Raleigh, North Carolina municipal elections, 2015

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The city of Raleigh, North Carolina, held elections for mayor and city council on October 6, 2015. A runoff took place on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 17, 2015. All seven city council seats were up for election.

Incumbent mayor Nancy McFarlane ran for a third term. McFarlane was first elected in 2011 after serving on the city council for four years. In a pool of three candidates, she won 61.2 percent of the vote in 2011. McFarlane was re-elected in 2013, winning 73 percent of the vote against two challengers. Bob Weltzin, a chiropractor and member of the Army Reserve who ran against McFarlane in 2013, challenged the mayor again in 2015.

There were two at-large seats up for election in 2015. Incumbents Russ Stephenson and Mary-Ann Baldwin ran for re-election against candidates Craig S. Ralph and Matt Tomasulo. There were contested races in the five districts of the city council as well. Incumbents in Districts B, C, D and E all faced at least one challenger. Incumbent Wayne Maiorano of District A did not seek re-election, and there was a field of three candidates in the race for his position. Richard A. Thompson defeated Edwin W. Woodhouse, Jr. in the runoff election for Maiorano's seat.

A major point of debate throughout the election was the city's rezoning plan. Read more about that plan below.

Mayor

Candidate list

October 6 General election candidates:

• Nancy McFarlane - Incumbent McFarlane was first elected in 2011.
• Bob Weltzin

Election results

Raleigh Mayor General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Nancy McFarlane Incumbent	74.4%	26,894
Bob Weltzin	25.2%	9,129
Write-in	0.4%	149
Total Votes		36,172
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

City council

Candidate list

At-large (2 seats)

October 6 General election candidates:

• Craig S. Ralph
• Russ Stephenson - Incumbent Stephenson was first elected in 2011.
• Mary-Ann Baldwin - Incumbent Baldwin was first elected in 2007.
• Matt Tomasulo

District A

Note: Incumbent Wayne Maiorano did not run for re-election.
October 6 General election candidates:

• John Bruce Buxton
• Richard A. Thompson a
• Edwin W. Woodhouse, Jr. a

November 3 runoff candidates:

• Richard A. Thompson
• Edwin W. Woodhouse, Jr.

District B

October 6 General election candidates:

• David Neil Cox
• John Odom - Incumbent Odom was first elected in 1993.

District C

October 6 General election candidates:

• Corey Demont Branch
• Eugene Weeks - Incumbent Weeks was first elected in 2010.

District D

October 6 General election candidates:

• Kay Crowder - Incumbent Crowder was appointed in 2014.
• Ashton Mae Smith

District E

October 6 General election candidates:

• DeAntony Collins
• Bonner Gaylord - Incumbent Gaylord was first elected in 2009.
• Edie Jeffreys

Runoff election

Raleigh City Council District A, Runoff election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Richard A. Thompson	57.7%	4,498
Edwin W. Woodhouse, Jr.	42.3%	3,293
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes (100%% of precincts reporting)		7,791
Source: Wake County Board of Elections, "Unofficial Results," November 3, 2015

General election

Raleigh City Council At-large General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mary-Ann Baldwin Incumbent	31%	19,086
Russ Stephenson Incumbent	30.2%	18,547
Matt Tomasulo	24.4%	15,002
Craig S. Ralph	14%	8,636
Write-in	0.3%	202
Total Votes		61,473
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Raleigh City Council District A General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Richard Thompson	33.9%	3,377
Edwin W. Woodhouse Jr.	33.4%	3,330
John Bruce Buxton	32.5%	3,242
Write-in	0.2%	24
Total Votes		9,973
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Raleigh City Council District B General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Cox	52.5%	2,512
John Odom Incumbent	47.1%	2,251
Write-in	0.4%	19
Total Votes		4,782
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Raleigh City Council District C General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Corey Demont Branch	52.3%	3,082
Eugene Weeks Incumbent	47.3%	2,789
Write-in	0.4%	22
Total Votes		5,893
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Raleigh City Council District D General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kay Crowder Incumbent	61.9%	4,246
Ashton Mae Smith	37.7%	2,583
Write-in	0.4%	28
Total Votes		6,857
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Raleigh City Council District E General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bonner Gaylord Incumbent	55.5%	4,505
Edie Jeffreys	36.7%	2,981
DeAntony Collins	7.5%	610
Write-in	0.3%	22
Total Votes		8,118
Source: Wake County Elections, "Municipal Elections Unofficial Results," October 6, 2015

Issues

Zoning

The city government's rezoning plan met with many residents' disapproval during two public hearings in July 2015. The Unified Development Ordinance was introduced in 2013 with the intention of increasing density in parts of the city to deal with an increasing population. The plan was set to rezone 30 percent of the city. Citizens were given two-minute time slots to voice their opinions, and many expressed concern over what the new development would mean for the city. Residents in Oakwood said they didn't want to lose the historic nature of the neighborhood. Some people were worried about rising property values pushing them out of their neighborhoods in Southeast Raleigh. Residents in North Raleigh have fought commercial development in areas of their neighborhood before. City officials said they would meet with individuals and neighborhood groups throughout August to discuss the plan.

Click [show] to read comments from Raleigh's 2015 candidates on rezoning.

Excerpt from Mayor Nancy McFarlane's campaign website on the issue of zoning: "Nancy played a pivotal role in developing Raleigh’s widely praised Comprehensive Plan which was approved by the Council in October 2009. That plan took 18 months, and was the result of a careful evaluation of citizen, municipal and business interests. Mayor McFarlane has also been instrumental in developing the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) which guides the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. Nancy is committed to a UDO that protects neighborhoods, while providing direction, flexibility and certainty to zoning. She is working with citizens across Raleigh to update the ordinance, and make sure the plan meets those goals." Excerpt from mayoral candidate Bob Weltzin's campaign website: "I oppose the UDO, and believe it to be detrimental to the property rights of Raleigh citizens. When someone purchases property, especially one whose price is elevated by its proximity to a downtown like ours, the conditions which will affect growth and development around that property play significantly into the decision of the buyers. For the city to change those conditions after working hard to attract those buyers is nothing short of a bait-and-switch on part of our city council and Mayor." At-large councilman Russ Stephenson proposed slowing the process down in order to address the public's issues with the plan. There were areas where the new zoning would allow bars to go in next to neighborhoods, which Stephenson said should be removed from the proposal. He said, "We've been running a sprint to get this thing done. Now, we've heard the neighbors' comments. Now they're finally tuned in. Now they understand how this is going to impact them. Let's take a long deep breath and say, OK how do we make sure that we can promote quality growth that also protects neighborhoods?" District C councilman Eugene Weeks shared the opinion that they needed to slow down the process. "I think we’re moving just a little too fast and we need to slow down and listen to some of the recommendations," he said. Candidate David Cox spoke out against the rezoning plan, specifically for commercial development at the corner of Dunn and Falls of Neuse Roads. He was part of a group that in May 2015 won the battle to prevent a Publix grocery store from going up at that site. Cox also said, "We've heard over and over and over again that people did not receive notice of this remapping action until just a few days before the hearing. That's a procedural failing and that can be corrected."

Recent news

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Raleigh, North Carolina municipal elections, 2015 - Google News

See also

• United States municipal elections, 2015
• Raleigh, North Carolina

External links

Suggest a link

• Durham County - Board of Elections
• Wake County Board of Elections - Future Election Dates
• City of Raleigh - Government