, but still expect a lot of candidates and councilors. In this competitive race for City Council at-large seats in 2026, I believe the key points of emphasis for the public should be on tenure of community engagement/service across the city, relevant citywide experience – both personal and professional – and readiness for public service on Council. Some of the questions I’ve asked myself as a Raleighite over time have been: Has a candidate been meaningfully involved with issues facing our city and/or in Raleigh politics along with being engaged in the life of the city? Who is supporting them? What are their big ideas and how do they intend to execute them? Have they turned out to vote consistently in every level of elections and contributed to campaigns (time? talent? resources?)?
At-large councilors operate under different expectations and have distinct responsibilities, by design, from district councilors. In my mind, a citywide councilor needs to have an integrated vision for thoughtful, managed growth and development that connects the interests, opportunities, and challenges of each district. At-large councilors are charged with connecting the business and social fabric of the entire city and must work closely with the district councilors since they have their ears-to-the-ground concerning how issues are affecting neighbors in specific areas. In addition, at-large councilors need to be able to manage details at a high level, gather information from every district, evaluate all of data points, and then work towards a solution or decision with the whole team that benefits the entire city, not just a select few. This is often complicated and complex work, which requires finesse, multi-disciplinary experiences, and a willingness to engage with experts at multiple levels of a case along with colleagues who might fundamentally disagree with them.