After a decade of service to the City of Winston-Salem, Northwest Ward representative Jeff MacIntosh has decided against seeking re-election when his term as a city council member expires in 2024.
In an interview with TCB, MacIntosh said he believes that it is time for him to step down so as to make way for new leadership.
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“I am really hoping that announcing early will bring lots of candidates out of the woodwork to think about running,” he said. “It’s a difficult job, it takes some time to figure out whether or not you’re interested in doing it.”
A Democrat, MacIntosh first took a seat on council in 2013, when incumbent Wanda Merschel, also a Democrat, chose not to run again after serving four terms. Merschel endorsed MacIntosh in her stead when he faced off against two other candidates during the Democratic primary. MacIntosh went on to defeat Republican Lida Calvert-Hayes in the general election. Merschel represented the Northwest Ward for 16 years and passed away in 2020 after a prolonged illness.
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MacIntosh ran again in 2016 against Republican Eric Henderson, with MacIntosh sweeping 61 percent of the vote.
MacIntosh ran unopposed in 2020, currently serving as the chairman of the Public Works Committee and bringing his expertise as a real estate agent to the table as a member of the Finance Committee.
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As his tenure on the council comes to a close, MacIntosh says he feels like he’s accomplished a lot of what he set out to do and that he certainly has things left to achieve.
As for his plans after his term ends, MacIntosh says he’s not sure. “I’ve tried retirement once; it did not suit me well. So I imagine that something will pop up between now and then.”
During his time in office MacIntosh has been an advocate for alternative forms of public transportation as well as affordable housing, and hopes to stay engaged in the causes he cares about even after he leaves his role as a council member.
“I find it hard to believe that with some of the things I’m really passionate about, like affordable housing; I don’t think I’m just going to be able to step away from that entirely,” he says. “It’s a big arena and it needs an awful lot of attention. So I think I’ll be able to continue to be helpful with that.”