Democratic council candidate Claire Fallon: ‘I worked across the aisle’

Since being elected to one of four City Council at-large seats in 2011, Claire Fallon has been one of the most independent Democrats.

For instance, she has twice voted against the city’s budget, either because of a tax increase or because it contained money for the streetcar, which she has questioned.

She said she is proud of lobbying the Republican-led General Assembly to create regulations for so-called digital dispatch companies, such as Uber and Lyft. The City Council had tried to pass its own rules about the companies but had been blocked by Raleigh.

“I worked across the aisle,” she said.

Fallon chairs the public safety committee, which has been discussing whether to create “Public Safety Zones,” in which Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police could prohibit people who have been arrested from returning for a certain period.

Fallon said she is worried any “exclusion zone” ordinance would be unconstitutional and would only disperse crime to other areas.

Earlier this year, Fallon was a key player in the council’s contentious debate over whether to expand the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance to include protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people.

Other council members said they believed Fallon didn’t support a provision that would allow transgender residents to use the bathroom of their choice, and they removed that piece of the ordinance. Fallon said recently she would support the full ordinance, including the bathroom flexibility.

Council members may vote again on the issue in early 2016.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Democratic council candidate Claire Fallon: ‘I worked across the aisle’."