Charlotte's Mayoral Future

[monsoon]

I believe this will be the first time that McCroy will face a strong challenger in the republican primary. He has won several elections mainly because the candidate the Democrats ran against him were really bad.

[nyxmike]

I am kind of hoping Beverly Earle wins. I think it is about time for a change. Charlotte is getting bigger and I don't think Pat can handle it anymore. Plus, I agree with all her views on crime, transit, and growth. I do not like Gjersten at all. This city needs to move fowards not backwards.

[monsoon]

His GOP competitor says that Pat has turned the state and county government against Charlotte and I believe that to be the case. He has attack dog skills as evidenced by the speech he gave at the GOP 2004 convention, but that isn't what Charlotte needs. My guess is that Pat might come to regret making a speech for one of the most, if not the most, hated President in American history. Not exactly something to brag about as a highpoint of one's political career.

[voyager12]

I may be too hasty in discounting Gjertsen's chances against McCrory. It's hardly a sure thing but there is a great deal of ire amongst many residents regarding the light rail cost overruns and the supposed collusion between UNCC and The Chamber regarding the overly rosy rail report. If enough disgruntled Republicans turn out for the GOP primary and McCrory's supporters stay away because everyone always assumes that McCrory is unbeatable there could be an upset. I would think that Earle would rather face Gjertsen who has a lower profile and is farther to the right than McCrory. Earle could then position herself as a moderate who would work well with all the factions. Moderate Democrats tend to do very well in Charlotte drawing from the Democratic majority as well as Independents and moderate Republicans as Jennifer Roberts has successfully shown.

[Justadude]

There is virtually no chance that a School Board member would win mayoral election. There's entirely too much resentment against that body in the general community, and many of their debates have been so divisive that it wouldn't be hard to find alienating points to leverage against him. The fact that he's not particularly moderate makes it even tougher. Gjertsen's campaign is a non-starter.

Earle, on the other hand, has a legit chance at an upset. She has good experience and doesn't seem to controversial. Surely she has deep pockets and connections, given her history. Time will tell how electable she is, but even if she just gives McCrory a highly-publicized run for his money, I think it would be healthy for the city to have a little dialogue about the issues that McCrory's pushed to the back burner.

[Raintree21]

Observer article talking about Mayor McCrory's challenge in the Republican primary this year for re-election. There appears to be a growing number of dissatisfied Republicans that want a change.

[monsoon]

I think the mayor has a bigger challenge coming his way than he first expected. It would seem that a lot of people are dissatisfied with how he is running the city. Selling out to the developers, (especially his own employer), the arena issue, the mismanagement of CATS, and the endless "me too" projects in downtown at the expense of the rest of the city have gotten old. It's well past time the Mayor's office of Charlotte have someone else running it as I think it is the Mayor that continues to hold Charlotte back from being a city for the people instead of big money, developers, and business interests.

[cltheel.sdl]

I think the mayor has a bigger challenge coming his way than he first expected. It would seem that a lot of people are dissatisfied with how he is running the city. Selling out to the developers, (especially his own employer), the arena issue, the mismanagement of CATS, and the endless "me too" projects in downtown at the expense of the rest of the city have gotten old. It's well past time the Mayor's office of Charlotte have someone else running it as I think it is the Mayor that continues to hold Charlotte back from being a city for the people instead of big money, developers, and business interests.

[rooster8]

As long as you're still registered in Mecklenburg, you can request an absentee ballot. (If you're not registered, you still have time).

[voyager12]

McCrory's laser like focus on Uptown has hurt him with rank and file Republicans in Charlotte who will always hate the area for a myriad of reasons and go out of there way to avoid it like the plague. All Uptown is to them is a huge boonedoggle of wasteful vanity projects that cost too much and don't jibe with conservative spending and values. Pat can only be Mayor for Center City Partners, the banks and his employer for so long. If Gjertsen beats him it will illustrate how out of touch McCrory really is on conservative issues. I could never vote for McCrory train or no train. I think he is still the favorite but it's about time there was some credible competition to make him explain his positions to the public. He has a sense of entitlement to the job that makes me sick

[Justadude]

One thing I will hand to McCrory: he's got very few weak spots. When you compare him to other large-city mayors around the country, he comes out fairly squeaky clean on most issues. I think his biggest enemy is that he's alienated small pockets of people here and there, who might combine to provide an upset; but realistically I think most people are reasonably happy with how the city is run and it would take a pretty big scandal or downturn to push him out by November.

