Welcome!

NC politics, one dataset at a time

If data is the oil of the twenty-first century, then state and local government is the vast, untapped reservoir sitting quietly beneath that underused farmland that has been in your family for five generations.

And you are now the lucky landowner and prospector, finally ready to see what is really down there.

This newsletter will be your guide, as we plumb the previously unfathomable depths of state and local government across North Carolina. We will cover property taxes, budgeting, economic development, staffing, city/county operations, and everything in between.

What you’ll get is well-sourced and thoughtful analysis of the facts. Numbers and data come first here, and all analytics and conclusions flow downstream from there. There is no effort to push an agenda or other ulterior motives. In fact, we might look at the same data and draw completely different conclusions. And that is OK.

The goal of this project is to build up a more data-driven political culture in North Carolina. Whether you are a voter, elected official, journalist, public employee, or just someone interested in the numbers, this newsletter will help you to become more fluent in the data that is shaping communities across this state every day.

Let’s get started!