Endorsements: Our choices for mayoral and Charlotte City Council primaries

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Endorsements 2022

The Editorial Board’s recommendations for the primary elections on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

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Charlotte voters have some promising new faces and difficult choices to consider on the ballot for the 2022 City Council primary elections. In the mayoral race, incumbent Vi Lyles faces a familiar opponent and a new Republican challenger in the fall.

Our recommendations for contested races:

City Council at-large

Voters can choose four candidates in the primary race they vote in. In the Republican field, those choices are clear. David Merrill, Kyle Luebke, Carrie Olinski and Charlie Mulligan are four young candidates who bring a thoughtful grasp and moderate approach to issues facing the council. Republicans should be heartened to see such a deep field of strong candidates; the GOP bench has been thin in recent years. We recommend all four.

The Democratic field also is deep but with faces voters will recognize. At-large incumbents Braxton Winston and Dimple Ajmera are joined by current District 1 representative Larken Egleston and former council members James Mitchell and LaWana Slack-Mayfield.

Former mayor Patrick Cannon, who went to prison while accepting bribes while in office, also is in the field. Cannon, who was on the city council before he became mayor, was widely mistrusted by Democrats and Republicans who worked with him then. He has not done enough since to regain voters’ trust.

Winston continues to be a powerful voice on the council, and he is becoming a more effective and collaborative council member. Egleston has been a moderate, steady voice on the council who adeptly navigates difficult discussions, including police reform. Ajmera, who has long been a passionate voice for communities across the city, has worked hard to gain the respect of fellow council members and city officials.

Slack-Mayfield is a smart and fierce advocate for diverse Charlotte communities, but she has embarrassed the city and set back critical relationships with ill-considered social media posts, including one that likened police to terrorists. She’s admitted those posts were mistakes, and while she told the Editorial Board that while she still wants to start difficult conversations, she’s indicated that she will be more discerning in how she does so. We think voters should give her that chance.

We recommend Winston, Egleston, Ajmera and Slack-Mayfield.

District 1

Voters in Egleston’s old district have three good choices in the Democratic primary: Charlene Henderson El, Dante Anderson and former council-appointee and Observer contributing columnist Billy Maddalon. Maddalon and Anderson bring business and professional backgrounds that would complement the council’s makeup. We give Anderson a very slight nod for her more precise vision for her largely east Charlotte district and the fresh voice she would add to the council.

District 2

Incumbent Malcolm Graham faces two Democratic challengers: voting precinct chair Amar Johnson and Kendrick Cunningham, whose vibrant campaign has focused on housing and equity concerns as Charlotte grows. We appreciate Cunningham’s work and hope he continues to pursue public service, but Graham has been an effective representative who’s brought much needed investment to his district north and west of Uptown. We recommend Graham.

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Victoria Watlington faces Tiawana Deling Brown, whose inspiring advocacy work has focused on helping women who, like her, were incarcerated. Watlington, however, has been a sharp, hardworking representative for her west-southwest Charlotte district. She deserves another term.

District 4

Challenger Darlene Heater is a University City veteran, regular civic participant and director of University City Partners. She brings a strong grasp of issues in her district and a record of working to tackle them. We recommend her over incumbent Renee Perkins Johnson and challenger Cedric Dean.

District 5

Five Democrats — Vinroy Reid, Mark Vincent, Liz Millsaps Haigler, Curtis Marvin Hayes Jr. and Marjorie Molina — are vying for an open seat in this district east and southeast of Uptown. It’s a deep field, but community activist Curtis Hayes and active community member Marjorie Molina stand out for their breadth of service and grasp of the role council can play on issues like affordable housing and transportation. We give a slight nod to Molina for her work on equitable development issues.

District 6

Democrats Stephanie Hand, Robert Hillman and Nancy Wiggins are running to face Republican incumbent Tariq Bokhari in this south Charlotte district. Wiggins brings a dozen years of leadership on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission. Hillman and Hand bring significant business experience and service on Charlotte-Mecklenburg boards and commissions. We give the nod to Hand, who also is ordained in the United Methodist Church, for the diverse experience and network that she would add to the council.

Charlotte mayor

Democratic incumbent Vi Lyles is running against three challengers, including four-time mayoral candidate Lucille Puckett. Lyles has been an effective mayor, intentional bridge builder with Republicans, and steady leader on affordable housing and other equity issues. In the Republican primary, political newcomer Stephanie de Sarachaga-Bilbao offers a broad, moderate vision on public safety and affordable housing that should appeal to GOP voters. We recommend Lyles and de Sarachaga-Bilbao in their primaries.

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.