Name as it appears on the ballot: Stormie Denise Forte
Age: 53
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: Stormie4Raleigh.com
Occupation & employer: Attorney/Self Employed
Years lived in Raleigh: 53
- Given the direction of Raleigh government, would you say things are on the right course? If not, what specific changes will you advocate for if elected?
–The City of Raleigh is frequently cited in the Top 5 or 10 places to live and work. Large corporations as well as small businesses are relocating to Raleigh. The MLB has indicated that Raleigh is under consideration for possibly getting a team. It does suggest that the City is being well managed and is a center for growth. We certainly have challenges and areas where we can make improvement such as finding solutions to the escalating issue of homelessness. I would like for the City to pursue another affordable housing bond in 2026. We have been able to work with our non profit partners to add more units of affordable housing using the proceeds from the 2020 bond which has mostly been allocated. Another bond will allow us to continue making progress to add much needed units of housing for those in need.
- If you are a candidate for a district seat, please identify your priorities for your district. If you are an at-large or mayoral candidate, please identify the three most pressing issues the city faces.
-As an At Large Candidate I believe the three most pressing issues are homelessness/need for affordable housing, making improvements to the transit system to increase reliability/efficiency and making sure the City’s infrastructure keeps pace with our growth.
- What in your record as a public official or other experience demonstrates your ability to be effective as a member of the city council and as an advocate for the issues that you believe are important?
–I am licensed as an attorney, as well as certified as a mediator and ombudsman. Recently, I became concerned about the method of dispersing Council Contingency Funds, with very little to no accountability from the recipient organizations. I requested staff develop a system to provide more oversight over the process as well as a component for the organizations to report back to City Council that the funds were used in the manner intended. This is a very recent example of my being an effective member of council. The ability to identify issues and work with other council members and staff to find solutions is key to moving the City of Raleigh forward.
4. In 2021, the Raleigh City Council enacted a missing middle policy to allow for the construction of new, diverse types of housing across the city. More than 2,000 newly-allowed units have been added to the city’s housing stock under the policy, yet there has been pushback from residents, including lawsuits. Do you support Raleigh’s missing middle housing policy as is, or do you think it needs amending? If you feel it needs to be changed, please explain.
–The original intent of implementing missing middle policies was to allow a diversity of housing types in different communities and encourage development of housing along transit corridors. What I envisioned would happen under the policy would be gentle density occurring in areas in a way that would blend into existing communities. There have certainly been some unintended consequences of enacting the policy. Recognizing some of the criticisms of the policy, there is a process starting to possibly have text changes to address tree cover and neighborhood transitions.
5. Raleigh has many funds, programs, and partnerships in place aimed at addressing affordable housing, but still has a deficit of some 23,000 affordable units. What more can the city do to secure affordable housing, and what more can it do to ensure that low-income residents don’t face displacement?
–Creating Affordable Housing opportunities and addressing the escalating homelessness issue is the ongoing priority for the City, as well the surrounding community. To address the shortage of Affordable Housing across Wake County, we would need to add approximately 60,000 units. In 2020, the City of Raleigh passed a $80 million housing bond. We have been able to utilize those funds in partnership with various non profits across the city to add units of much needed low income and transitional housing. We need to consider adding another housing bond to the 2026 election cycle to continue to provide support to organizations that are attempting to add to the Affordable Housing stock in the city.
6. The recent resignation of GoTriangle’s CEO raises questions about the future of the county and regional transit strategy. How do you see the future of transit in Raleigh when it comes to Bus Rapid Transit, microtransit, and commuter and regional rail projects?
–The future of transit in Raleigh will hopefully become more efficient and reliable with the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit improvements. The BRT should provide for faster service, particularly when all four corridors are brought online. The definitely want to explore using more micro-transit options in our current transit system. The City of Raleigh used to have dynamic routing, which should be revisited, especially to provide service for people who work early morning or late night shifts.
7. A common complaint from residents is that the city council doesn’t do enough public engagement, with the plan to relocate Red Hat Amphitheater being one recent example. Do you agree with this assessment? If so, what more should the city government and council do to engage residents with city business?
-The proposed relocation of the Red Hat Amphitheater was tied into the planned expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center and development of a new hotel. In speaking with many downtown business owners the RHA shows produce a substantive amount of their yearly income from the events held there which was the strongest pro for the project. The closure of South Street caused concern among neighboring residents. This issue, along with feedback received regarding the challenges of using motorized vehicles during parades, are examples of difficult issues that require extensive engagement with the community prior to making a decision. Certainly the City has to be responsive to concerns that have been raised including addressing not having robust community engagement on the proposals earlier in the process. In the future with issues that could generate challenges or controversy, using the City’s Community Engagement Office to communicate all information to the residents and obtain feedback from them will be critical.
8. Downtown Raleigh has had a rough five years following the COVID pandemic with the transition to working from home and business owners reporting an increase in crime and other issues. Many see keeping Red Hat Amphitheater downtown as a positive step; what else does the city need to do to help downtown with its recovery and plan for its future?
–The City of Raleigh has made significant investments in the downtown corridor. Working in conjunction with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, there have been increases in security patrols, art installations, as well as financial incentives such as up fit grants provided to downtown small business owners. There are other initiatives being proposed such as providing pop up space to introduce new businesses to downtown and allow them the opportunity to have benefit from the storefront experience. Also there may be a reduction in parking fees in decks owned by the City of Raleigh to encourage more residents to visit downtown businesses. These are some ways to assist with the downtown recovery from the Covid pandemic.
9. Since 2012, the City of Raleigh has paid more than $4 million in settlements to 47 individuals, families, and estates related to RPD officer’s use of excessive force and other unconstitutional interactions. What are your thoughts on the current culture at RPD? For what changes would you advocate to improve the culture of policing in Raleigh, if any?
–Chief Patterson has demonstrated sound leadership of the Raleigh Police Department. As will all professions, there have been unfortunate situations with a few bad actors. To facilitate improvement between residents of the city and RPD, we should explore implementing a community policing model. I believe instituting a community policing model would be useful for improving relationships between RPD and the residents in the area where they serve. Providing opportunities for officers to live in the communities where they work provides a chance for more de-escalation in tense situations based on familiarity between the parties. Also having officers living in more of our Raleigh communities would provide a sense of security for more of our residents.
10. Some municipalities, such as Durham, have seen success with crisis response units that deploy trained workers to respond to non-violent behavioral health and quality of life calls for service. Should Raleigh consider such a crisis response program that’s NOT housed in the police department?
–The Alternative Response Program that the City of Raleigh is implementing has several components. Crisis Call Diversion with licensed clinicians responding to 911 calls is one portion. These positions would be housed with at the 911 call center. Establishing a Community Response Team to work in conjunction with Wake County and other stakeholders to provide social workers and other clinicians to respond to non violent calls for service is a portion of the program undergoing development. Neither of these portions of the program are part of the Raleigh Police Department.
11. The next city council will transition from two-year to four-year terms with staggered elections. What other changes, if any, should the city council make to how voters elect its members? Should any additional changes be put to voters in a referendum or should the council make those decisions?
–The next issue regarding the composition of the City Council is expanding the number of members. The City of Raleigh has grown tremendously over the past 40 years, however the number of seats on the Council have not increased. In order to provide more efficient representation to the residents of the City, expanding the number of members is necessary. The current Council has eight seats. Adding several seats that will allow the composition to be an odd number would be ideal. Also a mixture of District and At Large seats should be considered. I am not aware of opposition to adding more seats, therefore I believe the council could make the decision anticipating more members could be voted in as early as possible.
