In Southeast Raleigh, Corey Branch Defends His Council Seat

On a cool early August evening, storm clouds hang low over the Tarboro Road Community Center in Southeast Raleigh. 

Inside, a modest crowd of residents gather for a city-sponsored “neighborhood night out” celebrating local law enforcement. Police and firefighters mill about in uniform, shaking hands and making small talk. In the community center’s gym, a handful of people hover around information booths while their kids play or line up for the popcorn machine. The real action is at the other end of the building, where people have gravitated to a dinner buffet in the multipurpose room.

The buffet crowd doesn’t hear Corey Branch, the District C city councilmember who represents Southeast Raleigh, deliver brief remarks. Neither do the people in the room with him: the feedback from his microphone ricochets off the high walls of the half-empty gym, creating a cacophony of fuzzy, indecipherable sound.

It doesn’t really matter, though. Branch looks comfortable in the space. He’s traded the jacket and tie he normally sports at council meetings for shorts and a red polo shirt. As he chats with officials and snaps photos with residents, his message is clear: “Here I am. I show up, I’m accessible, I work for you.”

Whether all those things are true depends on who you ask.

Branch, a 46-year-old network engineer manager at a software company, was born and bred in Raleigh. He has represented District C for nearly a decade, ever since he unseated the late former council member Eugene Weeks in 2015. Through three election cycles, Branch fended off political newcomers and perennial candidates who never mounted a serious challenge. He stayed popular advocating for more affordable housing, championing Bus Rapid Transit, and consistently supporting CACs.

Even before Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin announced she would not seek re-election in April, Branch threw his hat into the ring for the city’s top job. But in the months that followed, Raleigh’s political elite and donor class coalesced around his opponent, Dix Park Conservancy president and CEO Janet Cowell. Cowell, a former Raleigh city councilmember, state senator, and state treasurer, has the support of two popular former mayors, Nancy McFarlane and Charles Meeker. 

Branch appeared to see the writing on the wall and bowed out gracefully.

“There were calls and concerns and just residents saying, ‘Hey, we want you to continue to be our representative here within the district,’” Branch said during a July 17 press conference. “Being a native son, you know, you have to listen.”

By the time Branch filed his District C paperwork and scrubbed “Corey Branch for Raleigh Mayor” from his website, six other candidates were vying to fill what they had expected to be a vacant seat. 

This time around, the challengers are more serious. All say Branch has fallen short. Some boast deep roots in Southeast Raleigh and prior government experience. And one just earned the endorsement of the Wake County Democratic Party.

Branch has his own friends in high places, including Baldwin and the popular at-large council member Jonathan Melton, both District C denizens. Branch also believes his constituents, by and large, want him to stay. 

But if he was expecting a smooth homecoming, he isn’t going to get it.

Southeast Raleigh under pressure

In Branch’s district, history is clashing with growth and development in real time. 

Southeast Raleigh is a historical epicenter of Black culture, and, against a current of segregation, urban renewal, and underinvestment, it became an epicenter of Black home ownership. 

More recently, the area’s relative affordability paired with its proximity to downtown made it prime for new housing development.

Many of the new units are not affordable for current residents, catering instead to the influx of wealthy professionals moving to the city in droves. Meanwhile, longtime residents see rising prices, property tax increases, demographic changes, and gentrification as existential threats.

In this climate, nothing Branch does for the district goes uncriticized. As chair of the council’s Transportation and Transit Committee, he fought to make sure the city’s Bus Rapid Transit rollout began on New Bern Avenue. Some residents praised him for bringing new infrastructure and investment; others say the bus line will only breed more displacement. 

With no perfect solutions in sight, the upcoming District C election is a referendum on Branch’s leadership through this period of change. Some voters hold him personally accountable for the pace of development. Others see growth as inevitable, even positive, but complain that community infrastructure—grocery stores, bus stops, first responders—isn’t keeping pace with new housing and wish their councilmember had done more. 

