Raleigh council returns with usual rancor

The Raleigh City Council returned from its summer break this week, and it was good to see that some things have not changed. Among the items on Tuesday's agenda was a request to approve developer Gregg Sandreuter's ambitious plans to build four towers over the next decade on 2.9 acres adjacent to City Market downtown. Two of the towers would be 39 stories and dwarf the recently completed RBC tower. The project was approved by the council with a 6-2 vote, but not before Councilmen Thomas Crowder and Philip Isley had a snippy exchange that could be attributed to both the new convention center and a bad back.

Crowder wanted to delay the vote to allow councilors to take a closer look at Sandreuter's project. After raising questions about how the buildings would affect the shade (particularly in front of the Mecca Restaurant on E. Martin Street) and wind patterns downtown, he noted that the project is three times the size of the convention center and deserves similar scrutiny. Crowder's request drew a red-faced outburst from Isley, who was suffering from a bad back that forced him to stand during portions of Tuesday's meeting.

Isley said the convention center was rightly scrutinized because it was built with $221 million of taxpayer money. He said taxpayers are ready to see the private development that the center is supposed to draw downtown.

"I'm ready for the return on investment," Isley said.

Crowder said he wants the same thing, but he also wants to make sure the project is a good fit for downtown.

"I'm not against cashing in on our investment," he said.

Dumping on local service?

As we sat watching the Republican and Democratic conventions over the past two weeks, we couldn't help but wonder how the nasty debate about "experience" was playing out in towns and cities across the Triangle. Perhaps never before have Democratic and Republican conventions so heatedly debated (and insulted) different forms of public service. Barack Obama is belittled by Republicans for a being a community organizer in Chicago and not an executive in charge. Sarah Palin is belittled by Democrats for being an executive in charge of a town with less than 10,000 people.

If you're a leader of a Citizens Advisory Council in Raleigh you may take umbrage with the Republicans' argument. If you're the mayor of Knightdale you may take umbrage with the Democrats' argument.

If there's a danger in engaging in this sort of bickering, it's that the partisan train wreck that is our nation's capital will be coming soon to a neighborhood or small town near you. Sure, politics can be nasty on the local level, but for the most part it's free of talking points and partisan red meat. Being a mayor or community organizer doesn't indicate your support for a certain ideology; it just means you care enough about the place you live in to invest time trying to improve it.

POLITICAL TRAIL

KINNAIRD FORUM: The Orange Chatham Sierra Club Group will host a discussion with state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, an Orange County Democrat, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive in Chapel Hill. Kinnaird, serving her sixth term, will discuss environmental issues in the 2008 election. Before being elected to the state Senate, Kinnaird served as the mayor of Carrboro.

WAKE DEMOCRATIC MEN'S CLUB: The group will meet Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clarion Hotel, 320 Hillsborough St., Raleigh. Former Wake County Commissioner Betty Ann Knudsen will be honored with presentations by Rep. Jennifer Weiss, Justice Robin Hudson and former Wake County Commissioner Jack Nichols. Cost of the sit-down dinner is $25 if you haven't already registered. RSVP to wakedemmen@wakedems.org or 773-0245 by no later than Monday at noon.