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The state of Raleigh's leadership


RALBOI

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Okay, you all have made me rethink my opinion of Taliaferro - all I know is that when I watched city council on government access TV when I lived in Raleigh, Taliaferro seemed to ask the right questions and come to reasonable conclusions that I agree with, while Crowder seemed like he always wanted to "take a stand" not because of his personal opinions, but for the sake of standing out.

Perhaps there's more to it behind the scenes than I realized. It's a moot point anyway since I live in Morrisville now... (sigh)

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Okay, you all have made me rethink my opinion of Taliaferro - all I know is that when I watched city council on government access TV when I lived in Raleigh, Taliaferro seemed to ask the right questions and come to reasonable conclusions that I agree with, while Crowder seemed like he always wanted to "take a stand" not because of his personal opinions, but for the sake of standing out.

Perhaps there's more to it behind the scenes than I realized. It's a moot point anyway since I live in Morrisville now... (sigh)

Out of the whole lot, I do think Isley would have to get my vote but this last bit with TTA funding has spoiled the party some. I think Jesse just asks questions when she does not know which way the wind will blow to keep it tied up. She gets demanding when she wants "info"....just like corp management when they can't make a decision. They just keep asking for more info hoping it will settle on its own. Kekas does not have the presence and Craven is working hard to take Mike Regans place and AH #1. West would be OK but needs a broader view of the city (JMHO). I could have voted for Janet Cowell but she had gone on to bigger and beter things.

Crowder is a no vote for me. You want to see the whole thing shut down, vote for Crowder. As I have said before, he is only a half step better than Mike Regan was and that is not saying much. Both are DHs.

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I think Crowder's biggest problem is that he seems very stubborn, as illustrated by his refusal to allow any EIFS on the hotel project. I guess that makes him the opposite of a "consensus builder".

"seems very stubborn" !!!!!!!!

I do not think there is any "seems" in there. He is very stubborn and I would even use the term "pig-headed." Let's have another lecture by him to everyone about "I grew up in this town" and "the way it should be and you are all wrong" and "I am an architect so I know what I am talking about"

He is not as bad as he used to be but when he goes off on "I am the smartest person here" crap, just watch the other members roll their eyes....... It use to be who could be the biggest arse 2 years ago with Crowder going off on "I am a architect" and Regan going off on "Founding Fathers and "against the Constitutional" when talking about a DT parking lot. Geeeez It was a joke as the two of them fought it out to be the biggest ^#*%#^@& . And you could see it in Meeker's face...."How did these clowns get here !!"

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Isley may have "removed support for the resolution" but has replaced it with this:

City Council wants to meet with TTA (News14.com)

With misinformation like this

The plan has been on a downward spiral since the Federal Transportation Administration gave the more than $800 million project a low rating. That means the system most likely won't get funding.

it is like Time Warner, in partnership with the republican party, is trying to crush the egg before given a chance to hatch. The story says "city council members" but doesn't list who. I haven't seen any other reports on this... all other media outlets have only reported on the CC hotel.

Meeker has done a wonderful job of being progressive without being condesending. His entire voting record screams that he really wants to do what is best for the city of Raleigh, not his own or his party's agenda.

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Craven is working hard to take Mike Regans place and AH #1.

This made me laugh. :lol:

I'm not sold on Isley. While he has supported the CC and DT redevelopment, recently he seems to be taking a step back from that. I fear that if he were elected mayor he would shift the emphasis away from DT, and back to more suburban issues like the I-540, new school construction, road widening projects, impact fees, lower taxes, etc. Essentially taking the focus off of downtown just when it is getting started. Maybe he can change my mind on this, but I only see him moving further to the "right" on these issues as we get closer to the next election.

I will say this, right now, I don't see anyone on the council that I would want to replace Meeker. Hopefully he will stay for another term, that would allow him to see the CC finish while on his watch.

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I would think Meeker would want to stay on board to see all the major projects get finished, I know I would if I were him. While it is still a while away, hopefully he can be persuaded to stay on another two years.

