Malcolm Graham won’t run for City Council next year, considering run for mayor
Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham is either running for mayor next year or not running at all, he said at a press conference Monday.
Graham told reporters he created a committee to explore a potential mayoral run and will have a decision within the next two to three months. He represents District 2 in northwest Charlotte and parts of uptown but is ready for a change.
“Now is the time to kind of pass that along to someone else and let them kind of pick up the baton for District 2 and take it the rest of the way,” Graham said, adding, “I’m not done with public office yet.”
Graham first served on the council from 1999 until 2005, when voters elected him to the state Senate. He worked in the General Assembly for 10 years before losing a bid for Congress.
He returned to the City Council in 2019 at Lyles’ encouragement, he said.
“When I ran for District 2, I made a promise to the community that I would represent the entire community, not only District 2, but the city as a whole. And I think I’ve kinda done that in terms of trying to make district issues city priorities,” Graham said.
Graham is one of several council members expected to run next year, alongside District 1 councilwoman Dante Anderson, at-large councilwomen Dimple Ajmera and Victoria Watlington and Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell.
The mayor’s seat will be open for the first time in a decade next year after Mayor Vi Lyles’ surprise resignation announcement about quarter of the way through her fifth term. Her last day in office is Tuesday, and Robert Harrington will be sworn in as her successor Wednesday.
State law tasked the City Council with appointing a replacement to finish out Lyles’ term ending in December 2027. The council opened public applications with a nonbinding expectation that whoever it selected would not run for the seat next year.
Mitchell was the only council member who applied for the job and committed not to run if his colleagues chose him. Graham didn’t apply because he didn’t want to make that commitment, he said.
“Obviously I’m very curious about the opportunity to run for public office. I enjoy the work. I know the work real well,” Graham said. “No major announcement to make today other than the fact that I probably will not be running in District 2 in 2027.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 12:13 PM.
