LaWana Mayfield faces rematch for a 3rd term

In her bid for a third City Council term, Democrat LaWana Mayfield won one rematch in September and now faces another.

On Tuesday Mayfield faces Republican Eric Netter in Charlotte City Council District 3. In 2013 she defeated him with more than 77 percent of the vote.

In the September primary, she won 60 percent of the vote in beating two other Democrats, including her District 3 predecessor, Warren Turner.

Mayfield and Netter are running in the west Charlotte district that stretches from Freedom Drive and Mount Holly Road in the north to Lake Wylie in the south. Home to Charlotte’s airport and much of South End, it includes pockets of westside poverty and thriving new commercial and residential areas in the southwest.

Nearly 6 in 10 of the district’s voters are Democrats. They outnumber Republicans 6-1. Even unaffiliated voters outnumber Republicans more than 2-1. Fifty-four percent of the registered voters are African-American.

A former community organizer, Mayfield works almost full time for the district.

“This is not a part-time job,” she says. “You want to see who’s really being engaged? Watch the council meetings.”

She says she’s running to increase public safety and continue economic growth that’s brought millions in new residential and commercial development. She has organized six job fairs for her constituents and says more than 2,500 people have found jobs as a result.

Earlier this year, she was a strong supporter of an anti-discrimination ordinance backed by the LGBT community.

 

Mayfield says she’s welcomed new development in older neighborhoods such as Wilmore and along West Boulevard. But she wants to ensure that long-time residents don’t become victims of gentrification.

“When you have a diverse community, you’re going to have a stronger community,” she said this week during a debate.

During that same debate, Netter said he would focus on reducing crime in the district. He also called for expansion of the Charlotte Area Transit System. He offered few specifics on that or other policies.

In August the Observer reported that he has a record that includes four trips to prison. Records show he spent two months in prison in 2002 for driving while intoxicated. In 2007, he spent five months behind bars on a probation violation. Department of Correction records show he was also imprisoned in 2001 and 1994. Both times followed driving convictions.

Now he relies on a driver.

“You can rest assured that right now Eric Wayne Netter is not behind anybody’s wheel,” he said in August.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 11:35 AM with the headline "LaWana Mayfield faces rematch for a 3rd term."