Builders Fear Lang's Victory May be the Nail in their Coffin in Cary

Many Cary developers are already laying their bricks in Raleigh these days because they believe Cary does not want their business.

"The message went up loud and clear over the past year that Cary didn't want builders," said Mason Williams, president of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh and Wake County.

Builders say the message came in part from Glen Lang, a mayoral candidate who stumped on a slow-growth platform. But as Cary's mayor-elect, Lang says he wants to build a consensus with builders.

"There doesn't have to be a conflict between making money and keeping the best interest of Cary in mind," Lang says.

Builders like Jeff Fike backed Lang's opponent Mary Kamm. But he says now that the political winds in Cary are shifting, it is time to move on.

"The big battle is over. I think everybody needs to let all of the bad blood go away, sit down and work things out," Fike says.

"As long as we can work in good faith with the council that's elected, we'd be willing and eager to go forward and continue to do so," Williams says.

Developers fear that the slow-growth phenomenon will not stop with Cary and is in fact a regional trend. A town council member in Apex stumped on the same platform and won; he plans to bring some of Lang's ideas to his own council.