CaryWatch
CarySpeak
CARYSPEAK
Vocabulary and Syntax of an Administration
Every institution eventually develops its own language. The military has acronyms. Lawyers have legalese. Corporations have management-speak. And the Town of Cary has CarySpeak.
CarySpeak is the peculiar language in which ordinary acts of government are transformed into grand achievements; routine services become “world-class;” spending becomes “investment;” and nearly every new program is innovative, strategic, vibrant, transformative, collaborative – or some combination of the five.
Consider the Town’s description of itself. According to its website, Cary has “excellence and innovation in its DNA,” is a “place of inspiration and possibility,” has “world-class venues and experiences,” and offers a “thriving, walkable downtown.” The Town’s Planning and Development Services Department says it provides “world-class service to our development community.” Human Resources has described its mission as helping employees “challenge and reimagine the standard for what local government can be” while providing “best-in-class service.”
Eight months after the staggering revelations brought forth by the State Auditor, the $644/hour law firm, print and TV reporters, and – perhaps most importantly – the citizen requests for public information that began this deluge, none of this language has been edited.
The Top of the Arc
The phrase appears repeatedly in Cary planning documents. The Imagine Cary Community Plan speaks of keeping Cary “at the top of the arc,” while another Town document actually lists “Stay at the Top of the Arc” as one of its principal takeaways.
What precisely is the arc? Where is its top? What happens if we slide down the other side?
CarySpeak does not trouble itself with such questions.
What CarySpeak Does
CarySpeak is useful because it changes the way an issue sounds before the listener has had a chance to think about it.
Government spends money; Cary invests.
A project is not simply built; it creates an experience.
Painting lines on a greenway becomes a placemaking and safety project intended to elevate the experience.
A disc-golf course is not merely a very good disc-golf course. It demonstrates how strategic public funding can create world-class community assets.
Awards are rarely just awards. They reflect Cary’s ongoing commitment to creating exceptional spaces, fostering a vibrant cultural landscape and delivering world-class experiences.
None of those statements is necessarily false. That is what makes CarySpeak interesting. Its purpose is generally not to say something demonstrably untrue. Its purpose is to frame what happened in the most favorable possible language.
That is public relations.
Anatomy of a CarySpeak Sentence
“As a leader in sustainability and climate action, Cary intends to incorporate green building standards into municipal projects while identifying opportunities for initiatives and incentives that align with private development.” Source: Imagine Cary Community Plan, Chapter 8, page 247
This sentence exhibits the characteristic structure of CarySpeak. It opens with an unattributed assertion of municipal superiority: “As a leader in sustainability and climate action, . . .”
Who declared Cary a leader, and by what measures? — We aren't told.
In cold, hard fact, Cary is not a leader in either sustainability or climate action. It lags far behind many other jurisdictions in both categories.
But, having established its own excellence as an unquestioned premise, Cary proceeds to announce what it will do: "incorporate green building standards into municipal projects while identifying opportunities for initiatives and incentives that align with private development."
Neither a particular project nor a deadline nor a measurable result is identified. The opening phrase confers an air of distinction on the entirely ordinary business of municipal administration. The trick is to make an unsubstantiated claim of wonderfulness appear to explain or justify a mundane activity that requires no such claim at all.
Government as Its Own Advertising Agency
There is nothing unusual about a town telling residents when a road opens, a park wins an award or a new service becomes available. Citizens need information from their government.
But informing the public and promoting the government itself are different things.
Cary's official communications repeatedly tell us that Cary is exceptional, innovative, nationally recognized, world-class, and best-in-class. The 2026 State of Cary address says Cary begins the year recognized as one of the best communities in the nation and describes Town employees as fundamental to making Cary truly best-in-class. It then devotes an entire section to accolades and rankings.
Which raises a simple question:
Why does a government need to advertise to the people who already own it?
There is an old saying that applies equally well to restaurants, lawyers, politicians and towns:
Don't tell people you're great. If you really are great, people will tell you.
A genuinely excellent restaurant does not make the food better by repeatedly describing itself as world-class. A first-rate lawyer does not become more capable by issuing press releases announcing his excellence. And good municipal government does not become better government because its communications department has discovered the adjectives innovative, vibrant and transformative.
Good government is demonstrated by results: roads that work, water that flows, parks that are maintained, taxes that are understandable, finances that are transparent, neighborhoods that are protected, and public officials who tell citizens plainly what they are doing and what it costs.
Perhaps one day Cary might be able to restore its operation and reputation to — dare I say it? — the top of the arc.
But if it does, we don't need Town Hall to tell us — we the people will tell our Council and staff.