Observer endorsement: Our choices for Mecklenburg primaries

A host of challenges face the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. Despite last year’s county tax increase, budget items such as social services, arts and parks demand more funding, and voters and politicians alike have no appetite for another tax increase. Given these constraints, the board will need highly capable members to successfully negotiate the path ahead.

Our recommendations for contested races on the primary ballot:

At-large

Eight Democrats are running for three at-large seats: incumbents Pat Cotham and Ella Scarborough; former commissioner Lloyd Scher; pastors Ray McKinnon and Brenda Stevenson; public-interest attorney Leigh Altman; activist and organizer Tera Lee Long, and perennial candidate Tigress McDaniel. With no GOP candidates running, the Democratic primary winners will be the next at-large members of the board, which currently has no Republicans.

Three candidates stand out for the energy, vision and depth they would contribute.

Cotham has consistently received the most votes in her county races, but she served just one term as board chair because her leadership irked fellow commissioners. The attributes that some board members find irksome, however, make her most valuable to her constituents. Cotham is independent, driven and willing to investigate most questions that come before commissioners — qualities that are especially valuable on a board that has no Republicans. That same drive propels her into the community, working, observing and listening, making her one of Mecklenburg’s most visible public officials.

McKinnon, pastor of South Tryon Community United Methodist Church in the Brookhill community, serves as commissioner on the Charlotte Housing Authority Board and as a member of the Leading on Opportunity Council. His spiritual beliefs inspire his progressive ideals — affordable housing and inequality are Mecklenburg’s most urgent issues, he says — but those convictions don’t prevent him from reaching out across party or class to achieve solutions. With Brookhill Village, a long-troubled housing development saddled with legal issues, McKinnon partnered with a developer to create a plan that potentially improves affordable housing for the area with no displacement.

Altman, who displays a firm grasp of the challenges facing the board and county, cites Mecklenburg’s lack of economic mobility as her greatest concern. She vows to advocate for more resources for job training to create a pipeline to the thousands of good tech jobs Charlotte has available, and she promises to be an advocate for more pre-K education programs and mental health support.

We recommend Cotham, McKinnon and Altman.

District 3

In this district northeast of uptown, four-term incumbent and board chair George Dunlap faces political newcomer and fellow Democrat Cade Lee. Dunlap declined to speak to the editorial board in advance of our primary recommendation; the Observer doesn’t endorse candidates who refuse to participate in an interview.

Dunlap has a history of combativeness as a commissioner, but he has become a different kind of leader as board chair. