Amanda Murphy, candidate for Cary Town Council, District C
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Candidates for Cary Town Council, District C
Who is running for the Cary Town Council? Get to know the candidates running for District C.
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Five candidates, including the incumbent, are seeking the Cary Town Council District C seat.
The district covers the southern part of the Wake County town and is currently represented by Jack Smith, who was elected in 1989.
Challengers include Mary Insprucker, George McDowell, Renee Miller and Amanda Murphy.
Normally the Cary municipal elections are held in November of odd-numbered years. But last year’s elections were postponed due to a delay in the U.S. Census releasing redistricting data.
Early voting in the May 17 election begins April 28 to May 14.
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: Amanda Murphy
Age: 45
Occupation and employer: Director of Communications at North Carolina Forestry Association
Education: BS in Business Administration - UNC Chapel Hill Kenan Flagler; MS International Studies at NCSU
Political or civic experience: Cary 101 citizen’s college, Habitat for Humanity volunteer, Triangle Woman of the Year campaign for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Leadership Raleigh Alumni Board, and board member of North Carolina Community Garden Partners
Campaign website: electamandamurphy.com
What is Cary doing right, and wrong, on managing growth?
Cary is doing well, but we could do better by prioritizing affordable housing in our community. We need a council that votes yes on affordable housing, yes on multifamily units, yes to multi-income units.
What do you think Cary should do, if anything, to address racial injustice issues, and what kind of changes would you propose?
We need to immediately put a non-discrimination ordinance in place and that is my plan when elected. We need to create housing affordability in our community, which will support racial injustice issues. We need to make sure the Cary police force is trained in racial justice issues in order to ensure they are not discriminating against our neighbors as has happened in other communities across our nation.
How should Cary increase the availability of affordable housing within the town?
We can work with stakeholders like Habitat for Humanity, Raleigh Area Land Trust, Laurel Street Developers, DHIC and others alongside Morgan Mansa at Cary to uncover every creative stone we can find to push forward on this issue.
Would you support a property tax increase for an affordable housing fund? Explain your answer.
Yes, Cary has a new wonderful Housing Plan adopted winter 2021 and it will take money to fund this plan. We need to re-prioritize the current budget to find items that aren’t priorities and put that money towards this tsunami of an issue in our area. We also could allocate a penny towards housing affordability like the adjacent municipality, Apex, has done.
What new steps should Cary take to recruit businesses to the area?
The Chamber of Commerce in Cary does well in recruiting businesses to the area. Cary would do well to support local, small businesses in our area.
What is a specific need within your district? And how would you address this issue, if elected?
Transportation - Improve safe bikeability/walkability by completing proposed greenways in District C. Connect District C neighborhoods with sidewalks.
We have to plan for alternatives to cars. Transportation alternatives are not just good planning, they are environmentally responsible. We need to make sure our citizens are able to walk and bike safety, and maneuver to bus stops and other forms of transit. Alternatives to driving include benefits for the community including health and wellness, environmental sustainability, and helping with our climate crisis.
If elected, what would your two or three priorities be during your first year in office?
I’m running for council to increase housing affordability in our community, create multimodal transportation to support growth by connecting greenways and sidewalks and creating alternatives to driving, and thoughtful development in District C.
What unique skills or life experience would you bring to town governance?
I spent my career — from college graduation until 2020 — in marketing for local engineering firms, minus graduate school, a lovely stint as a stay-at-home mom, and a period in software development marketing. I’ve written close to 100 different engineering proposals, reviewed approximately 50 municipal budgets, sat across the table with dozens of local municipal clients to discuss wins and losses, presented in boardrooms around the state, and spoken to hundreds of procurement folks.
My background researching and meeting with local municipalities like Apex, Raleigh, and Cary allows me to have an understanding of the inner workings of municipal government.
