Who’s running for Raleigh mayor and City Council? Here’s what to know to vote Tuesday.
Voters in many towns and cities around North Carolina go to the polls on Oct. 8. Here’s what you need to know before you cast your vote in Raleigh.
Who is running in Raleigh
All eight of the seats on the Raleigh City Council are up for re-election. Voters will see candidates for mayor, two at-large seats and five districts. The mayor and at-large members are elected by everyone in the city, while district candidates are voted on by people who live in that district. The terms are all for two years.
Mayor Nancy McFarlane and Raleigh City Council member Dickie Thompson both decided not to seek re-election.
Click on the race names below to read a reader-powered Q&A with the candidates.
- Mary-Ann Baldwin, www.MaryAnnForRaleigh.com
- Zainab Baloch, www.Zainab4Raleigh.com.
- Charles Francis, www.FrancisForRaleigh.com
- George Knott, www.George4Raleigh.com
- Caroline Sullivan, www.CarolineForRaleigh.com
- Justin Sutton, www.SuttonForMayor.com
At-Large candidates (2 seats)
- James Bledsoe, www.ElectJamesBledsoe.com
- Jonathan Melton, www.JonathanMelton.com
- Portia Rochelle, www.RochelleForRaleigh.com
- Carlie Allison Spencer, www.ElectCarlieAllisonSpencer.com
- Russ Stephenson, incumbent, www.RussForRaleigh.com
- Nicole Stewart, incumbent, www.NicoleForRaleigh.com
- Joshua Bradley, www.JBradleyForRaleighWorkers.org
- Patrick Buffkin, www.PatrickForRaleigh.com
- Sam Hershey, www.SamForRaleigh.com
- David Cox, incumbent, www.DCoxForCouncil.com
- Brian Fitzsimmons, www.BrianFitzNC.com
- Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi, www.SheliaKhashoggiCampaign.org
- Corey Branch, incumbent, www.CoreyBranch.com
- Wanda Hunter, www.Wanda4Raleigh.com
- Ricky Scott, email: ScottForRaleighCityCouncil@gmail.com
- Brittany Bryan, www.Brittany4Raleigh.com
- Kay Crowder, incumbent, www.CrowderForCouncil.com
- Saige Martin, www.Saige4Raleigh.com
- April Parker, www.AprilParkerForCityCouncil.com
- David Knight, www.KnightForRaleigh.com
- Stef Mendell, incumbent, www.StefMendellForCouncil.com
You can find the Cary Town Council candidates at bit.ly/CaryCandidates2019 and other Wake County town and city candidates at bit.ly/WakeCountyLocalCandidates. Candidates in all races around North Carolina are listed at ncbse.gov.
Where and when to vote in Raleigh
Raleigh’s municipal election is Oct. 8, 2019, and early voting began on Sept. 18.
People will not be able to update their registration on Oct. 8. A photo ID is not required to vote in the 2019 elections.
You can find your polling place, sample ballots and view campaign finance reports at WakeGov.com/elections. Don’t assume you’ll vote at the same place you voted in the last election; check the Wake County site’s list of recent changes.
Early voting ended on Oct. 4, and more than 18,000 people in Wake County voted early.
The elections for the other municipalities in Wake County are set for Nov. 5. Early voting for those races begins Oct. 16.
Read more about the candidates
The News & Observer received nearly 150 questions from community members and readers to ask the Raleigh City Council candidates. A N&O reporter and editor went through the questions looking for themes and found 15 yes or no questions that best summarized the community’s questions and concerns.
We created interactive questionnaires to help you learn more about the candidates and hear their answers to questions readers had.
You can find the Mayoral candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighMayorQuestionnaire2019
You can find the At-Large candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighAtLargeQuestionnaire2019
You can find the District A candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighDistrictAQuestionnaire2019
You can find the District B candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighDistrictBQuestionnaire2019
You can find the District C candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighDistrictCQuestionnaire2019
You can find the District D candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighDistrictDQuestionnaire2019
You can find the District E candidates’ answers at bit.ly/RaleighDistrictEQuestionnaire2019
Read more about issues in Raleigh
What are voters talking about? Here are some of our latest stories.
Duct-taped woman, Donald Trump comparisons. Raleigh election mailers go negative.
Raleigh mayoral candidates explain how they’ll tackle the city’s pressing issues.
Raleigh Mayor McFarlane tells City Council time to govern, not play poison politics
Gentrification talk in Raleigh reveals tensions in a changing city
Is Raleigh treating half its people like second-class citizens? Some renters think so.
Raleigh won’t join lawsuit against ‘RDU Quarry’ near Umstead Park. At least for now.
Rally at Umstead Park shows RDU quarry will be a political issue this fall
$1.9 billion Raleigh soccer stadium complex an opportunity and challenge, speakers say
Are restaurants, offices and a hotel good for Dix Park? Critics hail changes to plan.
Bye bye Bird and Lime. New electric scooters arriving soon in Raleigh.
‘They’ve completely neglected it.’ Southeast Raleigh waits for Chavis Park upgrades.
This story was originally published September 17, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Who’s running for Raleigh mayor and City Council? Here’s what to know to vote Tuesday.."
