Raleigh voters will go to the polls this fall to choose a new mayor. The seven other nonpartisan city council seats—two at-large and five representing districts A through E—are also up for election.
With the general election three months away, the candidates’ mid-year campaign finance reports are beginning to give a glimpse into who some of the strongest contenders are for these seats. Most notably, mayoral candidate Janet Cowell is fundraising circles around her competitors. The reports also show some stiff competition for incumbent council members, particularly in Districts A and E where council members Mary Black and Christina Jones, respectively, are running to hold onto their seats.
It’s been a tumultuous several years for the city council, and especially for outgoing mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, who announced in April that she had been treated for breast cancer and would not seek a third term.
Baldwin steered the city through a global pandemic and implemented a successful missing middle housing policy. Under her leadership, the city moved forward on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and began a major renovation of Dix Park.
But Baldwin also led the council in abruptly disbanding the city’s Citizen Advisory Councils (CACs) in 2020. In 2021, the council voted behind closed doors to move Raleigh’s municipal elections to even years, effectively extending their own terms by one year. More recently, the city has drawn criticism for its handling of parades and public events, losing the IBMA World of Bluegrass festival to Tennessee, and inaction on improving conditions downtown.
These controversial decisions and managerial fumbles have eroded public trust in Raleigh’s governing body. In 2022, four millennials were elected after campaigning to bring more transparency to the council and better engagement with the community. This 2024 election cycle will test whether voters think the newcomers have lived up to their campaign promises.
Besides issues of trust and accountability, housing is front-of-mind for Raleigh voters. According to a July poll commissioned by Livable Raleigh, a neighborhood activist group that’s frequently critical of Baldwin, 43 percent of Raleighites think a lack of affordable housing for middle- and low-income families is the biggest problem facing their city right now.
Residents are also worried about high taxes, traffic congestion, and crime and violence, according to the poll. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed think the city is growing too fast, while 33 percent say the pace of growth is about right; 6 percent say it’s not fast enough, and 7 percent aren’t sure.
The next council will have to contend with the city’s housing crisis while addressing voters’ fears about affordability and changing neighborhoods. Majorities of respondents to the Livable Raleigh poll agreed that the current city council is too beholden to developers and that “Raleigh’s growth is destroying neighborhoods and forcing large numbers of people to relocate outside of Raleigh.”
With three months until election day, several of the races are very much in flux. One incumbent councilor is running unopposed. Other races—including the mayoral contest—have seen clear frontrunners emerge. This is also the first time Raleigh municipal elections have coincided with a presidential election year, which could drive turnout beyond the typically low showings for these races.
Here’s who’s running for Raleigh city council in 2024.
Mayor
Raleigh will elect a new mayor this fall. Even before Baldwin announced she wouldn’t seek reelection, a handful of candidates emerged to vie for her seat. They are:
- Janet Cowell, president and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy; Cowell is a former Raleigh city council member, state senator, and state treasurer
- Terrance Ruth, a community activist who ran against Baldwin in 2022 and won 41 percent of the vote
- Paul Fitts, a conservative mortgage lender
- Eugene Myrick, an educator and community advocate
- James Shaughnessy IV, a William Peace University student
District C councilor Corey Branch had also declared his candidacy for mayor, but dropped out of the race on July 17. In a press conference that day, he said his constituents in District C urged him to remain in his current role representing Southeast Raleigh on the council.
As of June 30, the most recent campaign finance reporting cutoff, Cowell has raised far more than any of the other mayoral candidates. She’s brought in over $378,000 this election, compared to Fitts’s $16,600 and Ruth’s $7,300. Campaign finance reports for Myrick and Shaughnessy were not available on the NC Board of Elections website.
Between her dominant fundraising performance and endorsements from former mayors Nancy McFarlane and Charles Meeker, Cowell is the frontrunner in this race. She plans to step down from the Dix Park Conservancy on October 4 to focus full-time on her campaign.
