5 things to know about Monifa Drayton, county commission primary winner
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Drayton defeated long-serving commissioner Vilma Leake in a major primary upset.
- She plans to prioritize homeowners, livability, food access and neighborhood engagement.
- Drayton brings health care leadership, party experience and arts leadership to office.
The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners will have several new faces next term, with one candidate knocking off the longest-serving member.
Political strategist Monifa Drayton defeated Vilma Leake in west Charlotte’s District 2 Democratic primary in the biggest upset of the night. Leake has held the position since 2008.
Drayton previously told The Charlotte Observer she waited for an opening for years before this election. But she believed it was time for Leake to “pass the baton” so she can bring fresh and innovative ideas.
“So I decided this time that I can no longer delay and wait for space,” Drayton said. “A seat is not going to be pulled out for me, so I have to bring my own seat and try to get at the table.”
Drayton will face Republican Angela White Edwards in November, though the Republican Party has not historically fared well in the district.
Here’s what to know about the new county leader.
Drayton built a career in health care before pivoting to politics
Drayton spent decades as a health care administrator and won more than 30 awards for her leadership.
She worked in business development and helped open an emergency room in Huntersville as a hospital administrator.
Drayton most recently served as assistant vice president of the quality division at Atrium Health, where she advocated to create an employee resource group for Black women.
Atrium recognized her with its excellence in health care equity and diversity award in 2020. She left the industry shortly after the pandemic to start her political consulting company.
These are Drayton’s top priorities
If elected, Drayton said she has four main focus areas.
First, she wants to protect homeowners and historic communities. She pointed to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s plans to widen Interstate 77, which could impact historically Black neighborhoods and displace legacy homeowners, as the type of development she’d watch out for.
Livability is also a concern. That could involve anything from sidewalks to environmental safety, Drayton said.
Many District 2 residents live more than a half-mile from a grocery store and lack the transportation or money to get there, she said. That’s why food access is another issue she’ll look closely at, perhaps by creating workforce pathways.
Her final priority is uplifting neighborhood voices and engaging residents by door knocking, town halls, Facebook posts and TikToks.
Drayton is the former director of Meck Dems
Her most high-profile role to date was in 2024 as the short-lived executive director of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party. She left on sour terms after about five months, accusing the party in her resignation letter of racism and “intolerable” working conditions.
Her experience was “devastating,” she said.
“Sometimes you’re in a situation, and you don’t know why,” Drayton said. “But once you get through it, you’ll look back and say, ‘That experience was so necessary.’”
Drayton credits her time as the party’s top staffer for opening her eyes to why some communities are underserved, how she can be a more effective policymaker and why some precincts have low voter turnout. Politics felt transactional, focused more on winning than on change-making, she said.
“Will your win impact the lives of people, or did you just win?” Drayton said. “If you’re holding a seat for a really long time, but the people are still hurting, did you really win?”
She grew up as a musician in New York
Drayton is a native of Buffalo, New York, where she studied classical music from the time she was 6 years old. She played the flute and attended a performing arts high school.
“It was such an anomaly because I was an inner city child, and you didn’t see classical music or classical musicians,” Drayton said. “I was going through the neighborhood carrying my flute, and nobody knew what it was.”
As a girl, she envisioned herself becoming a maestro, but she decided to put down her instrument after graduating high school because she worried the arts path could land her in poverty.
She still carries her love of music with her. The Arts and Science Council named her its interim president in 2023.
She is a proud HBCU graduate
Drayton grew up traveling to South Carolina in the summers. She came from a big family with 36 cousins, many of whom lived in the state. One cousin attended South Carolina State University.
That’s how she landed in the South.
Drayton decided to also attend SC State, a historically Black university, and earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Drayton was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, which she continues to serve as the chair of social action for its Charlotte alumni chapter.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 10:29 AM.
