{"id":8021,"date":"2011-07-22T17:42:07","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T21:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=8021"},"modified":"2012-10-05T11:40:11","modified_gmt":"2012-10-05T15:40:11","slug":"more-gop-candidates-enter-the-mix-for-city-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/city-council\/2011\/07\/22\/more-gop-candidates-enter-the-mix-for-city-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"More GOP Candidates Enter the Mix for City Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Republican campaign is moving forward as more candidates declare for Raleigh mayoral and city council seats.<\/p>\n

Local physician Dr. Randall Williams announced his candidacy this week for Raleigh mayor, a seat that Charles Meeker has held for the past decade before deciding not to run for a sixth term.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Randall Williams<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think I can make a difference,\u201d said Williams, an obstetrician and gynecologist. \u201cThe mayor sets the tone of the city and I think the mayor sets a vision for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams said his vision and tone for Raleigh is to develop a position of economic strength, created through low taxes and by fostering a business-friendly environment<\/p>\n

Once that is done, Williams said he would bring together all of the organizations that he\u2019s worked with to help all of Raleigh\u2019s citizens.<\/p>\n

While Williams admits he\u2019s never been to city council meeting, he said that his experience as a doctor in the healthcare industry and his humanitarian efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kabul and Haiti can transfer over into politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just my own political philosophy that bringing in non-politicians is a good thing,\u201d he said, adding that he is a well-informed person.<\/p>\n

Along with traditional campaigning, Williams is available to any resident during his daily 6:15 a.m. jog starting at Nash Square across from City Hall.<\/p>\n

Williams is the second Republican candidate running for Meeker\u2019s seat. Real estate executive Billie Redmond announced her candidacy last month.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a good group of supporters, as does Billie Redmond,\u201d said Wake County Republican Committee Chair Susan Bryant. \u201cWe\u2019ll be supporting both candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryant said both Republican candidates will focus on knocking out District A Councilor Nancy McFarlane, who is running for mayor as an Independent.<\/p>\n

District A<\/strong>
\nAs McFarlane runs for mayor, two Republican candidates have entered the race for her District A council seat. Newcomers Gale Wilkins and Brian Tinga, both Republicans, will join Independent Randy Stagner, who announced his candidacy in April.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gale Wilkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Wilkins, a native of North Carolina, said she has had her eye on the city council for a few years, but her time was dedicated to finishing her bachelor\u2019s degree in human services from Peace College.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had a passion to work in the community,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cI have a passion to work with individuals and families.\u201d<\/p>\n

While new to the political scene, Wilkins has served as a member on several boards and commissions including the Wake County Commission for Women and the Raleigh Human Relations Commission.<\/p>\n

Wilkins said she plans on focusing on economic recovery, jobs and the creation of small businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanity is crying out for economic recovery,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are crying out for jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also wants to focus on effective public transportation and public safety.<\/p>\n

Also focusing on the economy is Tinga, who works as a senior statistical programmer at Duke University and has an academic background in political science and economics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brian Tinga<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI really believe that we can balance the need for growth and jobs while protecting the quality of life,\u201d said Tinga, who has lived in Raleigh for about five years.<\/p>\n

He said that people are drawn to the area because of its great neighborhoods and wants to focus on strengthening the economy in his district and throughout the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I can offer a fresh perspective on how to address challenges facing our city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tinga\u2019s campaign will also focus on expanding business growth so that new jobs are being brought into the city.<\/p>\n

At Large<\/strong>
\nVying for one of the At-Large seats held by Mary-Ann Baldwin and Russ Stephenson is political newcomer Paul Fitts, a North Carolina native and mortgage lender.<\/p>\n

Fitts, a Republican, said while he believes the city provides great services, he is not happy with the debt the city has accumulated on large-scale projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Paul Fitts<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDebt is a huge issue and we haven\u2019t been able to climb out of our debt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Like the rest of his Republican counterparts, Fitts wants to make Raleigh a business-friendly environment. He said not enough work has been done to recruit new business to the city or streamline factors that would encourage business growth, such as the permitting process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure people realize that Raleigh is an employment-friendly environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fitts said he would like to see the tax base grow so that taxes can stay at a lower rate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A local physician enters the race for mayor while three more Republican candidates seek city council seats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24029,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[214,4,15,23],"tags":[368,367],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24029"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8021\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}