How a Republican is trying to win the traditionally Democratic 12th Congressional District
Leading up to November’s election, we’ll be running stories about various politicians running from Mecklenburg County, so you feel more informed when you go vote. First, we tried on hats with Alma Adams, the Democratic candidate for the 12th U.S. Congressional District. Now we feature her challenger.
His last name is pronounced Threet, but Leon Threatt, Republican candidate for the 12th U.S. Congressional District, may be a triple threat: he was a police officer for eight years, in the Marine Corps for 10 years and is currently senior pastor of Christian Faith Assembly.
The North Carolina native first ran in this district — and for office in general — in 2014, where he lost the Republican primary. This time around, Threatt wants to appeal to a wide variety of voters while still running a campaign based on traditional family values.
We chatted about his race against Democratic incumbent Alma Adams, his unique perspective on law enforcement and politics.
What did you learn in the 2014 race that you’re using in this year’s race?
I certainly came away with a greater sense of commitment to serve the people of the 12th. Our nation is in a far more troublesome time than it was then, so I have a greater commitment to see the people of the 12th District have a higher quality of life. I learned a lot about politics, because it was one of the areas I had little experience in.
How do you think you’ll take the traditionally democratic 12th district?
I believe the Republican Platform, as a whole, addresses the real issues of all the people in the 12th Congressional District. What we’re doing is not black, not white, not Democrat, not Republican, not Independent. It’s beyond that. I believe I can truly identify with what’s really going on in the lives of those in Huntersville and north Charlotte.
What do you think about the recent national violence involving police officers and civilians?
There’s room to grow on both sides. Police officers must have a greater regard and respect for all of the public and I do recognize and certainly see there are challenges within the communities of color that make it quite challenging and difficult for many of the police officers in that area.
Where does racism and race play into these situations?
We have to be honest and fair that racism has played a part. The high incarceration rate among blacks and Latinos, no doubt about it. We have got to be sure we’re making progress and ensuring our judicial system is fair and unbiased. At the same time, we’ve got to address some of the causes of that, and the causes certainly can be mandatory sentencing on certain crimes.
CMPD Chief Kerr Putney publicly said after the Dallas police shootings he is sometimes fearful when he puts on the uniform. Tell me about your experience from a personal and professional standpoint, and can people be pro-police and support black lives?
[Full quote: “But what you don’t know is I’m sometimes more fearful when I put this uniform on. I’m gonna tell you a secret, I’m always black – I was born that way, I’m gonna die that way, but I chose to put myself in harm’s way with the honorable people who wear these uniforms to protect the people who need us most.”]
I know what it’s like to be black and a police officer, and one of the things I’ve always encouraged the community I’ve patrolled is we need more men of color and women of color patrolling and working in these communities so young people can identify [with them.] Law enforcement should always come from the community it’s serving. It’s best served when police officers, Latino, Asian, black and white are working and reflecting who and what the configuration of that community really is.
[…]
My son is a police officer here in Charlotte/Mecklenburg … I didn’t hide the fact that I didn’t agree with the outcome of officer (Randall) Kerrick’s case. Here you had three police officers, one black male who was unarmed. In my day as a police officer, if you had three police officers and one subject who was out of control, deranged, or whatever, you had to get dirty. What do I mean by dirty? You’re gonna have to wrestle him. You go home bruised and scratched, might even have a black eye, but you have to roll in the dirt. Why? Because you didn’t have, in my estimation, justification to use deadly force.
What are the challenges within communities of color?
In communities of color, we have some the highest levels of violent crime than the average parts of our community. The challenges of black on black crime, the challenges of high unemployment, the challenges of high recidivism rates, the challenges of the lack of quality education in schools in many of our communities of color.
[…]
The number one cause of death of a black person is abortion, according to the North Carolina Right to Life organization. Abortion kills more children of color than all seven leading causes of death combined. More than heart disease, cancer, diabetes, you add all of the seven causes of death, they don’t meet the number of blacks killed in abortion.
We do not have an epidemic of black citizens being terrorized by police officers. It just seems whenever there is a shooting that is controversial and troublesome, it seems to draw the most media attention. But the vast majority of police officers have positive interactions with communities of color.
What do you think of All Lives Matter?
When we say All Lives Matter, we’re unifying America. I’m an American and I identify myself as an American who is black. I prefer not to be referred to as a black American, but an American that’s black.
When you pull out Black Lives Matter, we’re putting an emphasis that black matters to some degree more than others. Now I know that’s not the intent, but when you put color before other things, the emphasis becomes the first word of emphasis. We need to emphasize citizens, police, the young, the old, the born, the unborn, it all matters and it all has the necessity to protect and shield every human being and certainly every citizen.
Photo: Leon Threatt
This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 10:23 PM with the headline "How a Republican is trying to win the traditionally Democratic 12th Congressional District."