Voter Guide 2011

Politics and Growth in a 21st Century City

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In the 10 years Charles Meeker has served as mayor of Raleigh, its population has grown by 46 percent. “The city is a very different place than it was 10 years ago,” said Meeker, who steps down this year. “We’ve had lots of development in suburban areas; we’ve had two major bond issues to increase greenways and develop downtown. The amount of growth was not anticipated 10 years ago.”

As a result of that surprise growth, Meeker said, Raleigh residents have gained more housing, employment and entertainment options. On the downside, growth has placed added demands on the city’s infrastructure, particularly on roads carrying swelling volumes of traffic.

Voter Guide 2011

Mary Ann Weathers (D)

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Age: 65
Occupation: Retired Educator

How long have you lived in Wake County? I’m a native. I’ve worked other places, but I was born here and this is home. Why have you decided to run for office? I became concerned about the Wake County school system.

Voter Guide 2011

Christine Kushner (D)

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Age: 48
Occupation: Freelance Writer and Consultant
Website: www.christineforwake.com

How long have you lived in Wake County? 21 years (but out of county in 1995-96)

Do you have children in the district? One at Ligon Mid­dle School, one in a high school out of the district. Why have you decided to run for office? I’ve been a community volunteer since I moved to Wake County, involved in public issues.

Voter Guide 2011

Susan Evans (D)

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Age: 53
Occupation: Accountant
Website: www.evansforwake.com

How long have you lived in Wake County?  31 years

Do you have children in the district? I have two children who have recently graduated from Wake County Public Schools. Why have you decided to run for office? I’ve always been really proud of Wake County public schools for all the ways they were forward thinking and continued to move our county forward as much as possible toward excellence for all students. Honestly, when the newest board majority was elected a couple of years ago, I just started hearing things that were concerning me.

Voter Guide 2011

Cynthia Matson (R)

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Age: 45
Occupation: Campus Director, ITT Technical Institute in
Durham
Website: www.cynthiamatsonforschoolboard.com

How long have you lived in Wake County? 17 years

Do you have children in the district? Two children in middle school. Why have you decided to run for office? Because I want to have a positive effect on academic excellence and assignment stability.

Voter Guide 2011

James Martin (D)

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Age: 47
Occupation: Chemistry Professor at North Carolina
State University
Website: www.jimmartin4schools.com

How long have you lived in Wake County? 17 years

Do you have children in the district? Two children, one at En­loe High and one at Car­nage Middle. Why have you decided to run for office? I’ve been civically en­gaged all of my adult life in various capacities.

Voter Guide 2011

Keith Sutton (D)

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Age: 41
Current Occupation: Victim Advocate Liaison for the Governor’s Crime Commission
Website: www.votekeithsutton.com

How long have you lived in Wake County? 13 years

Do you have children in the district? One at Conn Elementa­ry, one in Johnston Coun­ty Schools. Why have you decided to run for office? I would like to continue to serve the citizens and families of Wake County.

Voter Guide 2011

Jennifer Mansfield (I)

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Age: 43
Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom
Website: www.mansfieldforwakeschools.com

How long have you lived in Wake County? 13 years

Do you have children in the district? 6th and 8th graders, both magnet students at East Millbrook Middle School. Why have you decided to run for office? District 3 has not had a representative for parents and just the community at-large for the past four years.

Voter Guide 2011

Thomas Crowder (D)

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Age: 55
Occupation: Architect
Website: www.crowderforcouncil.com

How long have you lived in Raleigh? 55 years

Why have you decided to run for office? This would be my fifth term. Actually, a lot of folks encouraged me to run. It’s a great city.

Voter Guide 2011

Gale Wilkins (R)

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Age: 55
Occupation:Recent Graduate of Peace College
Website: www.galemwilkins.com

Why have you decided to run for office? I’ve worked in the com­munity, probably starting with Sunday school in the 1980s, just working with young people, doing Sun­day school programs. And my husband and I would always do some kind of program, and then ven­tured from that church or depth of particular com­munity to others. And so, because I’ve always worked in the community, I have a strong passion to help individuals and families, especially those people who have needs and are not aware of how they can meet those needs or what resources are available for them to get their needs met. And I seem to have a knack of compiling data or information and with that I always could help people. What do you think are the three biggest issues facing the city and how would you address those?