Who is Arthur Griffin Jr., at-large Democratic Mecklenburg County commission candidate?
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 74
Campaign website: https://www.griffin4mecklenburgcounty.com
Email: 913agriffin@gmail.com
Occupation: Former Senior Vice President, McGraw-Hill Education, NY. Retired
Education: BS, The University of the State of New York
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): Yes, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Please list your highlights of civic involvement:
Current trustee and chair of CPCC’s Student Success and Academic Programs Committee; member, Board of Directors, Renaissance West Community Initiative, Inc; member, CMS Equity Committee; former chairman, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education; former commissioner, Charlotte Housing Authority; former member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Social Services; former member of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Advisory Committee
What more can county government do to help CMS close achievement gaps and support students in impoverished families?
I would suggest the following for ALL students: (1) commit to a joint strategic partnership to address chronic absenteeism; (2) commit to a joint strategic partnership to address low performing schools; (3) commit to quarterly luncheons to discuss ALL student achievement; (4) commit to intergovernmental targeted interventions to support students
How do you plan to collaborate with other local and state elected officials?
As chair of the school board, I advocated for joint quarterly luncheons between city, county and school officials and would work to reinvent those luncheons to include all county municipal officials. I would continue current legislative meetings with state officials representing Mecklenburg County.
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?
Property taxes generate revenue for the county to do things like support PreK-14 educational opportunities, parks, detention and courts, health and environmental protections and other county services. Although I am not inclined to raise taxes, my approach to the upcoming revaluation would include, but not limited to addressing the county’s priorities, equity to property owners and taxpayers, and limiting the regressive impact on seniors and displacees.
Name a quality about yourself that makes you a good leader:
Authentic
What one professional or political accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am very proud to have had the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1997-2002) and achieving 101% of my annual revenue target goal of $670 million dollars as Senior Vice President, McGraw-Hill Education, New York.
This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
