Commissioners, bonds and judges: See Mecklenburg races on your ballot in November

Fifteen candidates, including eight incumbents and seven challengers, are running for nine seats on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners in the 2022 general election.

All three at-large seats and five of the district seats will be contested in the Nov. 8 general election. Only Vilma Leake, the District 2 incumbent, faces no competition in the November election.

For Mecklenburg district seats, voters pick one person. For the at-large seats — currently held by Leigh Altman, Pat Cotham and Wilhelmenia Rembert — voters pick three.

In-person early voting begins Oct. 20.

Voters also will select candidates in local races including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, two superior court seats and Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor. Three bond referendums will also be on the ballot for city of Charlotte residents. In a number of races, including sheriff and district attorney, the winner of the Democratic primary faces no general election competition.

At-large county commissioner

While incumbents Cotham and Altman are running to keep their seats, Wilhelmenia Rembert is not. Rembert assumed an at-large seat after Ella Scarborough began medical leave from the board in early February. Scarborough died in May.

Along with the Democratic incumbents, Democrat Arthur Griffin Jr. and Republican Tatyana Thulien are vying for seats on the dais.

Altman, 50, practiced public interest law for 17 years before moving to Charlotte and becoming a guardian ad litem for seniors and children. She’s seeking her second term on the board.

Altman said accomplishments she’s most proud of include Mecklenburg’s non-discrimination ordinance passing in August 2021, allocating $50 million to the Park and Recreation department for acquisition of land for parks and “fighting for a science-based response to COVID-19.”

“I am not distracted by the noise of elective office, and I keep my attention on serving the public with respect, professionalism, and honor,” Altman said.

Cotham, 72, also works as a senior recruiter, and is seeking her sixth term on the board. Cotham said she wants to ensure Mecklenburg County values health care, natural resources, education, the arts and the elderly.

“I am proud of many things but the many times I have been the top vote-getter is always reassuring to me that I am doing a good job for the people,” Cotham said.

Thulien, 57, is the sole Republican at-large candidate and is seeking public office for the first time. Her priorities include keeping property taxes fair, education and harmonious development.

“I have a vision of the picture as a whole and share it with the others,” Thulien said. “I am also a leader, yet a team player and a problem solver.”

Thulien works as a teacher, interpreter and singer and serves on the Charlotte Community Relationship Committee.

Griffin, 74, says he wants to prioritize education, affordable housing, parks and economic development if he wins an at-large seat. He served as chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education from 1997 to 2002 and says he’ll use that experience to build intergovernmental relationships.

“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,” Griffin said.

District 1 county commissioner

Democratic incumbent Elaine Powell and Republican Ross Monks will face off for the District 1 seat which covers northern Mecklenburg County.

Powell, 59, serves as vice chair of the board in her second term and says she’s passionate about parks and recreation. She established the board’s Environmental Stewardship Committee and created an Environmental Leadership Action plan.

“I am an excellent listener who likes to hear multiple perspectives before making decisions,” Powell said.

Monks, 60, is a businessman and retired U.S. Army officer who served in the Gulf War. He is seeking elected office for the first time.

His campaign centers around bringing “common sense” back to Mecklenburg County, prioritizing businesses, schools and places of worship.

“It is critical that we engage all stakeholders, understand their concerns and capabilities, seek to find common ground, and then work together toward facilitating common-sense solutions,” Monks said.

District 3 commissioner

Republican Dianna Benson will face George Dunlap, current chair of the Board of County Commissioners for the District 3 seat, which covers northeast Mecklenburg County.

Dunlap, 66, is defending the seat he’s held for eight terms. He was the first district representative to be elected chair of the board and has an extensive background on the CMS board.

“To the extent that we can, we must hold accountable those who have been entrusted with taxpayer dollars to educate our children, to include those who attend charter schools, private schools as well as those who are home schooled,” Dunlap said.

Dunlap, born and raised in Pineville, is a former drug abuse resistance education officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and previously ran for Mecklenburg County sheriff.

Benson, 63, is self-employed and has never sought public office, but said her integrity and courage make her a good leader.

District 4 commissioner

Mark Jerrell will try to defend his District 4 seat against Republican Ray Fuentes, who is seeking public office for the first time. District 4 covers parts of east Charlotte.

Jerrell, 52, is seeking his third term on the board, and said he prioritizes social justice and equity in Mecklenburg County.

“I have a skill set that allows me to leverage my knowledge and passion to produce policy that creates systemic change and positively impacts the lives of our residents,” Jerrell said.

Jerrell’s civic involvement includes working with My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte, Far East Neighborhood Coalition and the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg.

Fuentes, 58, works in environmental compliance and previously served on the planning and zoning board and air quality commission. He is seeking elected office for the first time.

Fuentes said he plans to address inflation, “failing” schools, crime and rising taxes.

“I am a great listener and I believe that my passion to provide the people of Mecklenburg County a better place to live, work and thrive is key to our well-being,” Fuentes said.

District 5 commissioner

The District 5 race is a rematch of a 2020 contest. Laura Meier is challenged by Republican Matthew Ridenhour, who previously served as a county commissioner. District 5 serves south Charlotte.

