Editing Raleigh City Council

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'''Note:''' This article focuses on the Raleigh City Council as a municipal governing body. For general information about the city, see [[City of Raleigh]].
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'''Raleigh City Council''' is the legislative governing body of the [[City of Raleigh]], North Carolina. The council operates under a [[council–manager government]] system and is responsible for adopting ordinances and resolutions, approving the city budget, and establishing municipal policy.

== Overview ==

The council consists of the mayor and council members elected from five geographic districts and two at-large seats. The mayor serves as the presiding officer. Council members represent the city as a whole while also addressing issues affecting their respective districts.

=== Current membership ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image
! Office
! Member
! District
! First Elected
! Next Scheduled Election
|-
| [[File:Mayor-janet-cowell.jpg|75px]]
| Mayor
| [[Janet Cowell]]
| At-Large
| 2024
| 2026 (4-year)
|-
| [[File:stormie-forte-councilmember-2024.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Stormie D. Forte]]
| At-Large (Mayor Pro Tem)
| 2024
| 2026 (2-year)
|-
| [[File:jonathan-lambert-melton.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Jonathan Lambert-Melton]]
| At-Large
| 2024
| 2026 (4-year)
|-
| [[File:mitchell-silver_0.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Mitchell Silver]]
| [[District A]]
| 2024
| 2026 (4-year)
|-
| [[File:megan-patton-24.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Megan Patton]]
| [[District B]]
| 2024
| 2026 (4-year)
|-
| [[File:corey-branch 2024.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Corey Branch]]
| [[District C]]
| 2015
| 2026 (2-year)
|-
| [[File:jane-harrison-council-2024.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Jane Harrison]]
| [[District D]]
| 2024
| 2026 (2-year)
|-
| [[File:christina-jones-council-2024.jpg|75px]]
| Council Member
| [[Christina Jones]]
| [[District E]]
| 2024
| 2026 (2-year)
|}



== Meetings ==

Raleigh City Council meets regularly throughout the year at the [[Raleigh Municipal Building]], 222 West Hargett Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Regular meeting types include:

* '''Afternoon session''': First and third Tuesday of each month at 1:00 p.m.
* '''Evening session''': First Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
* '''Work session''': Second Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. and third Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
* '''Budget work sessions''': Scheduled as needed during the annual budget process.

Agendas, meeting materials, and live video streams are published by the City of Raleigh.<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/government/events/raleigh-city-council-meeting-series</ref>

Live and archived council meetings are also available online.<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/engage-city/services/watch-city-council-and-select-meetings-live</ref>

== Powers and responsibilities ==

As the city’s primary legislative body, Raleigh City Council:

* Adopts ordinances and resolutions governing local affairs  
* Approves the annual city budget  
* Establishes strategic priorities and policies  
* Appoints members to boards, commissions, and committees  
* Appoints the city manager, who oversees daily municipal operations  

== Committees ==

The council conducts additional work through standing committees, which focus on specific policy areas. Committee meetings are generally held on the fourth week of each month.

Committees include:

* '''Economic Development and Innovation Committee'''<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/government/services/city-council-committees</ref>
* '''Housing and Environment Committee'''
* '''Community Safety and Quality of Life Committee'''
* '''Transportation and Transit Committee'''

Committee schedules and agendas are published by the city.<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/government/services/city-council-committees</ref>

== Elections and recent changes ==

Members of Raleigh City Council are elected in nonpartisan municipal elections.

In 2024, the council adopted changes to municipal election scheduling and term lengths, extending terms for the mayor and council members to four years and establishing staggered elections.<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/government/services/city-council-terms-and-compensation</ref>

=== Term lengths ===

Under the revised system:

* The mayor and all council members serve four-year terms.
* Terms are staggered so that approximately half of the council seats are contested every two years.

=== 2026 Raleigh City Council election ===

The 2026 municipal election cycle marked the first implementation of the revised election system.

Key features of the 2026 cycle included:

* All mayoral and council seats appearing on the ballot.
* A nonpartisan primary election held on March 3, 2026.
* The top two candidates for each seat advancing to the November general election.

Details about the election process are published by the City of Raleigh.<ref>https://raleighnc.gov/government/services/vote-local-our-community-our-city-your-vote</ref>

== See also ==

* [[City of Raleigh]]
* [[Government of Raleigh, North Carolina]]
* [[Raleigh City Council election, 2026]]
* [[Downtown Raleigh]]
* [[Wake County]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Raleigh City Council]]
[[Category:Government of Raleigh, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Raleigh, North Carolina]]