(Media folks assume most people know At-Large Charlotte City Council members/ 2009 Mayoral Candidates John Lassiter (Republican) and Anthony Foxx (Democrat). Experts say that's not the case at all.)
Charlotte Mayor's race gets heated in final days
The race for mayor in Charlotte has been cool, if not downright civil -- until now.
Republican John Lassiter called a morning news conference to complain about a mailer sent out that links him to wealthy developers at the expense of city homeowners.
"I think this is trying to reflect on my character and I take that as a personal affront," Lassiter told reporters in the lobby of the Government Center.
Lassiter estimates the mailing went to thousands of Democrats and unaffiliated voters.
The mailer was paid for and sent out by the state Democratic Party, headquartered in Raleigh.
Lassiter did not directly accuse his opponent Anthony Foxx of involvement but said, "This piece of mail has no mention of my opponent and states that no candidate or candidate's committee approved the content. Maybe."
A spokesperson for the Democratic Party could not say how much the mailing cost or how many fliers were sent out.
Kerra Bolton, a senior advisor did issue a statement saying Lassiter's comments "are a distraction from the truth." Bolton went on to say, "Lassiter knows that if he cries negative politics, no one will look at his record. All we're saying is that it's time that we do."
Late Friday afternoon, Foxx told Newschannel 36, "John doesn't have to worry about me attacking him personally because I never would."
The Democratic Party said Foxx had no role in putting the mailer together or sending it out. Foxx told NewsChannel 36 he had not seen a copy of it before it went out.
"I had no knowledge of that flier at all," he said.
NC Democrats "Dirty Politics" Mailing heats up Charlotte Mayor's race
Five days before the election, Republican mayoral candidate John Lassiter Friday lashed out at a state Democratic Party mailing that he said injected negative politics into what had been a civil campaign.
He called on Democratic rival Anthony Foxx to ask the state party to take itself out of the race.
"We have been applauded for the refreshingly clean campaign," he told a news conference. "The tone, the rhetoric and the content has suddenly changed."
Lassiter was responding to a Democratic Party mailer that apparently went to thousands of voters. It says Lassiter sides with developers, "hanging homeowners out to dry."
"Lassiter's developer donors get the royal treatment," it says. "Lassiter has taken thousands of dollars from big developers and then supported their agenda of unrestrained sprawl."
The line echoes criticism Foxx made in a TV debate Wednesday and amplifies his complaints that Lassiter is beholden to contributions from real estate and development interests.
An Observer analysis showed Lassiter has received $104,000 from such interests, 20 percent of what he raised. They gave Fox $28,000, or 5 percent of his campaign money.
Lassiter expressed skepticism about the mailing's claim to have no ties to Foxx or his campaign.
"This piece of mail ... states that no candidate's committee approved the content. Maybe."
In a statement Friday, Foxx said, "I am proud of the positive campaign we have run, and I have no intention of changing course now.
"I particularly appreciate Mr. Lassiter's acknowledgement that I had no role in sending any independent mailer."
State Democratic Party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton said the Foxx campaign had nothing to do with the mailing. She said she didn't know how much the party spent or how many mailings were sent.
"The question isn't just the money he's raised from developers," she said, "the issue is the actions that he took while on city council."
Lassiter compared the mailing to attack ads in national and statewide races, including the 1990 Senate race between Democrat Harvey Gantt and Republican Jesse Helms.
"This is an attempt to negatively attack me by folks who aren't in the community," he said, "using tactics we have not seen in this city."
Lassiter said he has refrained from personal attacks.
"Despite encouragement, I have avoided talking about the employment status of my opponent or his family," he said, an apparent reference to a job Foxx's wife got last year at the Department of Social Services. Some critics called it cronyism.
But county commissioners said this spring they were satisfied the hire of Samara Foxx and two other workers followed county policies and procedures.
DSS hires politically-connected during "Freeze"
While Mecklenburg County is cutting some jobs, the county's Department of Social Services has been hiring.
The NewsChannel 36 I-Team discovered DSS has hired 30-40 positions, many of them managers and several filled with candidates who have political connections.
The DSS hiring freeze was in effect when Mary E. Wilson joined the department as director last July. But in the name of reorganizing the department, DSS has hired dozens of new employees, including the daughter of Charlotte's police chief, the daughter of a Superior Court judge and the wife of a city councilman who is running for mayor.
DSS hired Samara Foxx, the wife of at-large councilman and mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx, last July.
Her salary as Division Director II was $100,000 a year.
Foxx's hiring raised questions among some DSS staffers since the position was posted on July 17 and taken down the very next day.
For months, the I-Team has asked DSS in writing for public records showing when the job was posted. At first a department spokeswoman told us that legal counsel had advised her the records were confidential personnel records. After our repeated requests for only the public portion of the records, DSS sent us a two-page letter detailing the job posting.
The letter says in part, "The creation of Ms. Foxx's position was an initial step in the re-organization of DSS, which was approved by the county's executive team."
Charlotte-Meck. County Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts told us by phone from Washington, "I did not realize that opening was posted for such a short period of time. It's concerning. We pride ourselves on being open, transparent, equal and fair. I can't imagine why the posting period would not be available to reporters."
After DSS Director Mary E. Wilson gave Samara Foxx the job, Wilson's husband Cornell donated $4,000 -- the legal maximum -- to Anthony Foxx's mayoral campaign.
Foxx Campaign Manager Bruce Clark said Wilson and Foxx had worked together in the past but declined comment on the hiring, saying it was a county decision.
Foxx is not the only person with political connections to be hired by DSS since the "hiring freeze" went into effect.
Public records show DSS hired Hollye Monroe, the daughter of CMPD Police Chief Rodney Monroe, on Jan. 14 as a Management Analyst. Her salary: $46,613.60 per year. Our phone messages to Monroe's public information officer and chief of staff were not returned.
DSS also hired Tracey Evans, the daughter of Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims-Evans, on Feb. 11 as a Social Services Manager at a salary of $57,380.95 per year. Judge Mims-Evans told us in a brief telephone interview that she had nothing to do with the hire.
County Manager Harry Jones e-mailed us a two-line response saying, "These individuals were hired within our policies and without regard to who their parents or spouses are."
Neither Jones nor DSS Director Mary E. Wilson responded to our requests for an on-camera interview.
But County Commissioner Bill James says the hiring smacks of political patronage and in his words "just smells bad." Commissioner James says the hiring should be investigated.
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Sources: MSNBC, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, NC Dem Party, Youtube, Google Maps
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