Welcome to the first-ever Raleigh Public Record printed voter guide. Our reporters and editors have been working since July to bring you a comprehensive guide for the Raleigh City Council and Wake County Board of Education 2011 elections.
Our mission at the Record is to fill the gaps in local Raleigh news coverage. We focus most of our energy on understanding the political, personal and commercial aspects of growth in this city, our city. From sitting through long meetings at city hall to exploring issues of redevelopment in East Raleigh, every story we report has to do with growth in some form or fashion. Every two years, you, the voters of Raleigh, get to have your say in how the city moves forward.
This is a non-partisan voter guide. We don’t tell you who to vote for. Our aim here is to help you understand the candidates and some of the issues at play in this year’s election. The only dog we have in this fight is you — sending you to the polls armed with the information you need and deserve to make an informed decision on who should lead the city and the school board during the next few years.
We spoke with almost every candidate running for city council and school board. We made every effort possible to speak with the candidates not shown, but, unfortunately, they did not take us up on our offer to feature their profiles here.
We asked every candidate the same set of questions either in person or over the phone. We transcribed their answers and then cut them down to fit the available space. All words here are the candidate’s own, and while shortening their answers we did our best with each and every one to preserve the original intent of the interviewee. No candidates got the questions ahead of time and all had the same opportunity to give thoughtful answers to address important issues in these elections.
Special thanks go to Sonny Ferares, Bryan LeClaire, Will Huntsberry and Drew St. Claire for doing the heavy lifting on this guide — nailing down the interviews and transcribing what the candidates had to say.
I also want to thank the businesses, organizations and people who supported this guide and the Record. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to our readers. We are pleased to serve you.
Charles C. Duncan Pardo
Founding Editor