A crowded field

Compared to Branch, who has nearly a decade of council experience, his opponents are blank slates. They have fewer relationships but less baggage.

There’s Daniel Grant-King, a 24-year-old special education teacher for Wake County Public Schools. Originally from New York, Grant-King has lived in Raleigh most of his life. He served as secretary of the Young Democrats of Wake County and made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the county school board in 2022. Grant-King says housing affordability, transportation, and public accountability are the biggest reasons he is running. He wants to add new public transit options such as electric buses and create a city office dedicated to preventing evictions.

“People are ready for change,” Grant-King says, pointing to the council’s failure to pass a Gaza ceasefire resolution as a sign that the body is disconnected from the community it serves. (The council split 4-4, with Branch opposing.)

On the other end of the ideological spectrum is Tomara DeCosta, a clinical researcher, longtime District C resident, and the only Republican in the race. Her top priorities are improving public safety and bringing more businesses to Southeast Raleigh, she tells the INDY. A newcomer to local politics, DeCosta thinks voters will appreciate her pro-growth, pro-small business perspective, if they don’t automatically discount her for being a conservative. 

Portia Rochelle is the former president of the Raleigh-Apex branch of the NAACP, a role she says shaped her into a skilled community advocate. After twice running for an at-large seat on the council, she’s narrowed her focus to District C. Rochelle says Raleigh should raise its minimum wage for city workers and pressure developers to build more low-income housing. (State law limits the city’s power to do this.) She also advocates for transparent, accessible leadership, something she says her background in youth ministry and NAACP work prepare her for.

DaQuanta Copeland is the community engagement coordinator for the Wake Department of Housing, a role that sends her all over the county to promote its affordable housing resources. She’s also the former vice chair of the Wake Health and Human Services Board, a volunteer position where she advised on county-wide policy. Copeland has never held elected office, but she stands on her government experience coupled with her 30 years as a Southeast Raleigh resident.

“I’ve seen the changes that have happened, all the disparity, displacement, and lack of knowledge of accessible resources [in District C],” she says. “I want to help stabilize my community.”

Jared Ollison boasts even deeper roots in the district: his family has lived, studied, and worshiped here for generations, he says. Ollison attended Wake public schools before joining the Air Force. Following an honorable discharge, he worked as a deputy in the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and later ran the Wake County Detention Center—“unfortunately, jokingly referred to as the largest mental health institution in all of Wake County,” he says.

Ollison says working in law enforcement sensitized him to the city’s need for better mental health resources. He sees gentrification and homelessness on the rise in District C, and suggests offering tax breaks to developers who build income-restricted housing (again, state law limits the city’s ability to do this). Ollison pledged to donate some of his council salary to district youth programs and says he does not support BRT on New Bern Avenue because it could cause property values to soar, displacing legacy residents. 

Ollison emphasizes he’s in touch with the people and history of Southeast Raleigh. 

“When I ride down the road, I don’t see the same things that some other people see,” he says. “Sure, I see some blight. But I also see a prideful people … they want an opportunity to build what my family has built, and it is my moral and ethical obligation to find a way to help them, so they can have their own story to be proud of, their own legacy to share with their children.”

Then there’s Tolulope Omokaiye, a Southeast Raleigh small business owner who served on the Raleigh Transit Authority—a volunteer body that makes policy recommendations to GoRaleigh—for eight years, five as chair. Omokaiye wants to make Raleigh more equitable and affordable. For transportation, that means adding bus stops and shelters in communities that don’t have them. For housing, it means curbing “predatory” luxury housing development in favor of affordable and mixed-income options.

“I was the first woman and one of the first people of color to chair the Transit Authority, and I’m very proud of that,” she says. “I know with transit comes development, and I want everybody to have an opportunity to participate in that development as it grows the district.”

