Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin will not seek reelection, citing family medical issues
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin has announced she will not seek reelection.
Baldwin made the announcement Tuesday in a video posted to her social media pages. Her term ends in December 2024.
“Last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” Baldwin said. “I was one of the lucky ones. Mine was caught in stage one.
“My surgery and follow-up radiation were successful and chemotherapy was not needed.”
Baldwin, who has served as Raleigh mayor since December 2019, received treatment at UNC Health Rex. She was re-elected again in 2022.
“The experience made me stronger,” she said.
Baldwin also said her husband had open-heart surgery and follow-up surgery due to complications. She also mentioned how they’ve had to care for their ailing 14-year-old dog named Jack Bauer.
“These events made life even more stressful, leaving me to wonder how much more I could take,” Baldwin said. “My head and my heart were in conflict.”
Baldwin said she is starting a new job as the executive director of the Cooper Charitable Foundation. She said the role will allow her to help people get into stable housing and prevent them from losing their homes.
“It’s time to devote my energies to myself and my family, and to find other ways to serve,” Baldwin said.
Prior to her term as mayor, from December 2007 through December 2017, Baldwin served as an at-large member of the Raleigh City Council.
In Tuesday’s video, Baldwin did not endorse any specific candidate to be the next mayor of Raleigh. However, she said someone with governmental experience is needed.
Here is a list of the candidates who have announced they are running for Raleigh mayor in the Nov. 5 election (list in alphabetical order by last name):
- Corey Branch, Raleigh City Council member since 2015
- Janet Cowell, the former North Carolina state treasurer and current president and CEO of Dix Park Conservancy
- Delmonte Crawford, an activist who has been a Raleigh resident for five years and a North Carolina resident for 12 years
- Paul Fitts, mortgage broker and businessman
- Terrance “Truth” Ruth, NC State professor. Ruth got 40% of the vote against Baldwin in 2022.
- James Shaughnessy IV, Pre-law student at William Peace University and Raleigh native
There may be other candidates on the ballot. The filing deadline for mayor is July 19.
Highlights of Mary-Ann Baldwin’s tenure as Raleigh mayor
In the video released Tuesday, Baldwin discussed her passion for projects she wishes she could see through if she continued serving as mayor, including housing affordability, expanding transit options and building parks and greenway systems.
Baldwin also mentioned using sports as an economic driver.
“With the possibility of a Major League Baseball team coming here, Raleigh has the opportunity to really have a sports-driven economy, like any other city our size, bringing billions of dollars and new jobs into our economy,” Baldwin said.
According to Baldwin, PNC Arena generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the area. She discussed the arena’s $300 million renovation project.
“Imagine what the economic impact will be when we have a $1 billion private investment in this area,” Baldwin said.
Mary-Ann Baldwin during the COVID-19 pandemic
Baldwin helped guide the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When you gave me the honor of electing me mayor in 2019, none of us could have predicted what was about to happen,” Baldwin said. “Covid, George Floyd’s senseless murder and the subsequent civil unrest and how work from home would impact all of us, especially our downtown.”
Part of the pandemic fallout was the decision to delay municipal elections from October 2021 to November 2022, effectively giving sitting councilors and the mayor an additional year in their terms. In making that decision, city leaders cited delays in the U.S. Census and the need for population data to redraw council districts.
Citizen Advisory Councils disbanded, then reinstated
Baldwin’s tenure was also marked by tension with active citizen groups. In February 2020, the city council voted 6-2 to disband Citizen Advisory Councils or CACs. At the time, Baldwin said the city was seeking a more effective way to engage a wider cross-section of residents.
In February 2024, the Raleigh City Council voted unanimously to reverse that decision.
Before the city eliminated the program, there were 18 CACs; half continued to meet even without official recognition from the city.
Raleigh development, transit expansion during Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin’s tenure
Baldwin also mentioned the development of downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse District as an accomplishment. That area has added the Dillon, Raleigh Union Station and the plans for a 240-unit apartment building over the past several years.
Specifically, Baldwin discussed her efforts to increase housing affordability and choice. She mentioned approving missing middle housing, eliminating parking minimums, allowing the construction of accessory dwelling units and tiny homes, partnering with nonprofits to provide long-term affordable housing and purchasing land to put affordable housing.
Baldwin also mentioned her work on the Wake County Transit Plan. It includes plans for Raleigh to build its Bus Rapit Transit (BRT) line to go on a 5.4-mile route between downtown’s GoRaleigh Station and New Hope Road. It’s the first of four BRT lines planned for Raleigh. There are also plans for a BRT line from Raleigh to Richmond, Virginia.