[voyager12]

I agree. Charlotte is a classic "status quo" and "don't rock the boat" town and pliant Mayors like McCory that follow orders from the business interests that really run Charlotte love it this way and have a lot of power to get their vote out. I think this cabal is detrimental to improving the lives of those that don't live in Uptown and South Charlotte. The current crowd in power could care less about the rest of the city. The less affluent sections just drag down Mayor McCrory's, Center City Partners, and The Chamber's shining city on a hill delusion for Charlotte so they just pretend the less "nice" parts of the city don't exist. And until now there has not been a credible Democratic candidate to challenge this script and get an honest dialogue going.

[Raintree21]

Mayor McCrory and Republican primary challenger Ken Gjertsen had a debate on WBT yesterday. Some of the arguments are detailed at News14's website. The debate will be shown on News 14 on Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and again Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until noon. It appears Gjertsen's platform is to build more roads and reduce crime.

[dxartist]

I won't be voting for Gjertsen. McCrory may not be the cup of tea for everyone, but at least he's a better than this person from CMS. Building more roads as Gjertsen suggests is not going alleviate congestion. In my opinion, it's not going to help at all.

[jednc]

All I'm saying is that if Gjertsen wins the primary, and then wins the mayoral race, we can all basically forget our LRT and further transit dreams. McCrory has to win the primary or I won't be comfortable. While McCrory isn't perfect and sells out to Crescent way too much, I think he's overall been very positive for this city. I don't think we'll find another mayor that is as big an advocate for uptown as McCrory, and he's helped take steps to further the push for a stronger urban core. If I wasn't in school during the election (do they offer absentee ballots for city elections?) McCrory would receive my vote.

[voyager12]

I think one of our problems is the blind focus on Uptown. Charlotte consists of more than Uptown. I think having a new Mayor who is more attuned with citywide needs would be refreshing.

[jednc]

I think one of our problems is the blind focus on Uptown. Charlotte consists of more than Uptown. I think having a new Mayor who is more attuned with citywide needs would be refreshing.

[DeeMan]

I just hope we get a mayor that will cut taxes, especially the ridiculous half cent light-rail tax. He/She should also start focusing on things that actually matter (Not Light Rail.) like the schools, crime, and making ALL of Charlotte a better place to live.

[BobbyDav]

I just hope we get a mayor that will cut taxes, especially the ridiculous half cent light-rail tax. He/She should also start focusing on things that actually matter (Not Light Rail.) like the schools, crime, and making ALL of Charlotte a better place to live.

[Charlotte_native]

Whether it's true or not is hard to say, but the thinking is that if the center city is healthy, the rest of the city will be too. It's hard to prove, but certainly cities with dying cores are also in trouble in the burbs.

[Charlotte_native]

I just hope we get a mayor that will cut taxes, especially the ridiculous half cent light-rail tax. He/She should also start focusing on things that actually matter (Not Light Rail.) like the schools, crime, and making ALL of Charlotte a better place to live.

[monsoon]

The mayor has nothing to do with the schools in this county. CMS has it's own elected board and is funded completely by county taxes. (The county commission ultimately controls funding)

[voyager12]

I have always thought the job of a Mayor was to work as a catalyst for unity and positive change for the citizens. And to me McCrory is beholden to business interests and comes off as completely tone deaf and insensitive to broader community issues. Other people read this attitude as " no-nonsense and a good conservative". It's all a matter of perception. McCrory and Gjertsen are interchangeable and meaningless to me because I won't vote for either one of them.

[Raintree21]

A video of the debate between Mayor McCrory and Gjertesen is available on News14.

[Raintree21]

The September issue of Esquire magazine features the sexiest woman alive, the world's best-dressed men, and a full-page photo of Pat McCrory. The photo spread started as a style piece and blossomed into a story about cities and their top political leaders. The article is at Charlotte.com.