Saige Martin

Martin was born in foster care to fifteen-year old parents. He is of Puerto Rican descent on his father's side. He graduated from Pennridge High School. Martin has a bachelor of arts degree in Cultural Anthropology from Hawaii Pacific University, where he served as Student Body President. In March 2019 he presented a multimedia performance at the CRDM Symposium. He worked on President Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign in southern Philadelphia and was a communications consultant for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Martin has worked as a Fund Director, helping pilot new funding models for non-profit organizations. He has served on the boards of The Hope Center at Pullen, the Justice-Love Foundation, and LEAD NC. == Political career ==

In March 2019 Martin announced his campaign for Raleigh City Council, against sitting councilwoman Kay Crowder for District D in Southwest Raleigh. Martin, who is openly gay and Latinx, ran with a progressive platform focusing on affordable housing, environmental reforms, establishing a Police Accountability Review Board, and revitalizing the council. He was endorsed by Indy Week, Equality NC, Ashley Christensen, and North Carolina Museum of Art director Larry Wheeler. On June 25, 2019 Martin spoke publicly, as a candidate for City Council, on the importance of the Stonewall Riots. He was elected in October 2019 as the first Latinx person and, alongside Councilman Jonathan Melton who was also elected in 2019 election, one of the first two openly gay men to sit on the City Council. Twenty-eight years old at the time of assuming office, Martin is the youngest person to serve on the Raleigh City Council. As a member of the City Council, Martin spearheaded the Council's backroom deal to cancel Citizen Advisory Councils and was a vocal advocate for defunding the Raleigh Police Department. Martin, and Raleigh mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, voted in secrecy on removing the city's nineteen Citizen Advisory Councils, which were formed in 1974. The only councilman to be left out of the secret vote was David Cox, who opposed the measure. In April 2020 Martin, alongside Durham mayor Steve Schewel, Durham County Board of Commissioners chairwoman Wendy Jacobs, Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter, Durham City Council members Javiera Caballero, Jillian Johnson, Mark-Anthony Middleton, and Charlie Reece, and Raleigh City Council member Nicole Stewart, pledged to take part in the #ShareYourCheck Challenge. They pledged all or part of their federal stimulus payments, part of an aid package to help Americans through the COVID-19 recession onset by the COVID-19 pandemic, to go to Siembra Solidarity Fund. Martin later tweeted that he would be presenting a plan to the City Council to defund and reallocate police funds, "to truly focus on the safety, wellbeing, and health of our black community." His resignation was accepted by Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. The students alleged in The News & Observer that Martin, while working as a graduate teaching assistant in 2018 and 2019, had sexually assaulted them or behaved inappropriately. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to look into the accusations against Martin. In July 2020 Freeman announced that charges would not be pressed against Martin due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Martin's vacant seat was filled by Stormie Forte on July 14, 2020. == References ==