Steve Rao, candidate for town council in Morrisville, NC

There are three different Morrisville Town Council races in this year’s elections.

Incumbent Steve Rao will face challenger James “Jim” Semmens for the one at-large district seat on the council.

Patty Wei-Pei Cheng is challenging incumbent Vicki Scroggins-Johnson for the district 4 council seat while Donna Fender is running unopposed for the district 2 seat.

Early voting in the Nov. 2 election begins Oct. 14 and runs through Oct. 30.

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit wakevotesearly.com or contact the Board of Elections at 919-404-4040 or voter@wakegov.com

Name: Steve Rao

Age: 51

Residence: 128 Gratiot Drive

Occupation: Business Development, State Federal Strategies

Education: B.A. Emory University West Virginia University College of Law, J.D

Political or civic experience: I have served the Citizens of Morrisville for the past decade as an At Large Council Member, and as Mayor for Tem from 2015-2017. I am proud to have served and made investments, which resulted in our town being named an All America City this year. I was appointed last year to the NC League of Municipalities Race and Equity Task Force and have served for eight years as a delegate and alternate to the Triangle J Council of Governments. I Co-Chair the Smart Growth Committee for TCOG. Finally, I serve as a board member for the New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of mayors and business leaders, focused on comprehensive immigration reform. This organization is chaired by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Campaign website: www.steverao.com

In August, Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley Day ordered a mask mandate unlike some other Wake County towns. Do you agree with this decision?

Yes, I agree with our decision to mandate masks, as I believe that it is imperative that we abide by the science, which clearly supports that wearing masks does help prevent the spread of Covid 19. We have a duty as elected officials to support the health and welfare of the public, and this mask decision clearly supports this objective.

Do you plan to vote in favor of Morrisville’s $37 million bond package for parks, public safety, streets and sidewalks?

Yes, I will be supporting and voting for the 2021 Bond Referendum as I believe that these bonds are very important investments which bring three community benefits to the Town.

1) The Public Safety Improvement Bonds represent an $8 million investment in providing a safe and secure community through prevention, education, readiness, and responsiveness. Public Safety is one of our strategic goals in our Strategic plan.

2) The Streets, Sidewalks and Connectivity Improvement Bonds make improvements to pedestrian and transportation infrastructure, sidewalk and streetscape improvements, bridges, bicycle lanes, curbs and drains, and shelter improvements. Connectivity and Mobility are also very important goals in our Strategic Plan.

3) Finally, our Strategic Plan also focuses on liveable neighborhoods. This bond revenue will improve and expand existing passive and active parks, acquire and construct new parks, and recreational facilities and preserve open space/tree canopy.

What is Morrisville doing right, and wrong, on managing growth?

The greatest challenge we face as a town, like most of western Wake County, is that our transportation and school infrastructure is not keeping up with the rapid pace of development, particularly residential development. Moving forward, we do need to a better job of slowing down the amount of multi family rezonings before they go into the development process and get to Council for approval. In light of this challenge, our council has been approving conditional rezonings which invest in parks, transportation/sidewalks, and affordable housing. For example, our last approval of a conditional multi family rezoning resulted in $1 million of road construction, $600,000 in parks, and a $3.5 million investment in affordable housing. This project will yield $81 million of Wake County tax revenue, which can be invested in our school system, and another $800,000 of property tax revenue.

If elected, what would your two or three priorities be during your first year in office?

In the first year of my fourth term, my top two priorities will be to establish a Incubator for start ups in our plans for a downtown Morrisville, and to recruit an investor to develop a Cricket Stadium in Morrisville, where we can host more world class professional teams. Finally, I want to establish more partnerships with leading technology companies in Morrisville to continue to execute our Smart City Initiatives. I also would like to invest more in affordable/workforce Housing.

What unique skills or life perspective would you bring to city governance?

1) Communication: I bring to this position very effective written and communication skills. (I have 7,000 subscribers to my newsletter, and also write blogs OP Eds for a number of publications and appear as a commentator on PBS Carolina from time to time. I am able to leverage these skills to increase awareness of Morrisville across the state and country and to provide very effective constituent service. 2) Collaboration: My consensus building collaborative approach to working with my colleagues is another life experience I bring to this government position. 3) Innovation: My passion for innovation and to continue to look for new ways to solve problems, is the final life skill, which I bring to the position from my experience as an innovator and problem solver in my career in the technology industry.

This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Steve Rao, candidate for town council in Morrisville, NC."