NC lawmaker: I won’t sell out working-class families for Raleigh toll road

One of my most impactful memories from the campaign trail was the day I met Melissa. It was January 2024 — early in primary election season — and I knocked on Melissa’s door to ask for her vote. As we spoke about the issues affecting her family, she told me how she and her husband work multiple jobs to make ends meet; how they were skipping meals to make sure their children had enough to eat. It reminded me of the sacrifices my father made as a single parent raising two boys.

Standing at her front door, I told Melissa I’d do whatever I could to help her family.

A couple months later, I learned of the plan to toll Capital Boulevard. I sat with local stakeholders at Charron’s Deli in Youngsville as they laid out the plans under consideration. The proposed toll would cost the average person about $50 a month. The NC Department of Transportation had pulled funding that was previously allocated for this project, and unless we act soon, we may never get this road expanded.

While I sympathized with the frustration and urgency to ensure that Capital Boulevard is expanded, my thoughts went immediately to Melissa. When you’re already skipping meals to make ends meet, $50 added to your monthly commute cost isn’t just a burden, it’s a breaking point. Melissa and her family are not alone. They represent countless other struggling Wake County families for whom a sudden, steep toll on their daily commute would shatter an already fragile budget.

These concerns weighed heavily on my mind as the tolling conversation headed further in the wrong direction. While an “optional” toll lane had initially been on the table, I learned that the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) was not seriously considering it. The plan was too expensive, it said. The irony seemed lost on everyone. Stakeholders seemed more worried about making the toll project more affordable for government while ignoring the financial impact on taxpayers, the Wake County families who would be hit the hardest.

Two incidents in May stoked my ire. First, the Raleigh City Council voted 7-1 in favor of tolls — essentially charging an entrance fee to their northern neighbors. Then, I learned of one lobbyist’s efforts to insert language in the budget that would have permitted CAMPO to move the toll forward without any further input from the General Assembly. Meanwhile, I heard consistent and vehement opposition to the toll from my constituents, who would be the most directly impacted by this decision.

I’d had enough. That lobbyist tried to insert the toll language into the budget behind closed doors, so I countered with a similar strategy — only this time, to protect working families. I ran a budget amendment to block the toll. I ran it because I felt like the City of Raleigh was attempting to steamroll my district, once again taxing other towns to raise revenue for projects Raleigh’s City Council deemed important. But mostly, I ran the amendment for families like Melissa’s — working-class families who feel ignored by politicians.

Not everyone was happy with my amendment. In fact, two of my House colleagues accused me of stonewalling a conversation about the toll. Of course, a conversation has happened, played out at public hearings, Chamber of Commerce events and CAMPO meetings. If my colleagues wish to join that conversation, I invite them to come out to my district. They can explain to my constituents why they wish to raise taxes on my district, but not on their own.

The current state of Capital Boulevard is unacceptable. But injustice is not a solution — even if it seems like the path of least resistance. And since the House adopted my amendment, I’ve heard from many Wake County families who are grateful that someone finally stood up for them.

I am committed to working with leaders at all levels of government to move this project forward. I’ll be traveling to Washington, D.C. this summer to speak with our congressional delegation. My colleagues in the General Assembly know that Capital Boulevard — and transportation infrastructure more broadly — is my top priority. As ongoing discussions continue with those colleagues and with local officials to discuss potential paths forward to improve Capital Boulevard, I can promise you this: I’m not going to sell out middle- and working-class families for the sake of easing congestion. Melissa and her family deserve better than that.