Raleigh Public Record (https://theraleighcommons.org/raleighpublicrecord/topics/2015-candidate-profiles/)
Nancy McFarlane was first elected Mayor in 2011, after serving two terms on the City Council. She is the founder MedPro Rx, Inc., a specialty infusion pharmacy. MedPro Rx consistently ranks as one of the best places to work in the Triangle and recently ranked as the number one small business in the Triangle, and number two in the South. She is currently in her second term as mayor and is seeking re-election.
Matt Tomasulo is the Founder and Chief Civic Instigator behind Walk [Your City], an emerging civic platform to help cities put people first and embrace walkability through online tools that boost offline mobility. He is also a national winner of the Hines Urban Design Competition for innovative family oriented development strategies. He is currently running as a challenger for an at-large seat.
J.B. Buxton is the founding principal of the Education Innovations Group, a consulting practice focused on state education strategies for PreK-12 and postsecondary public education. He has served on the Raleigh Planning Commission since 2011 and was a senior education adviser in the governor’s office from 2001-2006. He is currently running as a challenger in District A.
Dickie Thompson and his brothers John and Marty are the third-generation in the family-run JM Thompson construction company. He served on the Raleigh Planning Commission for seven years, and spent three of those years as its chair, and is currently chairman of the RDU Airport Authority Board. He is running as a challenger in District A.
Eddie Woodhouse currently does outreach work for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. In the past, he has served as a community liaison for Senator Jesse Helms and was the Southeast Director for the Interagency Council on Homelessness at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he worked with the city of Raleigh on its 10-year homeless plan. Woodhouse is running as a challenger in District A.
David Cox is a computer scientist at ABB who volunteers with the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. He has long been an advocate for his neighborhood, and was at the forefront of a two-year struggle against a developer who wished to build a shopping center near his home. He is running as the challenger in District B.
John Odom was first elected to Raleigh City Council in District B in 1993 where he served five terms, which included stints as deputy mayor and mayor pro-tem. He also served as the executive director of the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association and is the owner of three Meineke car care centers. He was re-elected to city council in 2009. He is running as the incumbent in District B.
Corey Branch currently works as a Senior Technical Director at North Carolina A&T State University, is a board member for Wake Up! Wake County and a member of the Raleigh Transit Authority. He is running as a challenger in District C.
Eugene Weeks is a retired member of the United States Air Force who went on to work as an educator at Broughton High School from 1981-2000. Prior to joining the city council in 2010, Weeks was the Chairman of the City of Raleigh Human Relations Commission and chair of the city’s Recreation, Parks and Greenways Commission. He is seeking re-election in District C.
Kay Crowder is a lifelong resident of District D in Raleigh who has worked in sales, marketing and finance, including time spent as the General Sales Manager WTPF-TV and a marketer for Edward Jones. She is also a founding member of the Avent West Neighborhood Association and volunteers each year with the Special Olympics. She is running as the incumbent for District D.
Ashton Smith currently works at Citrix in downtown Raleigh. She is the board chair for the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum, serves on the board of the Downtown Housing Improvement Corporation and volunteers her time with a number of other local nonprofits, including the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and the Urban Land Institute. She is currently running as the challenger in District D.
