GOP's Lassiter will face Foxx in Fall's Mayoral race
Despite a dismal turnout, Charlotte voters Tuesday set up the city's most competitive mayoral race in years, helped three city council members survive challenges and made a former incumbent the top vote-getter in his party.
Barely more than 4 percent of voters went to the polls in the Primaries.
Republican John Lassiter, boosted by higher turnout in southeast Charlotte, handily turned back two primary challengers for a long-anticipated contest against Democrat Anthony Foxx. The winner will become the city's first new Mayor in 14 years.
Three council incumbents – Democrats Nancy Carter, Patsy Kinsey and James Mitchell – easily won their primaries. That means that five of the seven district members are guaranteed seats. Only in two southeast Charlotte districts will voters have a choice in November.
Cannon's back, Belk is out
With Democrats already holding a 5-2 edge in district seats, control of council is expected to turn on the race for four at-large seats.
Despite being out of office for four years, former council member Patrick Cannon led incumbent Susan Burgess and two newcomers on the Democratic ticket. Cannon carried more than 100 precincts across the city.
On the Republican side, at-large incumbent Edwin Peacock III will lead a ticket with three newcomers. Not among them, however, was Georgia Belk.
Despite her well-known name and solid fundraising – she raised more than every Republican but Peacock – she finished fifth. Some voters blamed her association with her husband, controversial Mecklenburg District Judge Bill Belk.
“I was afraid some of his shenanigans might be an influence on her,” said Republican Dot Hailey, a retired teacher voting in east Charlotte.
The facets of race, protest
Democrats hope to win their first mayoral race since 1987, when Harvey Gantt won a second term. The primaries leave the party with a ticket that features its first African American mayoral candidate since Gantt and three black at-large candidates. They'll face an all-white Republican slate.
Charlotte has never had a race with a black mayoral candidate and more than two African Americans running at-large. Though African Americans make up around a third of city voters, UNC Charlotte political scientist Ted Arrington said Democrats will have to buck history.
“It's going to be very difficult if people vote along racial lines – and they do,” Arrington said. “It imperils Foxx … That's a very important factor in what happens in November. History tells us that. People who think we're ‘post-racial' on voting just haven't looked at the facts.”
Foxx doesn't expect Race to be an issue.
“What people want is the Leadership,” he said Tuesday. “It's going to be the responsibility of everybody running, white, black or otherwise, to be real good about explaining why people ought to vote … We've got the makings of a very, very strong ticket.”
Lassiter said Race shouldn't be an issue.
“I have visited churches in the African American community (and) the Hispanic community,” he said. “The obligation of the next mayor is to understand and embrace the diversity of Charlotte.”
While Democrats hope to build on last fall, when Pres. Barack Obama lifted other Democrats to victory in the county, Republicans hope to catch the energy of this summer's protests over health care and government spending.
Two of the GOP at-large candidates nominated Tuesday – Matthew Ridenhour and Tariq Bokhari – helped lead Tea Party protests this year. Lassiter believes such protests have energized his party's base.
“Even though they're focused primarily on national issues, they're excited,” he said.
Charlotte City Council overrides streetcar veto
Charlotte's streetcar was revived Monday night when the Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 to override Mayor Pat McCrory's veto on spending $4.5 million to design it.
After an hour-long debate, council member Warren Turner, a Democrat who represents west Charlotte, cast the deciding vote in favor.
Last month, McCrory vetoed a plan to pay URS Corp. $4.5 million to start design work on the line, which would run from Beatties Ford Road to Eastland Mall, via uptown. He argued that because of the recession, the city needed to cut its spending. He and other Republicans said it wasn't prudent to spend the money when Charlotte doesn't have a plan to pay for the line, which could cost $450 million.
But the council's Democratic majority said it was important to get the project started. They hope the Federal government will change its rules to pay for streetcar construction, and they argued by spending the money now the city would be first in line.
Council member Nancy Carter, who represents east Charlotte, said the vote was “crucial.”
She said that building the streetcar to Eastland Mall would spur efforts to redevelop the dying retail center.
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Sources: Charlotte Observer, Meck. Board of Elections, Charmeck.org, Youtube, Google Maps
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