Mary-Ann Baldwin is an American marketing executive and politician from the state of North Carolina. She is the mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, serving since 2019.

Early life and education

Baldwin grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

. She is married to Jim Baldwin and she has two children, a daughter and son-in-law.

Career

Baldwin communications

Prior to political service, she worked in the marketing field, including working as marketing director for several firms and managing her own consulting firm, Baldwin Communications.

City council service

She served on the

Raleigh City Council Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina. Raleigh is governed by council-manager government. It is composed of eight members, including the Mayor of Raleigh. Five of the members ar ...

for ten years, from 2007 through 2017 during the mayoral terms of

Charles Meeker Charles Carpenter Meeker (born July 27, 1950) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 34th Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina. He was first elected in 2001 over Republican Paul Coble, and reelected for a f ...

and Nancy McFarlane. While on the city council, she served as chair of the Law & Public Safety Committee and the Transportation Committee, and served on several other committees, as well as acting as the city's representative to

GoTriangle The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

, a regional transportation authority. When Meeker decided to step down prior to the 2011 election, he approached both Baldwin and McFarlane to run for mayor in his stead, Baldwin however declined the offer to run, as she was dealing with personal issues she felt would interfere with her ability to effectively campaign and serve in the role as mayor.

Mayoral service

On March 27, 2019, Baldwin announced that she would be running for mayor of Raleigh in the 2019 election to succeed McFarlane, who was stepping down as mayor in the midst of health troubles. Baldwin came in first place, winning 38% of the vote. A runoff was not requested by Charles Francis, the runner-up, and so Baldwin became mayor of Raleigh. She assumed office December 2, 2019. Baldwin ran for reelection in 2022, defeating DaQuanta Copeland and Terrance Ruth.

Response to COVID-19

Baldwin was mayor while the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Raleigh. On June 17, 2020, she made a proclamation that mandated masks. Baldwin made a second mask mandate on August 13, 2021, due to the rise in the

Delta variant The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...

that she later terminated on February 18, 2022. Mayor Baldwin tested positive for COVID-19 on April 18, 2022.

Response to George Floyd Protests

Baldwin was mayor during the George Floyd protests in Raleigh. In the midst of rioting she declared a citywide curfew. Her response was criticized in the following weeks.

Tax Increment Grant (TIG) and Property Tax Increase

On May 4, 2021, Raleigh City Council approved a tax increment grant (TIG) policy which Mayor Baldwin voted in favor of. Mayor Baldwin received campaign contributions from developer John Kane, who may benefit from the TIG. The TIG policy allows the city of Raleigh to provide up to $5 million per year (2% of the annual budget) in tax rebates to private developers, effectively shielding them from increases in property taxes due to rising property values. A month later on June 1, 2021, Raleigh City Council passed an annual budget that included an increase in property taxes generating an increased $7 million per year which was supported by Mayor Baldwin.

Gun violence

Baldwin responded after the

2022 Raleigh shooting On October 13, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Five people were killed, and two others were injured. The accused, a male juvenile named Austin Thompson, was detained after b ...

which killed five people including one police officer.

References

External links

Bio page
City of Raleigh website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Maryann 1950s births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh City Council members University of Rhode Island alumni Women city councillors in North Carolina Women mayors of places in North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people) North Carolina Democrats