Current:Home > MyMayor of North Carolina’s capital city won’t seek reelection this fall-LoTradeCoin
Mayor of North Carolina’s capital city won’t seek reelection this fall
View Date:2024-12-23 23:50:42
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The mayor of North Carolina’s capital city announced on Tuesday that she wouldn’t seek reelection this fall, citing in part health challenges and mentioning a new job.
Mary-Ann Baldwin, whose time on Raleigh’s city council goes back to 2007, has been mayor since December 2019. Raleigh is North Carolina’s second largest city by population with over 475,000 people.
“It’s time to devote my energies to myself and my family, and to find other ways to serve,” Baldwin said in a video revealing her decision.
Baldwin described a breast cancer diagnosis last year and her husband’s open-heart surgery, along with their dog’s illness, news outlets reported. She said she is cancer-free, her husband is doing well and their dog is recovering.
“These events made life even more stressful, leaving me to wonder how much more I could take,” Baldwin said. “My head and my heart were in conflict.”
Baldwin also started a new role this month as the first executive director of a foundation designed to provide grants to people who can’t cover their monthly expenses.
Baldwin arrived in Raleigh in the late 1980s. She served on the city council until 2017, after which she was elected mayor in 2019. She was reelected in 2022.
Several announced mayoral candidates had emerged before Tuesday, including current council member Corey Branch and Janet Cowell, a former council member and the one-time state treasurer. Candidate filing begins in July.
In the video, Baldwin highlighted her efforts as mayor of the rapidly growing city to encourage affordable housing and to develop downtown’s Warehouse District. She also mentioned the upcoming renovation of PNC Arena — home to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and North Carolina State University men’s basketball — and the emerging development around it that will inject more private development in west Raleigh.
Baldwin was also at the helm of the city in 2020 at the start of COVID-19 pandemic. And there was criticism over local law enforcement’s handling of the protests that year in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some of the demonstrations resulted in vandalism and damage to downtown businesses.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- When does 'Dune: Prophecy' come out? Release date, cast, where to watch prequel series
- Alabama's Nate Oats pokes fun at Charles Barkley's bracket being busted after Auburn loss
- Sunday NIT schedule: No. 1 seeds Indiana State, Wake Forest headline 5-game slate
- Pharmacist and her license were targeted by scammers. How to avoid becoming a victim.
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- What's in tattoo ink? Expert says potentially concerning additives weren't listed on the packaging
- Princess Kate, King Charles have cancer: A timeline of the royal family's biggest moments
- Former Rep. George Santos says he's leaving the Republican Party, will run as an independent
- Louisiana asks court to block part of ruling against Ten Commandments in classrooms
- Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden announce birth of ‘awesome’ baby boy, Cardinal, in Instagram post
Ranking
- Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together
- Museum, historical group launch search for wreckage of ace pilot Richard Bong’s crashed plane
- U.K. man gets 37 years for fatally poisoning couple with fentanyl, rewriting their will
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Primetime
- Tom Brady Admits He Screwed Up as a Dad to Kids With Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen
- Women’s March Madness live updates: Today’s games and schedule, how to watch and stream
- Body of missing hiker Caroline Meister found at waterfall base in California: Police
- Burn Bright With $5 Candle Deals from the Amazon Big Sale: Yankee Candle, Nest Candle, Homesick, and More
Recommendation
-
Wildfires burn on both coasts. Is climate change to blame?
-
18-year-old charged with vehicular homicide in crash that killed a woman and 3 children in a van
-
Swiping on dating apps has turned into a career for some. Here's how they turned love into a job.
-
Biden lauds them. Trump wants to restrict them. How driving an electric car got political
-
Women suing over Idaho’s abortion ban describe dangerous pregnancies, becoming ‘medical refugees’
-
Body of woman with gunshot wounds found on highway in Grand Rapids
-
Former GOP Virginia lawmaker, Matt Fariss arrested again; faces felony gun and drug charges
-
This Size-Inclusive Jumpsuit is on Sale for Just $25 During Amazon's Big Spring Sale