James Bledsoe, candidate for Raleigh City Council At-Large
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Candidates for Raleigh City Council At-Large 2022
The candidates running for the two Raleigh City Council At-Large seats include James Bledsoe, Joshua Bradley, Stormie Forte, Anne Franklin, Jonathan Melton, John Odom and Portia Rochelle. Get to know the candidates with our NC 2022 Voter Guide.
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The News & Observer asked readers again this year to submit their questions for the people looking to lead Raleigh.
We received nearly 200 questions that covered a range of topics important to city residents.
We asked candidates for a yes or no response to 15 questions with a chance to fully explain their position. If candidates did not provide a yes or no answer, we didn’t include their fuller response.
We also included biographical and open-ended questions. Some responses were edited for clarity or length.
Here is how Raleigh City Council At-Large candidate James Bledsoe answered the questionnaire. Bledsoe is one of seven candidates for two at-large seats. At-large candidates are elected by the entire city and serve two-year terms.
All eight seats on the Raleigh City Council are up for re-election.
Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins on Oct. 20.
Name: James G Bledsoe
Age: 36
Occupation: US Army Reserve/NC DHHS
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Criminal Justice
Endorsements (limit to three): GOP, Wake Libertarian Party, Raleigh Police Protective Assoc.
Previous political or civic experience? Ran for office twice before, 17 years in the US Army, 8 years serving in State Government.
Campaign website: ElectJamesBledsoe.com
How do you identify your political ideology? Unaffiliated, but an avid Constitutionalist.
How would you add diversity to the City Council? I may be one of the only veterans taking office unless John Odom wins.
What is your favorite locally owned restaurant either in the city or within your district? Jack’s Seafood
The city of Raleigh lowered the speed limit downtown to 25 mph. Are you in favor of lowering the speed limit to 25 mph throughout the city?
No. Downtown is meant to be driven slowly; getting there is a different story. It would take me so much longer to get anywhere if I had to take Poole Road or even Six Forks at 25 mph.
Should the city help bring a sports and entertainment stadium downtown?
No. The free market can make that decision for itself. The city should not be handing out subsidies for a sports stadium during a recession and high inflation. If a sports team wants to have a stadium here, then they need to get sponsors.
Do you support reinstating Citizen Advisory Councils?
Yes. I really didn’t like it that CACs were removed. I learned more about the goings-on in my community at the SE CAC than from anywhere else. I want CACs to return but with a more restrictive covenant so we don’t have the same people cycling through the leadership roles.
Would you vote to increase the police department’s budget?
Yes. Raleigh is the fourth worst paid metro in the US for 1st responders and we have 300 vacancies between RPD/FD My pay plan will fix RPD and RFD pay issues permanently. Homicides and violent crime have gone up substantially since 2020 and aren’t going to decrease, unlike response times which are going to increase.
Would you vote to increase the salary of the city’s first responders, including police, fire and 911 staff?
Yes. As stated with my answer above, I plan to put in place the DoD pay chart for both RPD and RFD. It has worked for the military for decades and has proved tremendously helpful. It will remove pay compression, leapfrogging, and make sure that pay raises are distributed equally. I want to make Raleigh safer, and I want our 1st responders stay here. There is no reason a bus driver or cashier at Sheetz should be making more than a firefighter.
Will you support keeping city buses fare-free indefinitely?
Yes. It would cost the city more to take fares now than it would if we kept the buses fare free. It would require us to hire employees whose sole job would be the handling of fares. While we are in a recession, I want people to get to their jobs or to venues so they can stay afloat economically.
The city has received numerous noise complaints about traffic and street racing. Is the city doing enough to enforce its noise ordinance?
No. There is an officer shortage due to first responder hatred from the council. We have 300 vacancies between RFD/RPD. We can barely patrol the streets right now with the officers we have because the pay is criminally low. Once we get more officers in RPD, this issue will be resolved and generate revenue for the city.
Would you support the city creating a buffer zone around abortion clinics?
No. The city government has no need to get involved in the abortion debate or to even take sides. That is for the state and citizens to decide outside of Raleigh politics.
Do you support the city’s missing middle zoning changes?
Yes. I would like to expand on getting more housing built in Raleigh through deregulation of housing code, primarily the removal of the height cap. We can’t expand any further, we have to start building upwards.
Do you support the city’s $275 million parks bond?
No. Taking out a bond right now as the Fed is increasing interest rates to high levels would cost the city and its residents more than the parks would be worth. This bond would hit lower-income families the hardest along with small businesses.
Would you propose additional measures to address the affordable housing crisis for lower wealth residents?
Yes. I would like to expand on getting more housing built in Raleigh through deregulation of housing code, primarily the removal of the height cap. We can’t expand any further, we have to start building upwards.
Do you support Raleigh’s and Wake County’s efforts in bus rapid transit and commuter rail?
Yes. I think this is a great idea. We can upzone areas of the BRT corridor that prove successful and undo any places that show they are not successful. Thankfully this is a busing system, so we only have to remove paint in the roads and we can roll this back at any time.
Should it be possible to live in Raleigh without owning a car?
Yes. If you want to live in Raleigh and not own a car, please do. For those of us who are physically disabled from work-related injuries, we need our cars.
A council-appointed study group made a recommendation to add one seat to the Raleigh City Council. Do you support expanding the size of the council by a seat?
Yes. Nine seats would be great for a tie-breaking vote if it ever came to it and having another representative for Raleigh residents would be great.
Do you think the current City Council has put Raleigh on the right path?
No. Violent crime and murder has been going up since 2020 with new records each year. Raleigh is less safe. This council also met in secret to move the election date;that should have been up to the voters. This council also gave themselves pay raises while 97% of first responders can’t afford to live here and while the mayor got herself a lucrative job after being elected. These people are not hurting for cash and do not put city workers or Raleigh residents first, only themselves.
What will you do to ensure Raleigh’s working-class residents don’t get priced out of the city?
Deregulate the housing and commercial zoning codes as much as possible to allow for greater density and remove height restrictions. I will also cut $3 million to $5 million from the budget to help pay for first responder raises and to help pay off Raleigh debts so taxes can decrease.
What lessons should the city have learned from public safety challenges like COVID, curfews and George Floyd protests? Would you propose any new policies or changes?
Raleigh should have learned that Mayor Baldwin will toe the party line and blame a demographic of people and let businesses be plundered. Law and order should have been maintained while allowing people and businesses to make their own risk assessment as we have seen other states that thrived under the pandemic while Raleigh and other blue cities closed down businesses permanently.
How can the city limit investment firms from buying entry level homes?
By working within the law and by requesting aid from the county and NCGA to put a cap on those investments. First time homebuyers, like myself, need(ed) that first home to start a family and to grow financially. Instead, the council has decided to increase taxes and fees while virtue signaling that they want to help those in need. This is one hand building while the other destroys.
Describe a program in another city that you want the city of Raleigh to try. Please be specific.
At this time, I just want to cut taxes and spending and allow the free market to repair itself and allow businesses to return to Raleigh while meeting housing demands.
Raleigh is the center of one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country. How do you personally feel about that?
Growth is inevitable. We have to meet that growth with 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 year plans. As a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, we need eclectic thinking to tackle the growth we are expecting.
Name one initiative you’d propose in your first 100 days in office.
An emergency budget session to cut many items from our budget and shift them to first responders. My second act is to remove height restrictions on housing so we can start building apartments over three stories outside of downtown to make up for our housing shortage.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 3:01 PM.
