Name as it appears on the ballot: Corey Branch

Age: 46

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: www.CoreyBranch.com

Occupation & employer: Associate Director – Kyndryl

Years lived in Raleigh: 46

Question 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?

Answer

The Council is moving Raleigh in the right direction, though we face ongoing challenges. My vision is for more forward-thinking planning while addressing current issues through modern policies. We can achieve this by improving communication and resetting expectations between residents and local government.

Question 2.) If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large or mayoral candidate, please identify the three most pressing issues the city faces.

Answer

My top priorities for District C are Economic Development, overall Community Safety and program development for our youth and young people. District C leads the city in approved affordable housing tax credit projects, but we are lacking areas to pickup healthy foods, have place to sit-down and eat, or find a good doctor, lawyer or professional service. I want to ensure we have a fire and police response so residents feel safe, but also find ways to improve overall community involvement in safety. As we have multiple community centers, I want to increase the number and variety of programming to enrich and support our young people and families. 

Question 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?

Answer:

I have worked with council members and development to approve projects such as Beacon site on Rock Quarry Road which included affordable housing, medical facilities, and a bank  along with the YMCA. Montague Plaza by Southeast Raleigh High School has been completed and now business are developing the interior space for a healthy food business, professional services and retail. I continue to work with and attend the Southeast CAC which remain active and always voted to keep CACs and was able to work with current council to create a path for CACs to return. I have and community meetings with residents near Lions Park to address safety concerns and improve safety.  I have hosted District meetings to listen and respond to community concerns.

Question 4.) In 2021, the Raleigh City Council enacted a missing middle policy to allow for the construction of new, diverse types of housing across the city. More than 2,000 newly-allowed units have been added to the city’s housing stock under the policy, yet there has been pushback from residents, including lawsuits. Do you support Raleigh’s missing middle housing policy as is, or do you think it needs amending? If you feel it needs to be changed, please explain. 

Answer:

I support the Missing Middle policy as it has product more townhomes and some duplex development. As I complete this question, I am working with the current council to bring the Missing Middle policy more inline with our Infill policy. This modification will still help increase housing density while ensuring the development follows the same rules for a single family home development.

Question 5.) Raleigh has many funds, programs, and partnerships in place aimed at addressing affordable housing, but still has a deficit of some 23,000 affordable units. What more can the city do to secure affordable housing, and what more can it do to ensure that low-income residents don’t face displacement?

Answer:

I want to place more money in our home rehabilitation program as home repairs needs is one of many reasons residents relocate and move. I have worked with council to approve many affordable housing projects which have not been developed due to the current economy, so we will continue to increase city support for these projects. Find ways to better support the Raleigh Housing Authority which is separate from the city, yet we have to been better partners and work together for more federal support. Partnerships with Habit for Humanity, DHIC, Passage Homes which are all non-profits to find ways to increase the number of units will be my push. Lastly, work to have more support from Wake County within the city of Raleigh to address housing shortages.

Question 6.) The recent resignation of GoTriangle’s CEO raises questions about the future of the county and regional transit strategy. How do you see the future of transit in Raleigh when it comes to Bus Rapid Transit, microtransit, and commuter and regional rail projects?

Answer:

The Wake County Transit plan is the majority funder of transit improvements with GoTriangle just being the fiscal agent for the transit plans. I’m on the board for GoTriangle and represent Raleigh on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) and all of the transit projects are still moving forward despite the search for a new GoTriangle CEO. Rail projects are on hold due to the lack of federal funding for Commuter Rail, but a regional service has possibility and is being investigated at this time.  I am confident in Bus Rapid Transit and micotransit moving forward with Raleigh being a leader with in Wake County.

Question 7.) A common complaint from residents is that the city council doesn’t do enough public engagement, with the plan to relocate Red Hat Amphitheater being one recent example. Do you agree with this assessment? If so, what more should the city government and council do to engage residents with city business? 

Answer:

The city has been discussing the Red Hat Amphitheater move for a number of years, it is when we start getting in to the details when there is some conflict. The details of the Red Hat Amp move was share as soon as the technical work was available. The council has still voted to make Community Engagement a department and not just an office, this will help with overall improvement of communication. I have will continue District C meetings to share information and received feedback from the community. Moving forward I will work to ensure earlier meetings on projects are held and at each meeting a timeline is provided on past meetings as some residents may engage in the middle of a project. The community work on projects like Chavis, the community group developed for the DMV site for redevelopment, and the community groups setup for Barwell Road Park development are examples with in District C of wanting and seeking public engagement.

Question 8.) Downtown Raleigh has had a rough five years following the COVID pandemic with the transition to working from home and business owners reporting an increase in crime and other issues. Many see keeping Red Hat Amphitheater downtown as a positive step; what else does the city need to do to help downtown with its recovery and plan for its future?

Answer:

I want to use the Downtown Raleigh Alliance to bring residents, businesses and city and state government together to develop a plan from the information the consultant provides. I would like to see redevelopment of the parking lots used by state government if they are not going to require staff back in the office.  The city has approved new development for housing downtown, which will be a positive once it is financed and developed and this will aid to recovery.

Question 9.) Since 2012, the City of Raleigh has paid more than $4 million in settlements to 47 individuals, families, and estates related to RPD officer’s use of excessive force and other unconstitutional interactions. What are your thoughts on the current culture at RPD? For what changes would you advocate to improve the culture of policing in Raleigh, if any?

Answer:

There are improvements under the leadership of Chief Patterson of the culture of RPD. The work of the advisory board reviewing policies for improvements.  RPD has hired a new community engagement employee to who will help rebuild relationships, and I want to see more engagement between our officers and the community in more social activities. Culture is built upon relationships and in the past we had more officers from Raleigh on the force and I want to focus on hiring more local officers who have better relationship.

Question 10.) Some municipalities, such as Durham, have seen success with crisis response units that deploy trained workers to respond to non-violent behavioral health and quality of life calls for service. Should Raleigh consider such a crisis response program that’s NOT housed in the police department? 

Answer:

Yes, we should have an additional response team that is not housed in the police department and with the partnership with Wake County as Durham has with Durham County government we can create such a unit.

Question 11.) The next city council will transition from two-year to four-year terms with staggered elections. What other changes, if any, should the city council make to how voters elect its members? Should any additional changes be put to voters in a referendum or should the council make those decisions?

Answer:

The only other change which I believe city council should make is deciding on city council size and I do believe voters should vote on city council size. A list of options need to be developed and community meetings held  to discuss the options for voters to select from.  Increasing city council size will have the biggest impact of any changes, for currently every voter has a vote for half of the city council and depending on if districts seats, at-large seats, or both are added it will impact how much influence a voter has  on selecting the city council.  I do believe in community meeting on this last part and then out of those meetings we can place the vote up as a referendum.