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The state of Raleigh's leadership

RALBOI

By RALBOI
in The NC Triangle

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RaleighRob Burg

RaleighRob

Posted
Posted

Ok. :rolleyes:

Reiterating:

[*]Downtown was ignored for nearly three decades, and it would take 5-6 convention centers worth of investment compared to what was spent on poorly planned, low-density (ie, un sustainable) suburban expansion (mostly in N. Raleigh) over that timeframe... so there should be no apologies for downtown investment

[*]Downtown contributes many times more in tax base by % of land area, so downtown actually subsidizes the rest of the city

[*]Downtown is the cultural center of the city, home of the seat of govt, etc, so to an extent what happens DT is probably more significant than in most places in the city

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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Posted

Forget proper....when it comes to right wing groups like Civitas (mr Hayes works for them) its always a conspiracy when its a Democrat, and never when its a Republican. Meeker has been sweating it out in Boylan Heights since 1975. If you've ever talked to guy, you would know, like Hatem, its never been about the money, and always been about the place you love. I happen to love downtown too, and it would not be a stretch for me to both own more than one property downtown (soon even on that account) and one day be involved in affairs downtown such as government, steering committees, City employee etc. I suppose all the folks at the Urban Design Center are guilty too? You want to talk about about hijacking government all you have to do is look at the last 8 years in DC to see which ideology seems to be on that bandwagon....

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cthayes75 Whistle-Stop

cthayes75

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Jones,

Again, more naivety. If you don't think there is massive government corruption in NC through the good ole boy network of state Democrats, then you're just so far in the bag for Democrats you can't see the truth.

And as for my "conspiracy" that it's all Democrats... Nice try, but I'll gladly call out Republicans for conflicts of interest, problem is, it's kinda hard to do when you're not in power and thus controlling the money.

But it does happen sometimes. For example, see 3rd paragraph: http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=585729

It's easy to sit back and just try and throw insults that I'm part of some "vast right wing conspiracy" but I've seen way too much shady business in state government that I'm naturally skeptical of any apparent conflict of interest (like Meeker's).

Maybe Meeker is innocent and really doesn't have a conflict of interest in pouring millions into downtown, but it's the appearance of a conflict that makes me, and should make all citizens, skeptical and demanding answers.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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Posted
Jones,

Again, more naivety. If you don't think there is massive government corruption in NC through the good ole boy network of state Democrats, then you're just so far in the bag for Democrats you can't see the truth.

And as for my "conspiracy" that it's all Democrats... Nice try, but I'll gladly call out Republicans for conflicts of interest, problem is, it's kinda hard to do when you're not in power and thus controlling the money.

But it does happen sometimes. For example, see 3rd paragraph: http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=585729

It's easy to sit back and just try and throw insults that I'm part of some "vast right wing conspiracy" but I've seen way too much shady business in state government that I'm naturally skeptical of any apparent conflict of interest (like Meeker's).

Maybe Meeker is innocent and really doesn't have a conflict of interest in pouring millions into downtown, but it's the appearance of a conflict that makes me, and should make all citizens, skeptical and demanding answers.

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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Posted

I hate how many times I've had to ask this question, but this is urbanplanet.org still, right? And there hasn't been an answer to why anti-urban ideas should be the only ones discussed here? I didn't think so.

And this subject is "The state of Raleigh's leadership"? Ok. And it is going retro mad libs with "b-b-b-b-but (name) supported/did not support (project)".

The problems Southeast Raleigh go back to Fred Heineman's tenure as RPD Chief the 80s, when North Raleigh received an overabundance of police resources relative to its tax base and population. When he ran for re-election to Congress against David Price, he claimed his $180,000/year pension made him "lower middle class". I am so "in the bag for Democrats" to think otherwise? Wow.

