My Big Fat Greed Wedding

Forgive me for indulging in more Raleigh City politics but Mary-Ann is at large again. Monday night she danced around the issue of developer contributions:

Baldwin - explained contributions from a broad base of support. Made comparisons of “development” backed funding to other candidates.

Tonight at a City Council candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and WakeUP Wake County her two-step was more rehearsed. She said that she had accepted donations from "members of the development community" but that they needed to be looked at "proportionately" with respect to other contributions.

So she's getting mucho dinero from the real estate community. But don't worry. She's getting so much more money from other people that realtors and developers will have to wait in line behind the other money. That's reassuring. Once that water hits the Ouzo it turns cloudy. It doesn't matter which faucet or bottle it comes from. And yes, that is money pinned to those jackets.

She is running on a platform that includes communications (hasn't she heard about open meeting laws), community values (whatever that is, insert your value here) and balanced growth. Balanced growth? That's the mantra of the Triangle Community Coalition (formerly known as the Wake County Real Estate and Building Coalition) who gave her a thumbs up in the Triangle Community Coalition Political Pig Pickin’ 2007 Straw Poll. Baldwin claimed tonight she had no endorsements from the development community but it sure looks like she's gotten the nod from them. You may recall the Director of the TCC gets a $5,000 monthly retainer from the NC Association of Realtors through his company Public Solutions, as does Baldwin's political choreographer, Campaign Connections.

Top Shelf Spending

$892,987.07 - is the latest total for spending by the NC Association of Realtors in the quixotic attempt to defeat local revenue options for local governments. In a lobbying report received today, at the Secretary of State's Office, the NC Realtors reported spending $74,213.26 in the month of August. In addition to the usual retainers to Campaign Connections and Public Solutions about 25% of the spending was for newspaper ads, another 25% for radio/TV spots while a combined $10,095 was spent on polling and phone-calls.

The NC Realtors are so concerned about the North Carolina economy they decided to go to South Carolina for their annual convention in Myrtle Beach. They'll be there for the next few days so don't worry if they're not picking up the phone fast enough. They have to down the margaritas first.

Angie: The Other White Lie

NC Realtors' spokesperson "Angie" is not quite the red pickup driving happy homemaker she seems. She has been seen driving her Mercedes Benz around Raleigh and now we can tell you who she really is. In many ways the story of the real "Angie" is more compelling than the "average homeowner" fabricated by the NC Realtors. Her real name is indeed "Angie". For 17 years Angela Crone promoted pork for the North Carolina Pork Council until last fall, when she left to work in a physician's office.

When Angie began this campaign she was a homeowner but far from an average homeowner. Her name was on the deed of a west Raleigh home with a market value of about $500,000, about twice the median sales price of NC homes. On this particular street homes are listed on the MLS for about twice the current tax value, often as "tear-downs" and new infill homes sell in the order of $1,000,000. By the time the legislative session had ended (with a transfer tax option in the State Budget) Angie was no longer a homeowner and hardly happy. She had a modest rental apartment near Raleigh's Five Points having signed over her share of the deed to the husband from whom she separated.

Since Angie's personal story falls into the "been there, done that" department I don't take issue with it and, wish her well. I do take issue with the NC Association of Realtors' depiction of her and the representation of a persona that does not exist in the real world with fake documentary interviews and maudlin tales.

17 NC Counties Consider Transfer Tax

According to Gerry Cohen at Drafting Musings 17 North Carolina counties are planning referendums that include a Transfer Tax. 12 counties are holding a referendum on the Transfer Tax option only. 5 counties are holding a referendum that includes both the Transfer Tax and the Sales Tax options. In addition, 11 counties will be holding a Sales Tax referendum and Mecklenburg County will have a Transit Sales Tax referendum.

Transfer Tax Referendums:
BRUNSWICK | CHATHAM | GATES | HENDERSON | HOKE | MACON
MOORE | PENDER | POLK | SWAIN | UNION | WASHINGTON

Transfer & Sales Tax Referendums:
DAVIE | GRAHAM | HARNETT | JOHNSTON | RUTHERFORD

Sales Tax Referendums
CATAWBA | COLUMBUS | CUMBERLAND | GREENE | HERTFORD
LENOIR | MARTIN | PITT | ROBESON | SAMPSON | SURRY

Mary-Ann Builder

Mary-Ann Baldwin, a marketing professional auditioning for Raleigh City Council on a platform of improved communication and You (so 2006). She's going to have to do some fancy dancing to explain the how she is using the NC Realtors' favorite choreographer, Campaign Connections and has been raking in mucho dinero working the tables of Big Real Estate

Support Transfer Tax

It's not rocket science

Time to see this one again.
Support Transfer Tax