Share
And so a new era begins. After 14 years with Republican Mayor Pat McCrory at the wheel, Charlotte will see a new approach in the person of Democrat Anthony Foxx.
We have said from the beginning that Charlotte was fortunate to have two good choices for mayor this year in Foxx and Republican John Lassiter. That's been proven true, and we believe Foxx will perform admirably.
Foxx, 38, is intelligent and hard-working. He also has shown an ability to address shortcomings. Over the course of the campaign, he went from an unpolished candidate inconsistent about articulating a clear message to one who both delved into issues and communicated his stances on those issues effectively.
Foxx, we expect, will be an inclusive mayor who listens to arguments from all sides, all constituents, all City Council members. Foxx has said he will treat the office as a full-time job. He'll run the City Council meetings and work closely with staff on all the issues facing the city. But he'll also use the office as a bully pulpit, calling attention to issues that need it and working with regional, state and federal governments to fight for Charlotte's interests in a collaborative way.
We're confident he will work hard to connect with residents, including by holding regular town halls he promised during the campaign. We believe he will be open-minded about looking for new ways to approach intransigent problems.
We have many hopes for Foxx's tenure. We hope he governs from the heart, not from the polls. We expect him to stand up to his Democratic colleagues on the City Council when needed. With an 8-3 majority, council Democrats could safely ignore the concerns of Republicans if Foxx lets them. We would like to see him fulfill his promise to scour the city budget for areas where spending could be reduced responsibly, knowing that a tax increase on citizens already hurting in a slow economy is not an attractive option. We hope he makes homelessness and affordable housing a truly high priority for the city.
But most of all, we hope he will strive to approach the city's challenges in a new way. These are difficult times, particularly for Charlotte, and will continue to be well into the new year. Foxx faces an entirely different challenge navigating the city out of this slowdown than McCrory did leading Charlotte through 14 years of prosperity. He'll have to avoid the temptation to bring old solutions to new problems, and instead find ways to truly innovate.
We applaud both candidates for the clean, informative campaigns they ran. Lassiter, 55, has loyally served Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for two decades, and we strongly urge him to remain engaged in public life and in this city's future. This loss must be extremely disappointing, but his talents are considerable and Charlotte needs leaders like him in public office.
