Raleigh's Next Mayor: Meet candidate Paul Fitts, who has an ambitious vision for the city

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Paul Fitts, the sole Republican candidate in Raleigh's non-partisan mayoral race, is driving his campaign with ambitious plans for the city's future, including a potentially controversial proposal for a downtown casino and a major expansion of the police force.

For ABC11's election year series Raleigh's Next Mayor, Fitts, a 55-year-old mortgage lender, shared his vision while touring downtown Raleigh. Expressing skepticism about the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's new revitalization plans, he dismissed them as "a band-aid on a broken limb."

"First we have to go back and we have to build owner-occupied housing to bring back downtown people who want to be downtown," Fitts said, outlining a strategy he said will help fix the city's affordable housing problem.

One of his most dramatic proposals involves relocating Central Prison and the Women's Prison outside the beltline. The candidate envisions transforming these facilities into residential areas, and he noted that Central Prison alone houses 1,100 prisoners.

"You can make this a liveable space for taxpayers," he said.

Public safety stands at the forefront of Fitts' platform. While expressing confidence in the current police leadership, he advocates for a significant expansion of the force.

"We need 400 more police officers because of our exponential growth in our population. Because of the size of the city, the police force now, they're completely overworked," Fitts said.

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Perhaps his most controversial proposal is the construction of a casino in Raleigh. Fitts plans to use the 22% tax revenue from the casino to fund police hiring.

"(A casino) in Raleigh means 5,000 jobs in the City of Raleigh. It's not just about gaming, it's about shopping, dining entertainment," he said.

A vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, Fitts praised Trump's economic record, stating that "Donald Trump gave us one of the greatest economies we've seen in 80 years."

Though Fitts has previously run for office without success, he hopes his proposals will resonate with voters in this election, even in traditionally Democratic-leaning Raleigh.

ABC11's series Raleigh's Next Mayor continues next week with college professor Terrance Ruth.

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