Incumbents, McAdoo win in county commission races; Leake loses
Morris “Mac” McAdoo won a competitive primary race for the wide open District 1 seat on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Tuesday night, while all three at-large incumbents retained their seats in a crowded primary.
The only incumbent who lost is Vilma Leake, the longtime leader of District 2.
With all precincts reporting, McAdoo captured 49.4% of votes for a strong lead in north Mecklenburg’s District 1. Jessica Finkel trailed with 32.6% followed by Adam Pasiak with 18%. They’re running to replace outgoing commissioner Elaine Powell, who chose not to run for reelection.
The winner will face Republican Aaron Marin in November.
McAdoo is an attorney who previously served on the Mecklenburg County Bar Association and was the second vice chairman of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. He’s also the founding chair of the PSF Foundation, which supports young people in North Charlotte.
Ten candidates are running for three at-large seats on the board, including incumbents Leigh Altman, Arthur Griffin Jr. and Yvette Townsend-Ingram. They won with 19.8%, 19.7% and 15.9% of votes, respectively. The winners will not face an opponent in the general election and are guaranteed seats on the board.
Trailing by a wide margin were Nichel Dunlap, with 8.9%, and Felicia Thompkins, with 7.8%.
Leake of District 2 and George Dunlap of District 3 are the longest-serving incumbents and both sought their 10th terms.
Leake lost to Monifa Drayton with 48.1% of votes, while Dunlap won with 80.9% against Phil Carey.
Districts 4, 5 and 6 are uncontested in both the primary and general elections.
Democrat Charles DeLoach is slated to become the next District 5 leader, replacing outgoing commissioner Laura Meier. Incumbents Susan Rodriguez-McDowell of District 6 and Chairman Mark Jerrell of District 4 will retain their seats.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 8:54 PM.