What is going to be interesting is to see what happens with the career of Pat McCrory, the Charlotte Mayor. He may be seeking state office. I have met him and a nice enough person and has the support of the business community. He was standing tall in front of the cameras when Charlotte got the Nascar HOF.

You have to guess that Meeker has bigger dreams than a part time Mayor. Not sure what is next but 2008 would be the year, especially when all these projects start to take life and he can show this possibly for a another office. Not sure if his personality is that strong for a US Rep job but who knows.

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Not sure if his personality is that strong for a US Rep job but who knows.

He seems like he's too intellectual or introspective to appeal to the wider citizenry of NC. McCrory wouldn't appeal to eastern NC folks even with his cornpone demeanor (which is kind of irritating.

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  • 1 month later...

both forms have their benefits. Sometimes it is good to have a non-politician making most of the "regular" decisions and just provide the final proposal to the mayor and council. Other times, it is good to have a mayor making all those decisions, because a political decision might be more open to things that ordinarily get to that level in the current form. Both have their pros and cons. Raleigh's current state is fine the way it is. As it grows, they might want to consider a full time mayor to really start pushing this city along.

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I agree with the earlier poster. More important to Raleigh at this time are increasing the number of years per term of ALL of the council from 2 to 4, and staggering election cycles. Right now we get one year of business, and one year of 'campaigning'. Most polilicies and developments approved by the Council aren't even finished during the same term that they were approved.

Normatively, I also like for some other interest groups to take a stronger interest in local government. Right now the Real Estate lobby owns most of the Council and the planning commission. That leads to highly unsustainable land use patterns and mediocre development and architecture because of the premium placed on profitablility as the end-all, be-all. As a result, Raleighites are impressed by below-average developments like The Dawson - but only because they don't know any better. The salvation in this perdicament is that the growing popularity of downtown residential has attracted some national developers with better expereince in urban form & design, and the increased competition has caused other developers to differentiate their product by integrating better architecture and a mix of uses to truly activate the street level, rather than create more downtown 'gated communities'.

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As a result, Raleighites are impressed by below-average developments like The Dawson - but only because they don't know any better. The salvation in this perdicament is that the growing popularity of downtown residential has attracted some national developers with better expereince in urban form & design, and the increased competition has caused other developers to differentiate their product by integrating better architecture and a mix of uses to truly activate the street level, rather than create more downtown 'gated communities'.

Wow, taking shots at Greg Hatem, Roland Gammon, and Craig Davis. These are the guys that have this city's best interests at heart I think.

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While I do think that Greg Hatem, Roland Gammon, and Craig Davis have the Citys best interest in mind I would agree with the fact that Raleigh's recent projects are below-average when compared to some other cities. I get the feeling that people are just happy that development is occurring...but I would not characterize the recent/proposed developments as great or inspiring. Very cookie cutter.

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Honestly, I think that Greg, whom I know pretty well, would ask to exclude himself from the argument. For starters, he does histortic rehab, not mediocre schlock. And for his first 'ground-up' project (The proposed LaFayette boutique hotel), he went to Manhattan to recruit an architect. EFIS, whether on a Marriott or Condo project, belongs on a lifestyle center...a pretend downtown. Like pdxheel, most folks were just so happy that development was occuring three years ago that they didn't realize what they were missing: Good urban design.

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Honestly, I think that Greg, whom I know pretty well, would ask to exclude himself from the argument. For starters, he does histortic rehab, not mediocre schlock. And for his first 'ground-up' project (The proposed LaFayette boutique hotel), he went to Manhattan to recruit an architect. EFIS, whether on a Marriott or Condo project, belongs on a lifestyle center...a pretend downtown. Like pdxheel, most folks were just so happy that development was occuring three years ago that they didn't realize what they were missing: Good urban design.

Good point regarding Greg.

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  • 8 months later...

Sorry to drege up an old topic, but I didn't think this needed a new one.

From the N&O -- Meeker's in ring for round four.

If presidential candidates are already throwing their hat in the proverbial ring for 2008, there might as well be announcements for races to be held *this* November.

It will be interesting to see who else decides to run. With everything going well downtown *and* the flow of money from the city's road bonds starting to flow, it will be hard to make a case against the incumbent.

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