Cameron for council
action-oriented
energetic leader
bike advocate
Three visions for Raleigh
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No matter how much you pay in rent, it’s less affordable to live in Raleigh when you have no choice but to own a car.
In 2024, car ownership cost individual drivers on average $12,296 per year. (Source)
I believe all Raleigh residents should enjoy a walkable experience in an affordable neighborhood.
To produce walkable, affordable neighborhoods, I will take a two-part approach:
I will introduce a UDO text change reducing the minimum lot size per unit in all R- zoned parcels. This will allow more units to fit into these neighborhoods, resulting in sustainable density that maintains the character of our wonderful neighborhoods.
I will approve rezoning cases converting individual residential parcels to neighborhood-scale commercial use (or mixed-use) to allow walkable grocery stores in neighborhoods.
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Raleigh suffers over 20,000 car crashes every year — that’s over fifty per day. Dozens of these crashes end in fatalities. And to think that’s the only transportation choice most people have: Raleigh drivers drive more each year (source) than drivers in any other American city.
It’s the City’s responsibility to make sure everyone has multiple safe, convenient, reliable transportation options.
On Council, I will motion to make Vision Zero a standalone department, rather than a subset of the Transportation department like it is now.
The transportation department focuses on moving people and things. Vision Zero focuses on preventing traffic violence. In order to reduce this conflict of interest, I will push to create a standalone Vision Zero department.
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I worked in the City of Raleigh Transit Department with amazing, dedicated, hardworking folks. I’ve seen and been a part of the daily grind of City Staff. Recently, there have been real improvements in frequency and new routes.
Still, the transit system does not serve the needs of most Raleigh residents. There are few cross-town routes, indirect and meandering routes, and inconvenient connections at GoRaleigh station.
I will work to create a bus system that makes sense for everyone, whether you wear a white-collar or blue.
FAQs
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City Council is the part of the Raleigh City Government that decides how taxpayer money is spent.
There are seven councilmembers and one mayor.
Five of the councilmembers represent geographic areas, or Districts, of Raleigh.
Two councilmembers are “At-Large” meaning they represent the whole city.
I am running for an At-Large seat.
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I am Unreasonably Optimistic about the future of Raleigh.
I moved here half a decade ago, found amazing community, and built a business in Raleigh. I am invested in this city and want to help it flourish.
During my time working for the City of Raleigh as a Senior Transit Planner, I observed how Council leadership can push the needle on important projects that can make the city better.
I want to be a part of that effort.
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I have a bias for action and I love finding creative solutions to hard problems.
I am a natural leader; I have built my own business and started several other movements in town and around the country.
I understand business, partly because I run my own and partly because I studied it in my Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) program. Municipal governments are legally classified as corporations, so that understanding of business will guide my decision making.
I have worked on City Staff and continue to partner with the City on all levels as I advocate for new policies to improve the way we do things in Raleigh.
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I am twenty-eight years old (twenty-nine by election day!) and have lived in Raleigh for a relatively short amount of time.
I have an outsider advantage: I am the youngest candidate and the newest to Raleigh.
I ride my bike absolutely everywhere, so when I say I am going to improve the bike/ped network in Raleigh, I mean it.
I am a Navy veteran, a mechanical engineer by education, and a coffee + bike shop owner. I have lived in over twenty different places and traveled the world.
Of all the places I’ve been, I believe Raleigh has the most potential. I want to be a part of its success.
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¡Si! Aunque no lo parezco, soy mitad Puertorriqueño, por parte de mi padre. De muy pequeño vivi en el Peru, y mas tarde en España por dos años durante mis años de escuela primaria.
Hoy día, espero poder servir como representante de la población Latinoamericana de Raleigh. De ser electo, seria una de las pocas voces latinas en el City Council.
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Bikes in Raleigh
I lead a morning ride every Tuesday at 7am. It’s a casual ride designed to get more people on to bikes in an accessible way. I started a similar ride in Colorado Springs in 2022.
I often ride + support rides at Crank Arm Brewing, Oak City Cycling, and Raleigh Critical Mass.
I try to leverage my business to be a tool for good; bringing as many people as I can into the cycling community.
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The Bike Library
I started The Bike Library as a basic rental service because I saw an opportunity to bring something new to Raleigh.
Over the next eighteen months, it grew into a full-service bicycle repair shop and daytime cafe.
Now, it’s a third place for the people of Raleigh. Sit, sip a coffee, read a book, meet someone new, get your bike fixed.
Innovation isn’t always a technological breakthrough. Sometimes it’s just how we reinvent what’s already there.
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Empowering people to live in a more sustainable way
A lot of what I do is based in a sustainability-first mindset.
I helped organize a free six-week course called Bike Academy, modeled after the City’s Planning Academy, where we taught a diverse cohort how to use the GoRaleigh bus system, safety and wayfinding, and maintenance skills.
I ride my bike literally everywhere. Sometimes I question if I’m nuts because of it!
My stance on Other issues
(It all ties back to transportation.)
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Traffic violence is a significant safety issue in Raleigh: car crashes account for hundreds of injuries and deaths every year in Raleigh.
Working with the Transportation department to implement traffic calming measures is one part. Enforcing driving infractions is another. Providing convenient alternative modes of transportation (walk, bike, bus) is equally important.
It’s all connected.
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Raleigh’s geography combined with a high level of impervious surface (largely due to late-twentieth-century auto-centric development) has led us to a stormwater crisis.
Part of the issue is building more and better stormwater infrastructure. Part of it is reducing impervious surface area. Part of it is maintaining and protecting our natural streams and rivers and allowing Mother Nature to do what She does best.
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I believe that housing affordability is positively affected when we increase the supply of housing in a given area.
Build more units and build more styles of housing and it will drive down the market price.
I am an advocate for density, but I do not believe Raleigh will sacrifice its history for high-rise apartment complexes.
Density is also townhomes, rowhomes, and cottage courts.
“Capital A” Affordable housing, also known as subsidized housing, is also important. As part of City Council, I will support policies that advance opportunities for subsidized housing.
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My wife and I are renters, along with many of our friends and colleagues.
With homeownership a distant dream for many Raleighites, I want to ensure our renter population is cared for.
One of my goals on City Council is to establish a Renter’s Commission. Like Planning Commission or Bike/Ped Advisory Commission, but for renters. Let’s make it happen!
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By now, you might have guessed that I also have strong views on Transit.
I believe that Raleigh can become a 15-minute city. What does that mean?
Most daily tasks are a 15 minute walk or bike from home.
Sound crazy? Good. Innovation often seems crazy at first.
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In order to unleash the passion and creativity of the people of Raleigh, we must provide defined pathways to empower them to do so.
I’ve spent many months advocating for community-led placemaking initiatives (i.e. sanctioned tactical urbanism) and will continue to push these initiatives on Council.
