By Elizabeth Condall
Mary Ann-Baldwin, elected in 2019, started her career as mayor during an extremely tumultuous time.
Within months of becoming mayor in 2020, the world shut down due to the COVID–19 pandemic, and the country was divided by riots and protests against systemic racism following the death of George Floyd.
Baldwin was faced with mask mandates, schools shutting down, and damage to the city due to protests. And those were just the beginning of many challenges she had to face.
“Prior to COVID I think being mayor was different,” said Baldwin. “COVID unleashed a lot of anger.”
Mary-Ann Baldwin never has one day just the same as she tackles on transportation, homelessness and urban development. She does it all as a part-time mayor with another full-time job and a seat on the William Peace University Board of Trustees.
Baldwin was up for re-election in November, but April 15 she announced she’s not running for re-election due to her breast cancer diagnosis and caring for her husband who had open-heart surgery.
“I am going to wait until filing in July to make a decision on whether to endorse a candidate,” said Baldwin.
Career path and experiences
Baldwin served on city council from 2007 until 2017, and decided to run for mayor when the previous mayor, Nancy McFarlane, chose not to run for re-election.
As she looked at the other candidates who were running, she realized that no one else had the experience.
“I was like well, I have the experience I need to do this, timing is everything in this world,” said Baldwin.
Born in Rhode Island, she attended the Community College of Rhode Island and earned her bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island.
She fell in love with journalism because of a teacher named Izzy Superstein. He read her work one day in class and to her surprise it was hers.
“I think he said something like ‘Now that’s telling a story’ and I went ‘Oh my God, he said that about me’,” said Baldwin, who started her career in journalism over 30 years ago.
She took some photography classes and with both skills worked as a journalist at a small newspaper in Rhode Island. Eventually, she moved to New York and worked at Gannett newspaper.
She covered education for a year and then covered crime in the Bronx. This was during the crack epidemic.
“It was crazy, but at the same time, it taught me so much and one of the takeaways despite everything was that they were just good people,” said Baldwin.
After moving to Raleigh, Baldwin jumped around to different fields, including public relations and marketing. One of her first jobs was working for the Carolina Hurricanes at the time they won their first Stanley Cup.
“It was such an exciting time you could feel it in the air,” said Baldwin.
She was CEO of the Holt Brothers construction firm, founded her own communications company, and worked for nonprofits.
WPU and the ‘Forgotten Four’
Baldwin joined the WPU Board of Trustees in 2018. She loves the talent and diversity that brings everyone together at Peace and refers to the university as one of the “Forgotten Four,” along with Meredith College, Shaw University, and Saint Augustine’s University.
“I’ve met some extraordinary students at Peace and we need to tell better stories,” said Baldwin. We need to see and hear about the people there.”
As a trustee, she advocated for opening up the WPU campus, including allowing people to walk their dogs on campus.
But Baldwin wants and sees more for WPU than just a walker-friendly campus. When she came on the board, she was recruited to help WPU become a part of the local neighborhood.
Dr. Brian Ralph, president of WPU, said Baldwin has enjoyed interacting with students and offered good ideas.
“She’s very creative and asks a lot of good questions that help us move forward and think about the work that we’re doing,” said Ralph.
Goals for Raleigh
Baldwin sees Raleigh becoming a city where everyone wants to live and move to,
During the early stages of the pandemic, for example, an average of 17 newcomers a day moved to Raleigh, according to Wake County statistics. Raleigh’s downtown population is expected to double in five years by 2028.
But Baldwin doesn’t just want the city to be known and ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. She wants Raleigh to be known for its housing affordability.
“I just want to see us really build for everybody and not just wealthy people,” said Baldwin.
Around Raleigh there are large communities of single-family homes being constructed and she wants to see some diversity in the options for homes here. This is a challenge because there is a lack of affordable housing. The cost to buy a single-family home has risen, and includes renting.
“I want us to be a leader in housing, affordability and choice, ” said Baldwin. So not just building 4,000 square foot homes. But let’s look at options for people, tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, like townhomes, just different types of housing.”
Her second goal that she sees for Raleigh is a better public transportation system that connects the city. Baldwin has worked on transportation issues since 2009 and has always been passionate about regional transit.
She wants Raleigh to be known for walking and not needing a car.
“My vision is that we have a connected city,” said Baldwin. I want to make it easier for people so they don’t have to own a car that they can get to work,”.
There have been plans for a new and improved rail system here in Raleigh. Baldwin seems sure that this will happen. She sees a regional rail hourly service.
As more people continue to move to Raleigh, traffic will continue to become dense. Baldwin sees a need for efficient transportation more than ever before.
As mayor, Baldwin serves as the Chair of the Safe, Healthy, & Vibrant Neighborhood Committee and Vice-Chair of the Economic Development & Innovation Committee. She is also the city’s representative on the GoTriangle Board of Trustees and the liaison to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.
Dr. Brian Ralph, president of WPU, has worked with Baldwin for a number of years. As Raleigh continues to grow, it will affect the university.
“The growth of Raleigh will be very helpful for our students, they’ll be more internships and career opportunities as the city grows and then of course cultural entertainment experiences are going to continue to get better as the city gets larger,” said Ralph.
Students at WPU face the same challenges with housing affordability, especially upper division students looking to move off campus.
“I think it’s gonna be hard to find apartments that are cost effective, so I am a little worried about that. That’s one of the growing pains of a bigger city,” said Ralph.
Another big challenge facing Raleigh is an increase of the homelessness population, especially since the pandemic. Other cities and towns will send their residents to get services in Raleigh, which is straining the system.
“The biggest challenge we face is addressing this issue in a proactive way,” said Baldwin.
When Baldwin first became mayor she created the Compassion Fund, which was to be used for all costs related to moving and renting a place here in Raleigh. It was to try to get people out of hotels and into stable housing.
Then COVID-19 hit and the money was then used to keep the homeless population in hotels.
Oak City Cares is the service center in Raleigh which has become a model for non-profit organizations in the area. They are a hub for individuals and families who are at risk or are experiencing homelessness to be connected with services.
“There are times when I go there and when I leave I have tears rolling down my face, ” said Baldwin. “It makes you so happy, it’s not sad tears, but oh thank God.”
Last but not least, Baldwin wants Raleigh to be known for its sustainability. She wants to continue on the mission of addressing climate change, green space and healthy living in parks.
A $275 million park bond passed during the 2022 general election with 73% of people voting “yes.” This was one of the largest parks and greenway bonds to date.
The bond will be used to support over 20 parks and facilities around Raleigh, including John Chavis Historic park, Dix Park, Tarboro Community Center, Lake Wheeler Road and Devereux Meadows.
Additionally, the new bond will be used to improve and expand Raleigh’s greenway system in corridors like Big Branch, Marsh Creek, and Walnut Creek.
“That’s important and it’s important to people,” said Baldwin.
Chaotic start, new future
The challenges continued for Baldwin after a difficult start. In the summer of 2020, a wave of civil unrest could be felt by all the residents here.
COVID-19 closed down schools, put people off work and jobs and shut a lot of businesses down. In May, the protests turned to riots. According to ABC11, burglaries and property damage lead to 106 arrests. The city spent $900,000 in additional repairs for staffing, vehicle repair, and other supplies.
“I was like, ‘what is going on?” said Baldwin. It was a different pandemonium.”
Since 2020, there was the mass shooting that happened in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood and the death of a young girl during the 2022 Christmas parade which “just ripped me apart as well” said Baldwin.
For every crisis that has happened up until now in Raleigh, Baldwin credits her success in handling those situations to her communications background.