Well, well, well.
David Cox, the mild-mannered computer scientist from North Raleigh, who has (thus far) successfully rallied thousands of his neighbors against a controversial rezoning at the corner of Dunn and Falls of Neuse Roads, is expected to file for the District B City Council seat this afternoon.
That seat is of course occupied by longtime Councilman John Odom, a businessman and one of two Republicans on the Council.
Cox’s chances of unseating Odom are good. They will be even better if Cox’s campaign can convince voters that Odom has close ties to developers, particularly one Bill Mullins whose company owns the Dunn and Falls of Neuse parcel and who has been pushing hard for redevelopment of that land for years. And if the City Council (entirely against its best interests) for some reason approves that rezoning before the October election, Cox’s chances of winning will be outstanding.
But don’t underestimate Odom; he defeated a strong candidate in Brian Fitzsimmons, currently the chair of the Wake County Democratic Party, in 2013.
With Cox now in the ring, we’ve got races in Districts B and C; will Randy Stagner make District A competitive? Or will he (or someone else) run at large?
Filing ends on Friday. Let the games begin!
