Raleigh City Council splits 4-4 on surprise resolution calling for Gaza cease-fire
Raleigh city council members were split 4-4 on Tuesday in a surprise resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Council members Mary Black, Jane Harrison, Christina Jones and Megan Patton voted for the resolution, which wasn’t on Tuesday’s agenda.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and council members Corey Branch, Stormie Forte and Jonathan Melton voted against it.
“I would just like to state this is not the normal protocol for introducing a resolution,” Baldwin said before the vote. “And, receiving this just, when we walked in [the] chambers at 1 o’clock, it’s not the most considerate way to do something.
“Usually, we should all have time to read it, [and] make suggestions. There might have been some changes we would have liked to have seen.”
On Tuesday, Black brought the proposed resolution before the city council. She introduced it using a quote from “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle” by political activist Angela Davis.
“In the past few months, it’s become abundantly clear that we cannot just get over this,” Black said. “We cannot wait out in silence.
“We cannot ignore the people who have eagerly demanded us to do one thing: Vote on a cease-fire resolution.”
Black mentioned how hundreds of community members have called for city leaders to pass a cease-fire resolution.
In early February, Baldwin announced the Raleigh City Council would not issue a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Instead, she read a statement to call for peace in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Patton, who helped write February’s statement, spoke before the split vote on Tuesday.
“It’s a struggle to me to be here again also seeing so much language that’s so consistent from the earlier statement,” Patton said.
Patton said she was “incredibly vexed” on how to vote.
Branch explained why he voted the way he did, and that he does not want to see anyone lose their life.
“I also know that our federal government has already pushed and is requesting a cease-fire,” Branch said. “And, this is something that I feel is at their level, and that’s why I voted the way I did.”
Branch said he would have suggested changing some of the wording in the proposed resolution.
Black said she was proud of the city council for voting on a proposed cease-fire resolution.
“I think … our voices and our votes needed to be apparent for the people in the community one side or the other,” Black said. “And now, that’s clear.”
Dozens of cities across the U.S. have passed resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, including Durham. On Feb. 20, the Durham City Council voted 5-2 to approve a resolution for a cease-fire.
