When someone steps out and says something as audacious as, 'This is wrong' or 'This is right,' you open up yourself to all sorts of criticism and perhaps abuse by some.

My vision is the long vision, long-term vision for Raleigh, just like the people who laid this city out, just like the people who laid out the Research Triangle Park. Big vision.

Go into Central Park, you don't have people living in the park, you don't have business and industry, you don't have hospitals, it's peaceful, it's serene.

We can have a park in North Carolina that's world class.

We had some bright spots and it was very good competition overall. We're going in the right direction and I'm looking forward to some good marks in the next couple of weeks.

The human element allows for the right kind of discussion to get a true consensus. It's powerful, it's poignant and it's human, and for us it works.