The Raleigh mayoral runoff election concluded Tuesday evening with the re-election of Nancy McFarlane into her fourth term, winning more than 50 percent of the vote from the 108 precincts.
Mayor McFarlane won the runoff election that was announced on Oct. 15 against candidate Charles Francis with 57.79 percent of the vote, totaling 31,469 votes.
“It’s very exciting and it’s very humbling, but it’s not just me,” McFarlane said. “It really is the things that we are doing with the city. They believe in me enough to carry those programs forward and keep this city on the path it’s on.”
McFarlane said she and her team worked to contact voters and get supporters to the polls.
“I think we had a great campaign,” McFarlane said. “I’m very proud. It was very positive, we did so much phone calling and knocking on doors and really talking to people and getting people to come out. We knew the support was there, it’s always the challenge getting them to the polls.”
James Sonneman, McFarlane’s campaign manager, said the campaign team worked closely with supporters and volunteers to get the work done that they needed to.
“Nancy was really involved,” Sonneman said. “She came into the office almost every day and took time to talk to our supporters who were volunteering. She got to know our staff and that says a lot about the kind of person she is.”
McFarlane received over two dozen endorsements from current and former elected officials and candidates, media outlets and organizations in Raleigh. John Burns, a Wake County Commissioner for District 7 and an attorney, said he was happy to endorse McFarlane.
“Results, competence, ability,” Burns said. “The way she has guided this city through a remarkable period of growth. She’s not an out front, bombastic speaker. She’s a confident, quiet leader and i think she’s done a remarkable job and deserves a chance to finish the work she that she’s doing.”
Burns plans to continue to work with McFarlane on projects for Wake County which include the Wake County Water Partnership, which is looking at issues of water quality and quantity for the next 20-30 years in the county.
“She has been a real prime mover in that group,” Burns said. “We’re going to work really hard with Raleigh to move that ball forward and start looking at issues related to water conservation.”
Perry Woods, the general consultant for the McFarlane campaign, and William Allen, a management consultant, both spoke of McFarlane’s leadership style and achievements during her time as mayor.
“She’s not a typical politician,” Woods said. “Her leadership style is to listen, take a business approach in making decisions, work to bring people together to find solutions, not to beat a drum and work to score political points.”
Allen said that McFarlane, along with the city council, has helped with issues like affordable housing and the Wake Transit Plan, both of which are of major importance to Allen. Allen said McFarlane’s leadership style has been effective in getting things accomplished.
“She’s low key, in that quiet style of leadership,” Allen said. “I think it’s been emblematic of what most people want in Raleigh. She’s been good at building consensus, she listens to all sides. She is not someone who’s demanding and I respect that.”
McFarlane said that moving forward, she aims to get people engaged in the city, support citizens’ interests and continue her connection with NC State.
“NC State is so incredibly important to the city of Raleigh,” McFarlane said. “NC State is a huge economic driver for us. We are so fortunate to have NC State right here in Raleigh and the more we do together the better it is for both of us. I think we’re going to do even greater things together.”
Mayor Nancy McFarlane thanks a campaign staffer during her victory speech at The Stockroom in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday. McFarlane won her reelection bid with 57.8% of the vote.
