My name is Christina Jones and I am the Community Engagement representative. I'm a mother, a wife, a substitute teacher, and a community advocate. Over the last seven years I have gained first hand knowledge of the inner workings of our city. I value Leadership, Transparency, and Communication. This is Raleigh, the Capital City, and we need to blaze a trail for others to follow. How do we get there? Communication. A seat at the table. Actual Engagement. Through social media, ongoing outreach, and regular Town Halls, I have been a true representative of our community's voice.
Citizens Advisory Councils are what brought me into public office. After being dismantled in 2020 without having input into what could have made us stronger, I committed to ensuring that CACs were not forgotten. After showing up at public comments and winning a seat on council, I was able to lead the conversation to bring CACs back. On February 6, 2024, I lead the way by working with current CAC chairs and brought forth a motion to begin the process to strengthen what we lost 4 years ago.
Over the last two years, I have had the privilege of getting to tour all of our city departments tolearn about what they do. An alarming statistic I became aware of is how understaffed many of our departments have been. At some points over the last two years, we were at a 15.4% vacancy rate, which translates to over 600 full time jobs. Raleigh has to do a better job at keeping pace so that we don't continue to lose employees to other cities.
Affordable Housing is a critical need in our community as we continue to grow. As we watch developers build necessary housing to accommodate our city's rapid growth, it is important that Leadership ensure all residents, especially those making 30%, 50%, and 80% Annual Median Income (AMI) are included in that growth. One of my core values is ensuring that we do our part, as a district, to add affordable units and ensure that we are welcoming to all.
In addition all City of Raleigh employees, it is important that Leadership values Transportation Staff. Through our partnership with GoRaleigh, GoTriangle, and GoDurham, I believe that we need to pay our workers a Livable Wage and invest in the work they are doing to keep our residents connected to services throughout the city. It is vital, in District E, that we continue to innovate and push towards more frequent bus service that connects all corners of the district.
Raleigh is one of 26 cities throughout the world with the designation "Biophilic City." Biophilic design is a way of connecting people and nature within our built environments and communities. I am proud of the work we have done around our Green Growth Toolbox, as well as starting a Tree Committee with our Sustainability, Wildlife, and Urban Tree Committee of the Parks Board.
Raleigh has a bright future! We can choose to work together to make it better, or continue down a path to inequality. Addressing issues such as gentrification of neighborhoods, better pay for police, fire, and city staff, and open dialogue between residents and their representatives, we can build a more equitable and inclusive city.
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