Patrick Cannon wants a second chance in Charlotte. He’s got a lot to prove.

Patrick Cannon is hoping Charlotteans believe in second chances.

The former mayor and longtime Democratic politician, who in 2014 was convicted of accepting more than $50,000 in bribes while holding office, is running for an at-large seat on Charlotte City Council in 2022.

But Cannon has a lot to prove if he wants to hold public office again.

He began to make his case in a series of interviews with local TV stations last week, the first time he has spoken to the media since being released from federal prison in 2016. Each reporter asked Cannon the same thing: why are you running, and why should you be given a second chance?

They’re fair questions, and ones that voters deserve the answers to. Cannon’s arrest was a significant scandal that dealt a damaging blow to our city, and his deception is something that many Charlotteans haven’t forgotten. “Patrick Cannon betrayed the public’s trust and embarrassed the city he was elected to serve. Cannon accepted more than $50,000 in bribes, but the social injury to this community is far deeper,” U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins said at the time of his sentencing.

Cannon said he takes responsibility for that mistake, but he doesn’t want it to define him. In interviews, Cannon said he’s running for city council because he loves Charlotte and is eager to return to public service. His campaign website touts his record on issues like economic development and public safety — two areas where some believe Charlotte has struggled in recent years. But he also seems to view a political comeback as a way to atone for past wrongdoings.

“I feel like I can’t really get that true level of forgiveness until I’m able to get back to a place where I can show people that I still have worth,” Cannon said in an interview with WCNC.

But Cannon’s history of corruption isn’t the only thing he’ll have to overcome in the coming months. Even before he was arrested, Cannon struggled to earn the trust of fellow politicians and community leaders during the many years he served on City Council and as mayor pro tem. The Observer editorial board ultimately chose not to endorse Cannon in the 2013 mayoral race, largely because more than a dozen people who had worked with Cannon over the years told us he couldn’t be trusted. As it turned out, they were right. We said the same thing in 2019, when it was reported that some community leaders wanted Cannon to run for mayor again.

If he couldn’t be trusted then, what will he do to show colleagues he can be trusted now?

Cannon is asking Charlotteans for their forgiveness, which he says he deserves. And that may be true. But he should remember that their forgiveness isn’t the same thing as their vote, and to conflate the two isn’t fair to voters. His desire to rededicate himself to moving Charlotte forward may be noble, but there are many ways to serve the public, both inside and outside of politics. For starters, Cannon should tell voters what he has done in recent years to serve. And he should explain more fully why he sees public office as his best path to redemption.

Cannon, for his part, seems to understand that he has a difficult case to make to voters.

“I still have a ways to go in my own mind to prove to people that I can be trusted,” Cannon told WBTV.

Are we skeptical? Yes, and voters should be, too. But it’s been nearly a decade since Cannon’s fall from grace, and he may not be the person he once was. People can change, and if nothing else, Cannon deserves the opportunity to explain in more detail how he has. Voters should listen, then decide whether that explanation is good enough.