Who is Leigh Altman, at-large Democratic Mecklenburg County commission candidate?
.jpeg "Leigh Altman is running for a seat on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners at-large.")
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 50
Campaign website: leighaltman.com
Email: voteleighaltman@gmail.com
Occupation: County Commissioner, At-Large
Education: Florida State College of Law, J.D. with Honors, 1997; New College of Florida, B.A., 1994
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): At-Large BOCC (2020) and District 4 BOCC (2018)
Please list your highlights of civic involvement: I spent a 17-year legal career as a public interest lawyer fighting for families. As lead attorney for the Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs and Commission on Equal Opportunity, I held accountable bad actors who defrauded vulnerable people and landlords who discriminated. When I moved to Charlotte, I became a guardian ad litem to seniors and then represented at-risk kids. As a county commissioner, I continue to work at the policy level to improve the quality of life for all our residents.
What more can county government do to help CMS close achievement gaps and support students in impoverished families?
Over the last two years, I voted to increase CMS’ baseline operational funding by $37 million because education is a top priority for this community. In addition, I supported the county making strong investments to expand access to free high-quality pre-K, affordable housing, healthy grocery stores, and subsidized childcare so parents can work. I believe we need increased county focus on preparing and connecting residents to great careers with our region’s growth industries and employers.
How do you plan to collaborate with other local and state elected officials?
I will continue to do what I have always done: reach out to build relationships, find areas of agreement while maintaining my independence, always be respectful and responsive, with the commitment to improve the well-being of the public in every action I take.
How do you plan to approach the county’s upcoming revaluation and how will the results inform your stance on the 2024 fiscal year’s tax rate?
The revaluation process requires specialized expertise by the tax assessor; however, part of my job is to ensure that Mecklenburg Tax Assessor Ken Joyner is careful, diligent, fair and equitable. As we go forward in this process, I will be listening closely to resident feedback to evaluate whether the Tax Assessor’s Office continues to live up to all our expectations for objectivity, fairness, and professionalism.
Name a quality about yourself that makes you a good leader:
Every day I focus on solving the challenges our community faces and uniting this community to make us stronger and more successful. I am not distracted by the noise of elective office, and I keep my attention on serving the public with respect, professionalism, and honor.
What one professional or political accomplishment are you most proud of?
It would be hard to name just one, but the list would Mecklenburg’s comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance, a record $50 million for land acquisition for parks, and fighting for a science-based response to the pandemic.
This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