Tom Fetzer and his Republican council set city arts spending to zero dollars, and Coble followed. The expansion of Raleigh Memorial Auditorium happend *depsite* Fetzer and Coble, not because of them. They did, however waste millions of dollars on the old Convention Center that did nothing to improve the facility to claim they were "investing in downtown" but not really. This was followed up by "rennovating" Fayetville Street Mall (and "solving" the problem of homelessness) by putting arm rests on benches to keep homeless people from sleeping on them. And selling City Market to someone out of state who did nothing with the property other than to collect rent. With "friends" like these, downtown didn't need enemies!

Republicans don't understand that public investments can spur private devlopment because their sole issue is to cut taxes and services. The private sector is *never* a first mover/risk taker, which results in nothing but suburban sprawl. Which is inefficient and unsubstainable over the long term but gives the appearance of accomplishment in the short term.

Our past is catching up with us, but that is not the fault of the current adminstration in Raleigh. Or the current resident of the White House, despite what the "unbiased, clear thinkers" of the right tell us.

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Captain Awesome Whistle-Stop

Captain Awesome

Posted
Posted
Ok. :rolleyes:

Reiterating:

These are points that this forum, urbanplanet, has been a center of discussion, and argument for, for a long while now.

So after decades of suburb-lovers, Raleigh finally got a mayor (and council members) that actually cares about reversing the long neglect of our urban core. And you're complaining here about it? Sorry dude, but no sympathy. -_-

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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As a District C resident (just east of downtown), I can not vote in District E but wish well anyone who has followed the discussions on here. And welcome to the forum!

Another candidate has entered the mayor's race, Mark Enloe. Not sure how serious of a contender he is, or what is his party affiliation, if any. The N&O's candidate list is here, though it took some serious digging to find it.

The deadline to file is Noon Friday the 17th, so we should know all the candidates by then.

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bonnergaylord Crossroads

bonnergaylord

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You can read a little snapshot about my platform here: www.bonnergaylord.com

My father is a builder and I grew up building houses. I did a concentration in Real Estate at UNC Business School and fell in love with planning in Dave Godchalk's class. I am a licensed Broker and General Contractor, am LEED certified, serve on BOD of Habitat for Humanity, Planning Commission, blah blah blah.

But what would likely be more interesting to folks in this community would be my planning dogma.

I am a member of the Congress for New Urbanism and believe in much of the CNU school of thought. I also believe that complete streets are critical. I live on a small lot in North Hills and I walk to work, walk up for concerts, movies and dinner, I bike around on weekends, I generally prefer the urban lifestyle to the suburban and believe that endless sprawl isn't the way that God intended us to live.

That help?

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Spatula Whistle-Stop

Spatula

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It's not often we get a candidate running for office here. I'm curious what your positions are with regards to:

-Triangle Transit regional rail service

-Urban Growth Boundaries

-Impact Fees

-what your plan might be for Wake County schools

-forming a regional governmental council with the other municipalities and counties of the triangle

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Tico Unincorporated Area

Tico

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Posted

My first impression: You're certainly using the right buzz words. I think you mean it.The blah, blah was too casual, even for an internet based forum. Your website desperately needs more information for you to have a shot. It was way too early for you to drop your reference to God.

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bonnergaylord Crossroads

bonnergaylord

Posted
Posted
It's not often we get a candidate running for office here. I'm curious what your positions are with regards to:

-Triangle Transit regional rail service

-Urban Growth Boundaries

-Impact Fees

-what your plan might be for Wake County schools

-forming a regional governmental council with the other municipalities and counties of the triangle

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bonnergaylord Crossroads

bonnergaylord

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Posted

"It's not about transportation now, it's about planning for future growth and designating areas where we can build density without adding to gridlock and paying to extend city infrastructure like water, sewer, gas and services to the Virginia border. You can have your long commute, but the city needs to be able to continue growing and increasing its revenue base and there is only so much land available to do that and maintain the city's viability.

This is the kind of foresight we need in our city leaders. Once the city hits a wall for growth, it is all over."

Exactly! Failing to plan is planning to fail.

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