Like ‘sweet tea with a shot of vodka.’ Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane looks back.
How does outgoing Mayor Nancy McFarlane refer to Raleigh?
“Like a glass of sweet tea with a shot of vodka,” she told a crowd Friday night.
McFarlane gave her final state of the city speech at the Raleigh Union Station in downtown during the city’s First Friday, which includes live music and art performances. The speech is traditionally held in the spring, but McFarlane was out for several months due to recent back surgery.
McFarlane announced in March that she would not seek a fifth term, in part, because of the recent bickering among Raleigh City Council members. She touched on that same division Friday.
“Here’s the thing,” she said in the speech. “We have to do this together. We all fundamentally want the same thing for our city. So let’s stop dividing ourselves.”
She specifically called out the developer-versus-neighborhoods narrative. Developers built your neighborhood, she said,
“I hear they even built a Wegmans,” she joked, referring to the popular new grocery chain that opened its first North Carolina store in Raleigh this fall.
It’s easy to point to the “disaster” development but people forget to acknowledge the great things, she said.
“Politics has become ugly,” she said. “Social media makes it easy for people to say horrible things and feel protected behind the keyboard. The more we are divided, the harder it will be to achieve our dreams.”
Investing in Raleigh
A majority of her speech highlighted the past year’s successes and the city’s investment — with an emphasis on the arts and recreation — in Raleigh.
“We invest in the arts,” she said. “The arts define us. They enrich our lives. ... We invest in our parks and community centers because they are an important part of who we are.”
The economic impact of the arts in Raleigh was $143 million in 2010, she said. By 2015 it had jumped to $531 million, she said.
“So, yes, we invest in Raleigh,” McFarlane said. “Because when we invest in Raleigh, whether it’s sewer pipes or swing sets, we are investing in ourselves.”
Investing in Raleigh keeps the city healthy, she said, adding it makes people’s lives feel safer, protects the environment for future generations and makes sure “that Raleigh always feels like home.”
At the end of her speech, McFarlane thanked city staff members for their dedication and her family for their support.
“I have to talk about the people that have inspired me in public service the most, my granddaughters, Maddie and Ella Jean,” she said. “I think most of us in this kind of job have that someone special that reminds us why we are putting in the long hours of public service. When the critics are after me, I think about them.”
She told the story of picking up Maddie from pre-school after the city bought the Dix Park property from the state in 2015 and taking her to see the land.
“’Did you get this for me?’ she asked,” McFarlane said. “’Yes, I did.’ I answered. ‘Do I have to share it with everybody?’ she asked. ’Yes, you do. But, secretly, I got it for you.’”
“Because when it comes right down to it, all we do, we do for our children and grandchildren,” McFarlane said. “And their children and grandchildren. It has been my honor and my privilege to serve as your mayor.”
McFarlane’s successor, former council member Mary-Ann Baldwin, will be sworn in Dec. 2.
McFarlane embraced Baldwin when she left the stage.
This story was originally published November 1, 2019 at 7:30 PM.
