Raleigh police pay is ‘abysmal.’ Here’s what City Council should do.

Raleigh police pay

The citizens of Raleigh should know how abysmal the pay is for Raleigh police officers and how non-competitive Raleigh is with surrounding towns.

The starting pay for a Raleigh officer is $42,300 annually. This is about $8,000 less than Cary, Morrisville, Wake Forest and Apex.

With current wages, Raleigh is having trouble hiring new officers and retaining experienced ones. It is time for Raleigh to lead rather than follow. A starting salary of $55,000 annually with commensurate increases for experienced officers would be a good start.

The Raleigh City Council and mayor made an excellent choice in hiring Estella Patterson as the new police chief. Now they need to fully support her with adequate funding to do the job well. The city needs to step up and pay officers fair, competitive salaries.

Stephen Zelnak, Raleigh

NC schools

As a former teacher for five years in Halifax County, I observed firsthand the sad reality: Too many children in North Carolina suffer from an inadequate education — a fate that was predetermined centuries ago.

Unfortunately, despite lawsuits such as Leandro, which states that the “NC Constitution guarantees every child the right to a sound basic education,” little has changed over the years.

I am one of probably thousands who have (perhaps unexpectedly) direct ancestors that enslaved Africans centuries ago. Mine did in Vance County. I also have ancestors who were once part of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe. I unknowingly taught on the same grounds — and perhaps descendants — of my distant ancestors.

History connects us in strange and unexpected ways. It reminds us that we all want the same thing for our children and our future. We now must face the consequences of our shared history.

The long overdue $1.75 billion of Leandro funds would go a long way in changing the life-trajectories of thousands of students across the state. It would finally begin bridging the chasms created centuries ago.

Mike Beebe, Roanoke Rapids

Clarence Thomas

Regarding the furor over texts from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife and suggested term limits for Supreme Court justices... When Clarence Thomas understands that he has lost the respect of the legal profession, he will retire. This is my opinion, but it is supported by the historical record. When President Lyndon Johnson nominated Associate Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas to become chief justice, it was revealed that Fortas had been accepting a “retainer“ from a private businessman. The nomination was withdrawn and the ensuing public outcry led Fortas, a most able progressive legal expert, to resign from the court.

Robert Huddleston, Chapel Hill

Budd and Trump

If Ted Budd is the Republican candidate for the N.C. seat in the U.S. Senate, I will vote for his likely Democratic opponent.

Budd is completely unqualified to be a U.S. senator. In addition, appearing in his ads brandishing a holstered weapon is unseemly.

Readers may think I’m a liberal Democrat. Actually, I’m a conservative Republican who voted for Trump in 2016. He didn’t do too badly while in office, but he lost me once he ridiculously contested the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In addition, his praise of Vladimir Putin, before and during the Ukrainian War, has been completely misguided and scurrilous.

I would never consider voting again for Trump in any election, even the dogcatcher of Rural Hill. More generally, I will not vote for any candidate backed by Trump.

Kevin Rodden, Holly Springs

Trump and Putin

Six years ago, prior to the presidential election there was a candidate who stated that he “liked Putin’s style of leadership, but not Russia’s form of government.”

When I heard that statement, I asked myself: Why would someone in a free country chose to compliment a leader whose administration had already demonstrated widespread corruption, suppression of the press and imprisonment of political critics? More recently, this same individual used the terms “genius” and “savvy” when referring to Putin’s attack of the sovereign nation of Ukraine.

Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower stand out as leaders who represented the free world during times of crisis. Why weren’t leaders of their caliber chosen as examples to aspire to, instead of Putin? Putin’s style of leadership is that of a dictator.

America and world democracy are in serious trouble when the words and actions of Putin’s leadership go unchallenged.

I take the invasion of Ukraine more personally, than most Americans. My great-grandfather immigrated to North America from a tiny village about 40 miles east of Kyiv. If I were a politician, I would be using President Zelensky as an example of someone who took a stand against oppression, not a ruthless dictator.

Greg Bruhn, Raleigh

Political yard signs

Here we go again. Candidate voting signs are beginning to litter the roadsides. It would be so nice if there was a law that prohibited these signs from anywhere except personal property. Does anyone actually vote for a person because they saw that name on a sign by the side of a road? I doubt it.

Claire Linker, Sanford