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Charlotte Elections 09

voyager12

By voyager12
in Charlotte Coffee House

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  • 3 weeks later...

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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Well, my political nose may have lost it scent, if the story about an expected Democratic wave on City Council in the O today is correct. As Uptownliving mentioned up thread, they are betting that the Tea Party candidates will be seen as too extreme for our wildly moderate town ( swings both ways, I wish we were more extremely liberal) A veto proof majority might help move along more progressive ideas on transit and planning.

But I just don't see a wave coming. The Democrats are not going to lose their majority but I see no change or a loss of one seat. We shall see. That's why I love politics, you never know what might happen.

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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Tomorrow evening Queens is hosting an open door WFAE moderated Mayoral debate. Mike Collins will host Foxx and Lassiter in the Dana Auditorium. Details @ wfae.org

The event will be rebroadcast on Charlotte Talks on Thursday.

I already made plans to go to see gay rights activist Keith Boykin speak at UNCC tomorrow. If anyone regulars on here go to the debate please report back!

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  • 2 weeks later...
voyager12 Town

voyager12

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The O decision's to support Foxx was not a big surprise to me either. Their prior longtime support for McCrory also made sense in light of the weak past Dem mayoral candidates. Finally we have a decent contest. I don't think this endorsement helps or hurts much. Most local Republicans already view the paper as Pravda reincarnated. And most people don't factor in editorial reccomendations in the voting booth. At this point I think Lassiter has a slight edge just by virtue of having a bigger bank account which allows for more ads and visibility. But the race should be close.

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Forrest Whistle-Stop

Forrest

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The O sponsored mayoral debate is on Weds at McGlohon Theatre. Doors close at 7:45. Interesting article today noting that Foxx has the money advantage in the race now. And has also been relying on a network of friends and supporters nationwide. Lassiter is logically framing this as outsiders trying to influence what we decide. I don't think this will hurt Foxx, pols of all stripes take money from wherever they can get it.

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uptownliving Town

uptownliving

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I watched the debate tonight...which for entertainment purposes wasn't that bad. Personally I didnt really learn anything I didnt already know from watching City Council meetings over the years.

Holy moly WCNC had some serious technical issues with the debate tonight. I don't know if the microwave link up was bad or what but the video quality was worse than watching video on my cell phone. It was terrible...plus there were times when they would just go to black screen while people were still talking. It was a big fat F on the production of a program that was very important for the commmunity to see and hear. WCNC's technical staff really dropped the ball on this one.

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Skyybutter Hamlet

Skyybutter

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please god do not let Lassiter win. I registered to vote in Meck county as I recently moved from Cabarrus. Unfortunately I'm just outside of the city limit. I was truly bummed. 14 yrs of Pat was a disaster and another Pat would be an embaressment for our so called "world class city". Charlotte is the least progressive city in the state when it comes to inclusion. The GLBT community is virtually ignored. Lassiter would be great for S.Charlotte. Foxx will be good for ALL of Charlotte.

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Forrest Whistle-Stop

Forrest

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I did not watch. I voted early for Foxx, Peacock, and Burgess. The rest really did not appeal to me. These three have the most broadminded vision on a range of issues IMHO. Putting my objective hat on I think Lassiter is going to edge out Foxx, but just barely. Democrats outnumber Republicans but as was pointed out in good analysis in the O, Lassiter's base comes out much stronger on local elections than Foxx's. And Foxx's base for the most part skews younger and less affluent which usually translates into low turnout during offyear elections.

Peacock and Burgess should sail through, Cannon and Bokhari look strong as well.

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Forrest Whistle-Stop

Forrest

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I can be a pretty partisan democrat at times but I don't think the mailer that the NCDP sent out linking Lassiter to developers is going to help Foxx.

When people hear "state party" they automatically equate that with Raleigh and that's never been a popular word in this town.

My final guess has Lassiter beating Foxx but not by a huge margin, hinging mainly on better GOTV efforts. And Republicans will add one At Large seat on Council.

Anyone else have predictions?

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tozmervo Metropolis

tozmervo

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I don't really get Cannon's appeal. He seems to be more focused on reactionary aesthetic issues than meaningful changes. Bokhari and Ridenhour strike me as typical "crime is out of control! fear! fear!" candidates - that is, candidates for people that watch too much local news. Between the two, Bokhari is preferable to me as he comes of as much more knowledgeable. I think Ridenhour needs to turn down his radio when Limbaugh is on.

In the end, I agree that Burgess and Peacock are shoe-ins. I'm personally going to ballot for Jaye Rao and David Howard, although I'm not placing any bets on those two. The former because she actually has meaningful suggestions on how to make the city government more efficient (yeah Bokhari and Ridenhour, that's a jab at you), the latter because he seems more experienced on urban issues.

As for the mayor? My guess is that Lassiter will ultimately win it. While there are plenty of folks that revile Pat, I don't think the majority is concerned about a "Pat part 2." I'm pretty apathetic about both candidates, but Foxx's bullish position on transit tips me in that direction.

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MZT Burg

MZT

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The early vote is a pretty large sample size. It's probably indicative of how the remainder of the general election will go.

Even with some generous assumptions, 20% Democrats and 60% unaffiliateds voting for Lassiter, he is behind.

Party___Votes___Assumed%

DEM____11,751___20%_____2,350.20

REP_____6,860___95%_____6,517.00

UNA_____3,819___60%_____2,291.40

Total__22,430__________11,158.60____49.7% hypothetical proportion of Lassiter's votes

Republicans are only 30% of the turnout, so if Lassiter wins, the political story will be about how successful he was in prying off votes, and generating split tickets.

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Forrest Whistle-Stop

Forrest

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I am happy to throw my predictions out the window. Foxx's GOTV strategy was stronger. I thought Lassiter would pull out a win riding on McCrory's popular coattails. And I thought Bokhari would land a seat riding on discontent. Peacock was the most mainstream At Large Republican in the race. I even voted for him. Conversely, Burgess pulled in Republican votes. Overall, a very good night for Democrats in Charlotte. We certainly bucked the national trend.

And urban wise Foxx is a stronger supporter of smart growth and innovative mass transit thumbsup.gif

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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I am happy to throw my predictions out the window. Foxx's GOTV strategy was stronger. I thought Lassiter would pull out a win riding on McCrory's popular coattails. And I thought Bokhari would land a seat riding on discontent. Peacock was the most mainstream At Large Republican in the race. I even voted for him. Conversely, Burgess pulled in Republican votes. Overall, a very good night for Democrats in Charlotte. We certainly bucked the national trend.

And urban wise Foxx is a stronger supporter of smart growth and innovative mass transit thumbsup.gif

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