A conservative’s picks in Charlotte’s 2025 municipal elections | Opinion

Being a Republican in Charlotte requires a sense of humor and a long memory. Well, not really all that long. As late as 2012, this city was happy to lean red.

Since then, though, it’s been nothing but a blue wave. Mecklenburg still has the state’s second-most Republicans, though you wouldn’t know it from looking behind the dais. There hasn’t been a Republican elected to City Council at-large since 2011, and the county commission has been all-Democrat since 2018.

Given that math, now’s a time to be deliberate.

A conservative voter’s priorities this year should be simple: protect the few seats still in Republican hands and add a credible voice for accountability if we can. After that, send a message to the mayor on public safety, and pass a transit plan that funds service and security.

Strategic voting isn’t about purity; it’s about progress—even when the perfect candidate isn’t on your ballot.

Make history with the mayor and City Council

I’ll start where our votes matter most: City Council District 6. The clear choice is Krista Bokhari. South Charlotte is practical; it wants safe neighborhoods, competent basic services and a representative who returns calls. Bokhari has built her case on those fundamentals, and this is the most realistic place to keep a right-of-center voice on council. Lose this, and City Hall inches closer to one-party rule.

Citywide, the at-large race is the best way to add balance. Getting Edwin Peacock III back on council would be a real achievement. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. The last time Republicans fielded candidates, in the odd 2022 post-census cycle, they were about 14,000 votes short of the fourth at-large seat. In a municipal year, committed voters can narrow that gap.

I’m voting for Peacock. For the other three slots, I’ll write in people I trust rather than reward incumbency for its own sake. I can’t recommend the Democratic incumbents; if you’re determined to include one, Dimple Ajmera is the most pragmatic. As for Republican Misun Kim, I don’t know her, and she hasn’t made a persuasive case.

In the mayor’s race, candor helps. Terrie Donovan won’t beat Vi Lyles, but the margin still matters. A strong showing for Donovan tells City Hall that public safety and transparency aren’t niche concerns and stiffens the spines of officials who know the council has drifted left, purging centrists and eroding credibility.

Charlotte needs to restore trust, and sometimes a credible showing is enough to start that work.

Shake up the school board

The superintendent carousel has slowed, but real administrative improvement hasn’t followed. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools needs skeptical, steady eyes — members who measure outcomes honestly and talk to parents like adults.

In District 5, I’m voting for Lisa Cline. The race is nonpartisan, but Cline is the board’s lone Republican and one of the few willing to press hard on budgets and performance without turning meetings into theater. Protect this seat.

In District 1, I support Charlitta Hatch, with eyes open. I’m concerned about her closeness to district leadership, but the incumbent’s radical gender ideology is a non-starter. Between imperfect options, Hatch is the better choice.

In District 4, I support Jillian King. The district’s weakest muscles are transparency and communication; King has made both central to her campaign. This is strategic voting: not for ideological purity, but for competence, daylight and respect for families.

Vote yes on the transit tax

This isn’t a clean left-right question. You’ll find opponents and proponents on both sides. Former mayor Jennifer Roberts opposes the 1-cent increase from the left; plenty of conservatives I respect oppose it as bloat. I’ve criticized Charlotte’s transit planning for years and share the frustration with broken promises.

I’m still voting yes, but barely.

The alternative is paralysis while costs rise and the city falls further behind. A yes vote finally delivers on long-delayed promises and gives our city some modern urban infrastructure. If this passes, the new transit board must make safety its first visible investment. Riders should feel secure from the parking lot to the platform to the last mile. Fail on safety, and the authority squanders public trust on day one.

At the very least, go vote

For a conservative voter in a deep-blue city, it’s easy to get discouraged. But declining to vote because of it would be a mistake. Charlotte won’t turn on a dime, but ballots like this are how you start changing the culture.

Strategic votes, cast in sufficient numbers, can change how a city behaves.

Contributing columnist Andrew Dunn is the publisher of the Longleaf Politics newsletter, which offers thoughtful analysis of North Carolina politics and policy from a conservative perspective. He can be reached at andrew@longleafpol.com.

This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 11:16 AM.