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 <title>newsobserver.com projects - What is the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition? - Comments</title>
 <link>http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/faq/what_is_the_n_c_metropolitan_coalition</link>
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 <title>What is the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition?</title>
 <link>http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/faq/what_is_the_n_c_metropolitan_coalition</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-answer&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Answer:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;A &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncmetros.org&quot;&gt;group&lt;/a&gt; of North Carolina mayors who work together on national and state issues that affect larger cities. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The organization began in the 1990s as the N.C. Public Transit Coalition, an advocacy group that focused solely on mass transit in urban areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 2000, it was reconstituted as the Metropolitan Coalition, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that focuses on broader issues affecting growing urban areas, including transportation, economic development, downtown revitalization and criminal justice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To join the coalition, a city must have a population of at least 25,000 and pay a yearly fee based on population that ranges from $2,500 to $15,000. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Under the leadership of Charlotte Mayor &lt;a href=&quot;/under_the_dome/profiles/pat_mccrory&quot;&gt;Pat McCrory&lt;/a&gt;, who was chairman for the first two years, the coalition expanded from around a dozen cities to 25, including Raleigh and Winston-Salem.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is based within the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nclm.org/&quot;&gt;N.C. League of Municipalities&amp;#39;&lt;/a&gt; Raleigh headquarters and had a staff of two in 2008.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/faq/what_is_the_n_c_metropolitan_coalition#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/mass_transit">mass transit</category>
 <category domain="http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/n_c_metropolitan_coalition">N.C. Metropolitan Coalition</category>
 <category domain="http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/n_c_public_transit_coalition">N.C. Public Transit Coalition</category>
 <category domain="http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/pat_mccrory">Pat McCrory</category>
 <category domain="http://projects.newsobserver.com/project/under_the_dome">Under the Dome</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:51:46 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>ryanteaguebeckwith</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">4398 at http://projects.newsobserver.com</guid>
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