Here are the 5 finalists who hope to fill the vacant seat on the Raleigh City Council
Five people who want to join the Raleigh City Council — filling the seat vacated by Saige Martin — will take part in a virtual forum Sunday.
Saturday, council members and Mayor Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin narrowed down a list of 54 potential candidates through a three-round voting process.
While there were about 70 applications, many applicants were disqualified because they did not live in District D or were not registered to vote. Some were disqualified after their eligibility could not be determined.
Here are the five finalists with biographical information provided from their applications:
▪ Carmen Wimberley Cauthen, 60, is a retired administrative clerk from the N.C. General Assembly. She’s the co-founder of Wake County Housing Justice Coalition and has founded or served on other community organizations.
▪ Stormie Denise Fort, 49, is an attorney who currently host a weekly community radio show on Saturday mornings on Choice FM 92.1. She is an active member of the RWCA and the Wake County Voter Education Coalition.
▪ Jane Lindsay Harrison, 34, is a coastal economics specialist for N.C. Sea Grant. She has been involved in social and environmental justice organizations for 20 years.
▪ Joseph Todd Kennedy, 45, is a senior scientist and project manager for Moffatt and Nichol, a global infrastructure advisory firm. He has served on city boards and commissions, including as vice chair of the city’s Environmental Advisory Board and chair of the Human Relations Commission.
▪ Jennifer Katherine Peeler Truman, 30, is an apprentice with Matthew Konar Architect who has volunteered as Secretary for SouthWest Community Engagement Group (former SWCAC) and as an administrator for the District D Facebook group.
The list of applicants included former council member Kay Crowder, who served on the board from 2014 to 2019 but lost to Martin in the election.
According to vote tally sheets posted on council member David Cox’s Facebook page, Crowder did not receive enough votes to advance to the Sunday’s forum.
Only one of the finalists, Cauthen, received a unanimous vote through Saturday’s voting process.
The forum is scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be viewed at raleighnc.gov/applications-vacant-district-d-seat, the City of Raleigh’s YouTube Channel or RTN Channel 11.
Martin resigned July 24 after The News & Observer reported four men’s accusations of sexual misconduct. Two said Martin sexually assaulted them. Martin mostly disputes the misconduct allegations and specifically denies the assaults.
Applicants for the City Council had to be at least 21, registered to vote in Wake County and a District D resident for at least 30 days.
The candidate will be selected Tuesday at 4 p.m. at a special City Council meeting.
Read the full applications at bit.ly/325fwSU.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 3:43 PM.
