Record

Rodger Koopman — Father, Grandfather, Husband, Teacher, Coach, Air Force Combat Veteran, Businessman — Leader!

As a City Councilor Rodger has kept his promise to stand up for neighborhoods, work to have growth pay for itself, and fight to make sure the public was heard about Parks. Rodger has fought to protect taxpayers and our environment, been responsive, as well as managed Raleigh finances efficiently and responsibly. Rodger deserves our support for Re-election.

     ✔  Rodger passed a fair impact fee on new development to keep taxes low. Rodger has consistently worked on moving the burden of new growth from the taxpayer to developers. Rodger is working with other councilors to ensure water & sewer capacity fees are increased to reflect the true cost of infrastructure and to further reduce the burden on property taxes.

     ✔  Rodger has a strong environmental record and he continues to protect our parks and natural heritage areas. Thanks to Rodger's leadership Horseshoe Farm Park, Durant Nature Park (AKA "Camp Durant") and Strickland Road Park will remain nature parks. Plus, the first new public swimming pool in the city in 16 years will be built in Northeast Raleigh, the Wake County landfill will be converted to have football fields and other active recreation, and Sydnor White Park will be built out as a park with a large community center and gym.

     ✔  Rodger is a strong supporter of public transit and continues to work on ensuring we make progress towards this important goal. One of the first planned light rail lines will be in Rodger's district, connecting Northeast Raleigh to downtown and Cary.

     ✔  During the drought Rodger's leadership ensured Falls Lake was protected and our water supply was safe.

     ✔  Affordable (workforce) housing continues to be a challenge; Rodger has consistently supported measures that contribute towards making sure everybody can afford to live in Raleigh.

     ✔  Rodger believes in equity and fairness and his work on the council has helped create a city that treats all its citizens fairly.

     ✔  Rodger has a strong record of supporting residents and protecting neighborhoods against wealthy special interests. Rodger has attended over 100 neighborhood meetings as well as responded to hundreds of emails and telephone calls. Issues include helping citizens navigate city hall's bureaucracy, putting in stop signs and other traffic calming measures, preventing easement clear-cutting to preserve people's yards, getting streets repaved, getting sewers repaired or put in, attending public hearings to ensure citizen input is not ignored, helping several neighborhood groups and garden clubs obtain neighborhood beautification grants, and many others.

"I don’t think property tax payers should pay for the entire cost of our growth" ― Rodger on WRAL-TV (7/20/06)