The general rule of thumb is it’s hard to beat incumbents. Add to that the fact that the 2022 Raleigh municipal election is a nonpartisan race—expect none of those helpful Ds and Rs next to the names—and that the Raleigh mayor and council race will appear at the bottom of a lengthy ballot and you have a recipe for the current board’s slate to slide with relative ease into another term.
No one on council would have an easier time seeking reelection than Nicole Stewart. She received more votes than anyone on the council in 2019, including about 10,000 more votes than Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin.
But instead of coasting to victory, Stewart says it’s time to walk away. On Tuesday, Stewart, 40, announced she will not run for reelection next year.
“Dear Raleigh, Thank you for the privilege to serve,” Stewart wrote in a statement. “During my tenure, I am proud of the progress we have made and believe now is the right time to let the next leader step up and serve our beloved city.”
The news comes as a disappointment to those who have followed Stewart’s political career. While her two terms on the council may seem relatively brief, her tenure saw her transition from the underdog on a council deadset on thwarting development to being at the forefront of a seachange in Raleigh politics, ushering in the city’s future as a modern, dense, and vibrant metropolis.
Baldwin praised Stewart for her “intellectual, data-driven approach” to governing.
“What we’re doing right now is so hard because we’re going from a small city to a big city,” Baldwin told the INDY. “It’s a transition and it’s uncomfortable for some people because change is hard. People don’t want to see change but we are changing and Nicole had that vision about where we needed to be and who we needed to be as a city.”
Under the previous council, that vision made Stewart often the sole voice of opposition. At the time, she was the council’s youngest member at 37, and the council majority was composed of an older guard that prioritized preserving the past over making room for growth. While Mayor Nancy McFarlane and council member Corey Branch sometimes tried to compromise and come to a consensus on issues, including on regulating short-term rentals and allowing ADUs, Stewart was unafraid to be the lone dissenting vote—for example, on issues such as a water and sewer rate increase she felt was inadequate, or against a proposal to eliminate a sidewalk plan, at the behest of a few vocal residents, for an inner-city neighborhood that had been in the works for years.
Stewart’s boldness made her stand out among the crowd in the 2019 election; she solidified a leadership position when a new development-friendly board majority was sworn in that December and was appointed mayor pro tem.
Stewart said her goal serving on council was to “increase access to the decision-making table to help make our City Council more diverse.” Among her accomplishments, Stewart says she’s proud of helping to pass the $80 million affordable housing bond, a goal to lower emissions 80 percent by 2050 to combat climate change, and stopping future development from being built in the floodplain.
Stewart’s exit from the council provides a big opportunity for a newcomer to run, without the threat of facing off against a formidable incumbent. In an otherwise sleepy election year for the council, an open seat could shake things up considerably.
In addition to serving on the council, Stewart also works full-time as development director for the NC Conservation Network. Prior to serving, she helped found The Beehive Collective, a giving circle that has raised more than $400,000 for local causes.
“When you leave council it doesn’t mean you stop doing good,” Baldwin says. “She’ll find other ways to have a voice. We have her for another year and I expect it will be even stronger than it has been.”
It’s a rare thing for an incumbent to step away at the top of their game. When asked if Stewart would consider returning to political life at some point down the road, she replied, “I’m not ruling it out.”
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