Blunted Moonshot: Grading the Raleigh City Council s First Year
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin wanted 2020 to be Raleighâs moonshot.Â
Instead, the arrival of a global pandemic, coupled with economic and social unrest, squashed those ambitions. But despite unprecedented challengesâand unlike the former âCouncil of Noââthe new, development-friendly Raleigh City Council managed to make good on promises to boost alternative housing types in the city, legalize short-term rentals, and pass a litany of other common-sense reforms to streamline city processes.
But early on, Baldwin revealed an authoritarian streak that undercut her visage as a great reformer. She wielded the bully pulpit, well, like a bully. She greenlit the backhanded dismantling of the cityâs longstanding Citizen Advisory Councils, with disgraced former council member Saige Martin whipping votes behind the scenes. And questions about potential conflicts of interest arose after Baldwin took a job