At-Large
Incumbents Stormie Forte, a lawyer and radio host, and Jonathan Melton, a lawyer and current mayor pro-tem, are running to keep their At-Large seats, joined in the field by five other candidates. The complete list includes:
- Stormie Forte
- Jonathan Melton
- James Bledsoe, an IT analyst and veteran who wants to raise salaries for first responders, add to Raleigh’s housing stock, and cut city spending
- Joshua Bradley, a housing justice and workers’ rights advocate
- Robert Steele, a working single parent who says he wants to represent working-class Raleighites
- Reeves Peeler, a Raleigh Planning Commissioner and community organizer
- Katie Pate, a small business owner and chair of the Raleigh Historic Development Commission
The incumbents, Forte and Melton, have raised about $50,000 and $140,000 respectively this election cycle. Peeler has raised almost $18,000, Bledsoe $1,400, and Bradley $400. Campaign finance reports were not available for Steele and Pate.
District A
Incumbent Mary Black, who took office in 2022 on a sustainable growth and environmental justice platform, is up against challengers Whitney Hill and Mitchell Silver.
Silver is a challenger to watch: he was Raleigh’s planning director from 2005 to 2014, and the city’s chief planning and development officer from 2011 to 2014. Before he left the Triangle to become New York’s City’s parks commissioner, he oversaw the revitalization of downtown Raleigh and spearheaded big projects such as Union Station.
Hill is a North Raleigh small business owner who first ran for District A in 2022. He wants to increase the police force, add more housing, and support local businesses, according to his campaign website.
Silver, who announced his candidacy in April, has raised about $55,000 this election. Campaign finance reports were not available for Black and Hill.
District B
In District B, incumbent Megan Patton is running against Jennifer McCollum. Patton was elected in 2022 on a platform of housing affordability, sustainability, and community engagement. She’s raised about $6,300 this election. McCollum has no campaign website or online footprint and no campaign finance report was available.
District C
The District C council race is stacked with challengers—many of them political newcomers—hoping to unseat Corey Branch, who has represented the district for nearly a decade. The District C candidates include:
- Corey Branch, an associate director at Kyndryl, former mayor pro tem, and transit leader
- Tomara DeCosta, a clinical researcher and the only Republican in the (nonpartisan) race for District C
- Jared Ollison, retired former director of detention services at the Wake County Sheriff’s Office with deep roots in Southeast Raleigh
- Daniel Grant-King, a special education teacher in the Wake County Public School System
- Portia Rochelle, a pastor and former president of the Raleigh-Apex chapter of the NAACP
- Tolulope Omakaiye, the founder of a mentoring business that supports youth of color
- Daquanta Copeland, a community advocate who’s worked with the Wake County Health and Human Services Board and the county’s Department of Housing
Of the seven candidates, a mid-year campaign finance report was only available for Branch. He’s raised about $11,000 this election cycle, but between campaign expenses and cash on hand from previous elections, has closer to $18,000 in the bank.
District D
Jane Harrison is running unopposed to keep her seat in District D. Harrison is an environmental economist at NC State University who took office in 2022.
District E
In District E, incumbent Christina Jones is facing a challenge from John Cerqueira. Jones was elected in 2022 as part of the new cohort of millennial city leadership that also included Black, Patton, and Harrison.
Cerqueira is a corporate trainer and consultant with a background in urban planning whose campaign website identifies smart growth, sustainable development, and public safety as his top priorities.
The District E seat has changed hands four times in as many election cycles, so whether Jones will hold her seat for a second term is an open question. As of June 30, the most recent fundraising reporting deadline, Cerqueira is out-fundraising Jones: he has brought in over $70,000 compared to Jones’s nearly $20,000.
How to vote in Raleigh this election cycle
Early voting begins October 17 and ends November 2. Election day is November 5. Voters can visit any of these locations to vote early, and can find their election day polling place here. You can check your voter registration or register to vote here.
Voters will see the mayoral candidates, the at-large candidates, and the candidates for their district seat on their ballots.
Reach Reporter Chloe Courtney Bohl at [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].
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