Community engagement is key to Omokaiye’s election strategy, she says, especially in a crowded race against an incumbent. She also won the county Democratic Party’s endorsement, so will have some help on this front. Omokaiye can access the party’s Voter Action Network, a database full of coveted voter contact information, she says. Plus, her name will be on the party’s slate card, a list of candidate recommendations it distributes during get-out-the-vote canvassing and at the polls.

“We need to listen to everyone in the district, including legacy residents, and bring those ideas back to the council chamber—versus going to the community and telling them what’s going to happen,” Omokaiye says.

There are through-lines in the candidates’ assessments of the district’s strengths and challenges. They generally agree it’s a culturally rich, historic community with a serious housing affordability problem and need for better transportation and human services options. 

Unsurprisingly, the candidates also share a dissatisfaction with Branch. 

“He’s only advocating for a certain group of people,” says Grant-King.

“He’s had four terms, and yet District C is still full of disparities and expeditious displacement,” says Copeland.

“His policies have hurt our community,” Ollison says. “People can’t afford their mortgages, their rents, and our transportation system has failed the community. Many of those problems did not exist prior to his taking office.”

Branch defends his seat

Branch tells a different story of his nine years in office. He describes himself as a dedicated public servant with valuable relationships on council and beyond.

During his tenure, Branch notes, the council has approved more affordable housing projects in District C than any other district. And despite the BRT backlash, he celebrates it as a win for the community. Branch says his next focus is getting more grocery stores and other “amenities” into the district to match the housing and population growth. 

“We cannot put a wall or a fence up around our city,” Branch says. “People continue to move here. We just have to figure out a way, from an economic development standpoint, to help those who’ve been here to still be a part of the growth.”

People complain about aspects of Branch’s record, but he says it comes with the territory. 

“You get nothing done without having relationships and trust built over time,” Branch says.

“I can call the secretary of transportation for the state about an issue … I can reach out to the county manager directly … I can also reach other municipalities across the state. How are they addressing housing in Charlotte? How are they addressing transportation in Greensboro? I have those relationships.”

Branch’s council colleagues agree.

“He works hard to have a good relationship with the staff and other councilors,” says Jonathan Melton, who lives in Branch’s district and has worked with him for years.

Melton calls Branch a thoughtful decisionmaker and a “good partner” on district-related issues. He remembers how the two first bonded, when Branch took him out to dinner to celebrate his election in 2019.

Branch also has a friend in Mayor Baldwin, although the two don’t agree on everything. They served together on the Wake County Transit Plan Committee, and in 2023, Baldwin named Branch her mayor pro-tem.

“He listens, he holds meetings, he’s out in the community. He is an engaged leader,” Baldwin says.

Baldwin and Branch have a foundation of mutual respect, she says, even when they disagree—as was the case in 2020 when Branch voted against disbanding Raleigh’s CACs. 

“We respected each other’s opinion and understood where the other was coming from. I know that CACs are important in that district, and he felt an allegiance to that,” she says.

But Baldwin’s endorsement of Branch is not unqualified. 

“Sometimes, he needs to vote his conscience instead of voting for something that’s popular,” she says with a chuckle, declining to provide a specific example.

Although Baldwin says Branch is the best person to represent District C, she says he wasn’t quite ready to be mayor. 

“His strength is he is focused on his district. And his weakness in running for mayor is that he is focused on his district. You have to have a bigger picture. I’ve told him this: ‘Get out of your district more and build bridges with people throughout the community.’”

Endorsements

One thing Branch isn’t focused on is the Wake County Democratic Party’s endorsement of Omokaiye—the party didn’t endorse Branch in 2022 either.

“It is a select few members of the leadership that [make] the endorsement,” Branch says. 

Kevyn Creech, the county party’s chair, wouldn’t share specifics behind the party’s endorsement process but says Omokaiye gave an impressive interview and cites her Transit Authority work.

“That was definitely a plus for her,” Creech says. “And there are other people in that list who could do a really good job, but she just bubbled to the top.”

The Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association (RPFFA) also endorsed Omokaiye.

