Name: Janet Cowell
Age: 58
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: JanetCowellforMayor.com
Occupation & employer: Mayor, City of Raleigh
Years lived in Raleigh: 29
1. Given the direction of Raleigh’s government, would you say things are on the right course? If not, what specific changes will you advocate for if elected?
Yes.
2. If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large candidate or running for mayor, please identify the three most pressing issues the city faces.
Housing supply and affordability; adequate infrastructure: public safety
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 have served in elected office for seventeen years and been able to accomplish tangible outcomes, including: solid waste and recycling reform on city council 2001-2005, energy and water efficiency standards in government buildings as a state senator, taking on the state health plan as Treasurer, achieving > pension target rate of return over 8 years as Treasurer, helping develop Dix Park as CEO of Dix Park Conservancy. Over last two years, Raleigh has had a continued supply of housing that has resulted in >10% reduction from peak in home prices and rents, increases in public safety personnel, reduction in crime, an improved noise ordinance, enhanced programs around tree planting, and reductions in flood insurance rates due to enhanced infrastructure.
4. Raleigh voters will have the option to support a $101.5 million housing bond and a $101.5 million transportation bond this fall. Do you support the bonds? Why or why not?
Yes. There is no tax increase associated with either bond. The housing bond will allow continued work building new affordable housing, home repair, homebuyer assistance, purchase of existing affordable housing, and unhoused assistance. The transportation bond will provide funds for road repair, intersection improvements, and sidewalks that enhance safety and mobility across the city.
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 2025. How would you like Raleigh to address climate resilience, particularly flooding?
Raleigh has a robust storm water infrastructure program that includes open space protection, creek protection, restoration and enhancement, establishment and maintenance of storm water retention ponds, tree planting initiatives, 100% assistance for residents to create rainwater gardens in their yards, buyout of flood-prone properties with federal government assistance, and many other initiatives. Raleigh residents receive a 25% reduction in flood insurance as of October 2025 because of these programs. I would like to see enhanced utilization of mapping and visualization tools so that all residents understand and are prepared for flood risk.
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?
Robust public input should be incorporated into design. There is a point at which pencils must be put down and the project executed. This requires discipline on the part of council. Lengthy redesigns over many years add costs that ultimately doom a project, especially during a period of high inflation and rapid escalation in land costs as was the case on Six Forks Road. In the case of the BRT, it was viewed as a novel and unfamiliar project and also competing with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. This resulted in an inadequate number of bidders. We had to simplify and de-risk the project, e.g., complete utility work separately. We also had to divide the project into smaller parcels to allow more firms to qualify to bid. Bottom line, the city has to be able to quickly react and adopt to external conditions in order to keep projects advancing. We have adopted changes in design timelines and moved to steady state bond issuance (smaller and more frequent bond issuances that allow for better execution) in the past two years to better deliver bond projects.
7. Last fall, 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?
As Mayor, I have conducted outreach to vulnerable populations since election so that a relationship exists and contact info is in hand ahead of a crisis. I frequently attend community events so that I can stay abreast of changing developments and threats for different populations. I maintain relationships with our federal delegation, state leaders, community leaders, and cross-jurisdictional law enforcement partners so that we can work together to provide aid and assistance.
8. Many local municipalities, including Cary, Durham, and Apex, have introduced moratoriums on new data centers in order to study their impacts and develop regulatory policies. Should Raleigh consider a data center moratorium like its neighbors or should it continue to evaluate proposals for data center projects that require the city’s approval on a case by case basis?
The Raleigh City Council is actively discussing this issue.
9. Last year, the Raleigh Police Department came under scrutiny for its handling of the investigation into the crash that killed Tyrone Mason. Additionally, a former senior officer was fired in May 2025; 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?
I meet with Chief Boyce and City Manager Adams-David monthly. We discuss crime stats and key initiatives such as: a citizen police academy for Raleigh residents to learn about and interact with RPD, ‘cops on the block’ where officers conduct shift changes in public for transparency, and youth outreach programs like hoop nights. Chief Boyce has not hesitated to separate officers from the force and/or hold them accountable. The council appoints a citizen police advisory board. Council is currently conducting listening sessions with youth to explore ways that the city – parks, community engagement, police – can better support them. Through the budget process and on routine basis, council votes on positions, staffing levels, salaries, equipment, technology, and capital projects.
10. How should the city of Raleigh address homelessness encampments? Have city initiatives such as the Bringing Neighbors Home pilot program been successful in your view? What more should the city do to address unsheltered homelessness?
The $101.5 million housing bond will provide funds to continue successful programs such as Bringing Neighbors Home. We are working more closely with Wake County on the Wake at Home Initiative that moved 33 individuals into permanent supportive housing this week. In light of federal cuts to mental health services, food assistance, and other services, we need to align our work and more closely coordinate with long-standing community partners providing core support services in Raleigh and Wake County.
11. As the city adds to its housing stock, how should it continue to address affordability? Do you have ideas on ways the city can work with housing developers or property owners to keep housing affordable for residents?
Overall supply of housing at all price points helps keep housing prices and rents under control. Providing multi-modal mobility options for people to get from home to work or school also matters for housing affordability. Closer partnership with Raleigh Housing Authority is important since they have tools like vouchers. The city is already engaging in a multi-pronged approach towards achieving affordability: land trusts, using city-owned land for housing, working with communities of faith to build housing on their property, adding planning and inspection staff to facilitate administrative approvals and speed permits, text changes (e.g., small subdivision) that facilitate infill, and tiny home communities.
12. Raleigh’s CACs 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?
Technology holds a lot of promise. We have AskRaleigh app that provides residents a way to report issues. We are redesigning our website to better serve residents. We are developing more interactive kiosks in downtown and high foot traffic areas as well as signage with QR codes. I hope we will soon have better visualization tools that allow for engagement and input (e.g., ability to see building shadow studies, traffic and stormwater impacts). We should use different social media channels to better communicate with youth. We appointed our first poet laureate, Johnny Lee Chapman, to engage with the public over the next two years.
13. How should the city address public safety downtown, including around the central bus station and Moore Square Park and in Glenwood South?
Moore square bus station was built in 1988 and renovated in 2017 using federal funds. Given design that is partially outmoded, we are making tactical changes to the station to improve public safety (e.g., closing off east west access with a gate). We’ve also added police officers, private security, upgraded ridership codes of conduct, and worked with bus drivers on working condition feedback. We are also creating more decentralized bus routes such as NCSU to North Hills to reduce congestion at Moore Square. Recently, RPD collaborated with NC Alcohol Law Enforcement to arrest 35 people for 160 felony charges in Moore Square. The bus station and Moore Square safety are not just a police issue. We need partnership with Wake County and community service providers, businesses, and other stakeholders to address and improve conditions. The city council has provided two-hour free parking downtown to facilitate foot traffic and has other projects in mind like a playground in collaboration with Marbles in Moore Square. Glenwood South presents a different set of challenges. We have a dedicated police unit on Glenwood South, have closed off the street after certain hours, and conducted targeted DUI enforcement. This also requires multiple stakeholders including bar and restaurant owners, other property owners in the area, and patrons.
14. If there are other issues you want to discuss, please do so here.