In 2020, Meier narrowly defeated Ridenhour with 51.31% of the vote.

Meier, 53, is serving her first term on the Board. She previously served as co-president of Charlotte Women’s Movement.

Meier said she hopes to continue advocating for better schools, parks and mental health services.

“In my first term, I spoke in favor of increased funding in both the budget seasons and stood my ground in the face of strong opposition,” Meier said. “I believe CMS cannot do more with less and so I fought for more money for our schools.”

Ridenhour, 45, is a risk manager who served as a commissioner from 2012 to 2018. His priorities include education, safe streets and a strong parks and greenway system.

“While the county is limited in what it can do in the classroom, it can, and should, seek ways to partner with CMS to provide ancillary services children need,” Ridenhour said.

Ridenhour, a U.S. Marine Cops veteran, is the founder of Steele Creek Preparatory Academy and serves on the board of directors for Preserve Mecklenburg and Charlotte Trail of History.

District 6

Incumbent Susan Rodriguez-McDowell will face Republican Jeremy Brasch this November for the District 6 seat, which covers southern Mecklenburg County.

Rodriguez-McDowell, 58, is finishing her second term on the board where she advocated alongside Meier for an additional $10 million for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, giving the district about $30 million of the roughly $40.4 million increase it requested.

Rodriguez-McDowell, who has lived in District 6 for more than 35 years, said her priorities include healthcare, public education and the environment.

“Our children and educators are facing a huge crisis. We must be at the table with our school district creating solutions,” Rodriguez-McDowell said. “The disastrous achievement gaps that worry us all will never be solved by withholding financial or moral support from our educators and students.”

Brasch, 48, works in information technology and is an Air Force veteran. He’s running for the District 6 seat after two past attempts for an at-large seat.

Brasch said inflation is the single largest threat to county residents.

“Individual spending power continues to diminish. A dollar does not go as far as it used to,” Brasch said. “Now is the time to lower property tax rate.”

Bond referendums

Registered voters in the city of Charlotte will decide whether the city borrows $226 million for big infrastructure projects — affordable housing as well as street and neighborhood improvements.

The bonds are broken into three referendums: $146.2 million toward streets improvements, $29.8 million for neighborhood improvements and $50 million for affordable housing. The last bond package was approved by voters in 2020 and included $197.2 million for transportation, housing and neighborhood improvements.

These are general obligation bonds, meaning they’re backed by the city’s ability to levy taxes on its residents — but that doesn’t mean they’ll increase. Tax rate increases are not expected in the future to pay the bond’s debt service.

The city’s AAA bond rating, the highest rating a municipality can receive, allows it to invest safely and take on less debt to keep tax rates steady for residents, spokesman Lawrence Corley said.

“(General obligation) debt is supported by the faith and credit of the city which includes levying taxes sufficient to repay the debt,” Corley wrote in an email. “Additional debt could impact tax rates, particularly when the additional debt is issued at higher rates.”

The proposed transportation bond would fund street construction, streetscaping, pedestrian infrastructure, utility relocation, bicycle paths, sidewalk construction and repairs, lighting, traffic control and more projects included in the city’s Strategic Mobility Plan.

The proposed neighborhood improvement bond would fund infrastructure improvements, open public space and landscaping. The proposed housing bond would pay capital costs of low- and moderate-income housing projects.

North Carolina Superior Court

North Carolina Superior Court Districts 26A and 26B have contested races this election. North Carolina has 48 superior court districts statewide that hear civil and criminal cases.

District 26A

▪ Democrat Donald Cureton, Jr. is a Mecklenburg County District Court Judge first elected in 2010. He is state certified in juvenile court matters.

▪ Republican Paulina N. Havelka is a Polish immigrant elected in 2018 and leads the District Court’s civil division.

District 26B

▪ Republican Matt Osman has served as a Mecklenburg District Court Judge since 2010, presiding over criminal, civil and family courts.

▪ Democrat Kimberly Best has served as a District Court Judge since 2009, was appointed to the seat in 2021 and is running to keep her seat on Superior Court in District 26B. She is a certified juvenile judge but has presided in many courtrooms as a District Court judge.

Soil and Water Conservation District

The Soil and Water Conservation District works to conserve and improve watershed resources through programming. Mecklenburg County residents will be able to vote for two nonpartisan candidates out of the five that are running.

▪ Nancy Carter is a former Charlotte City Council member who’s served on the district since 2012 and is currently vice chair.

▪ Alonzo Hill described himself as a health enthusiast with an engineering degree who’s seeking elected office for the first time.

▪ Barbara Bleiweis is chair of the district and is in her first term on the Charlotte Water Advisory Committee.

▪ Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel ran for Charlotte mayor in the Democratic primary earlier this year.

▪ Hunter Wilson was appointed Lake Wylie Marine commissioner for Mecklenburg County in 2017.

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.

Genna Contino

The Charlotte Observer

Genna Contino previously covered local government for the Observer, where she wrote about Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. She attended the University of South Carolina and grew up in Rock Hill.