“[Omokaiye’s] values, experience, and dedication to public service align closely with our mission to support and advocate for working-class people and the communities we serve,” wrote RPFFA president Andrew Davis. 

Outside of District C, the RPFFA endorsed a mix of incumbents and challengers. Davis says Branch hasn’t “prioritized public safety in Raleigh” during his long council tenure. 

“The last time a new firefighter position was created was in 2014,” Davis says. “The fire department has been stagnant while the city has exploded with development and growth.”

The group supported Melton for reelection but not Stormie Forte, the other at-large council member who has served multiple terms on the council. 

“I understand some of [the Raleigh firefighters] are upset and mad with me,” Branch says, adding that he doesn’t think many of the group’s members live in Raleigh or Wake County. Still, he says he will “do everything I can to make sure [firefighters] have the tools and the resources they need if re-elected.”

The NC AFL-CIO, the federation of North Carolina labor unions, endorsed Branch. So did the Raleigh Police Protective Association, which represents more than 500 Raleigh police officers. The Raleigh-Wake County Home Builders Association and the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association both endorsed Branch in 2022, but have not yet endorsed in the 2024 race and did not immediately respond to the INDY’s request for comment.

District C weighs in

At the Tarboro Road Community Center, many longtime Southeast Raleigh residents tell the INDY they supported Branch in the past and would again. He’s pretty accessible, they say. He is there with them at this event—where are the other candidates? 

Everyone the INDY spoke to at least knew who Branch was, even if they were undecided or uninterested in politics. In contrast, hardly anyone could name one of his challengers, suggesting an advantage for Branch in a field of relative unknowns. 

Elsewhere in the district, opinions on the race are more mixed.

Ulysses Lane, a longtime district resident and chair of the Southeast CAC is, as of earlier this summer, still on the fence. He thinks Southeast Raleigh needs fresh ideas to address food deserts, combat gentrification, and support the district’s elderly and youth populations.

“I know Corey. He supports our Southeast CAC,” Lane says. But “I wouldn’t dare make any commitment at this time, because there’s too many people involved.”

Rick Boccard moved to District C about three years ago. He likes Ollison as a candidate but says he’s still undecided. 

More than anything, Boccard is firmly anti-Branch, ever since Branch voted to greenlight the development of new market-rate rentals on Garner Road, near Boccard’s home.

“We’re a heat island, a food desert, we don’t have the things that we need. And with all the residential development taking place, something needs to give,” Boccard says. “[Branch] does not listen, he doesn’t take any of this into account.”

Octavia Rainey, a community advocate who has lived in the College Park neighborhood for most of her life, agrees with Boccard. Like many of Branch’s opponents, she takes issue with his leadership on the BRT project because, she says, transit-oriented development on New Bern Avenue will erase historically significant Black landmarks. 

“I want to know why Corey didn’t speak up and say, ‘Wait a minute, there’s plenty of [historical] significance in the Black section of New Bern Avenue,’” Rainey says.

“We need a council person who is about preserving Black neighborhoods, about recognizing their historical significance,” she says. “This race in District C is really serious.”

But Frances Lonette Williams, a former chair of the Central CAC and 20-year South Park resident, describes Branch as a community servant and CAC ally.

Williams thinks about Southeast Raleigh’s development boom constantly. She has no choice, she says: she receives a phone call or mailer every day from a developer who wants to pay cash for her house.

Williams doesn’t blame Branch for the pressure on longtime homeowners, though. After all, it’s the county, not the city, that’s responsible for managing property taxes. And when it comes to the council’s rezoning decisions for new developments, she points out that Branch’s vote is only one of eight. 

“If Corey was in bed with developers … they would have damn sure paid for his [mayoral] election,” she says. 

As for the other District C candidates, Williams says she hasn’t encountered any of them in the 20 years she’s been politically active.

“I don’t even know their names,” she says. “We’ve had so much going on … where the hell were you?”

Chloe Courtney Bohl is a corps member for Report for America. Reach her at [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].