Mayor Nancy McFarlane (Independent) met with voters at Players’ Retreat Wednesday night as part of her campaign before the October municipal elections. McFarlane spoke to attendees about her vision for the future and past experiences.

Affordability, the transit system and supporting local art are on the top of McFarlane’s list of concerns that she plans on continuing to address if she is re-elected for a fourth term as mayor. 

“Our biggest issues are really all center-ground growth,” McFarlane said. “Growth is good, you want to have a city that’s thriving and growing, and businesses are coming and people want to live there, but the growth also represents a lot of challenges.”

Early in her career, McFarlane says she did not see herself as a politician, but that changed as soon as she realized the role policy makers play in shaping people’s lives. 

“It’s a very all-encompassing job,” McFarlane said. “I never really set out to be a politician. I got into politics because my children went to public schools in Wake County, and I started realizing how the decisions of local government officials affected their education in county, in school boards — I started working on campaigns … and just started realizing how much of my life is affected by the policymakers.”

Other than working on campaigns and participating in PTA meetings, McFarlane started her own business in 2002 in the pharmacy business. She was also president of the Greystone Homeowners Association where she focused on addressing environmental issues and concerns with city officials.

As for NC State place in McFarlane’s vision for the future, she says that she is committed to building the city for college students.

“NC State is a key factor for us,” McFarlane said. “I want to create a place that is so talented for all the kids that come out of NC State, and their skills are really what so many employers are looking for. So, my job is to help make the place they want to stay.”

The event allowed the mayor’s supporters to gather and share what mattered to them about this specific campaign. Wake County Commissioner John Burns is one of the attendees who addressed the crowd. He encouraged attendees to vote for McFarlane. 

“She is a tremendous supporter of progressives in this town whether you have a party label or not,” Burns said. “If you want to do the right thing for this city and this county, Mayor McFarlane and Ron McFarlane will be behind you and they have done nothing but support the folks who want to make this a better community.” 

Burns ended on an enthusiastic note, as he emphasized his support for McFarlane before giving the floor to State Representative Duane Hall (Dem).

“This is the greatest city in the whole world, and we’ve got the best mayor we could possibly have,” Burns said. “I don’t see a reason why we should have a different person in that office than the one we’ve got right now. She has my full support; she will continue to have my full support whether we get her elected or not.”

Hall stressed on the importance of McFarlane’s nonpartisan politics in bringing together politicians in the area to work together, and mentioned McFarlane’s past accomplishments and the reasons behind his support of her campaign.