North Carolina’s mayor announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election this fall, citing health issues in part and a new job.
Mary Ann Baldwin has been a member of the Raleigh City Council since 2007 and has been serving as mayor since December 2019. Raleigh is the second largest city in North Carolina, with a population of over 475,000.
“It’s time to find another way to dedicate my energy and serve myself and my family,” Baldwin said in a video announcing his decision.
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According to news outlets, Baldwin was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and described her husband’s open heart surgery and her dog’s illness. She said she is cancer-free, her husband is doing well and her dog is recovering.
“These events made my life even more stressful and made me question how much I could endure,” Baldwin said. “My head and heart were in conflict.”
The downtown Raleigh skyline photographed on January 2, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mary Ann Baldwin, who has served as Mayor of Raleigh since 2019, announced on April 16, 2024, that she will not seek re-election. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Baldwin also began a new role this month as the founding executive director of the foundation, which aims to provide grants to people who can’t meet their monthly expenses.
Baldwin arrived in Raleigh in the late 1980s. She served as a city council member until 2017, after which she was elected mayor in 2019 and re-elected in 2022.
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Multiple mayoral candidates had been announced as of Tuesday, including current City Council member Corey Branch and former City Council member and former state treasurer Janet Cowell. Candidate submissions will begin in July.
In the video, Baldwin highlighted his efforts as mayor of a rapidly growing city to encourage affordable housing and develop a downtown warehouse district. She also mentioned upcoming renovations to PNC Arena, home of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and North Carolina State University men’s basketball, and new development around it that will further drive private development in West Raleigh.
Baldwin also led the city in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. He also faced criticism for local police’s handling of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that year. Some demonstrations resulted in vandalism and damage to downtown businesses.
