In Raleigh’s Seven City Council Races, Most Incumbents Hang On While District A Elects a Former Planning Director

Along with a new mayor, Janet Cowell, Raleigh’s city council will see a new leader in one of its district seats while six incumbents will remain on the council. 

In District A, Mitchell Silver, Raleigh’s former planning director, ousted first-term incumbent Mary Black and defeated another challenger, Whitney Hill, taking about 40 percent of the vote. 

Black, 30, an environmental justice advocate with a background in social media strategy, was elected in 2022 as part of a cohort of four newcomers, all progressive millennial women. Black had broad appeal with young renters and working-class voters, but she came up short against Silver’s well-financed campaign.

Silver, 64, New York City’s former parks commissioner for seven years, helped develop Raleigh’s 2030 comprehensive plan and unified development ordinance (UDO) during the decade he spent as Raleigh’s top planner. 

In District B, Megan Patton, 34, a former teacher and first-term incumbent, held onto her seat against challenger Jennifer McCollum, earning about 55 percent of the vote.

In District C, the city council’s most crowded race, incumbent Corey Branch fended off six challengers, holding on to his seat with about 40 percent of the vote, or twice as much as the next highest vote-getter, Tolulope Omokaiye.

In District D, Jane Harrison, 39, a coastal economics specialist who works for North Carolina Sea Grant at NC State University, ran unopposed for reelection. She won more than 29,000 votes.  

And in District E, first-term incumbent council member Christina Jones, 39, looks to have narrowly defeated challenger John Cerqueira, 45, a change management consultant who ran a campaign prioritizing smart growth and sustainable development. Jones won by about three points.

In the Raleigh City Council at-large races, incumbents Stormie Forte and Jonathan Lambert-Melton came in first and second place respectively in a field of six. Forte, the top vote-getter for the second cycle in a row in the at-large race, won more than 98,000 votes citywide, while Melton won more than 83,000 votes. The third-highest vote-getter was Republican candidate James Bledsoe. At-large candidate Reeves Peeler, a Raleigh planning commissioner who ran a grassroots campaign, placed fourth, winning about 10 percent of the vote.   

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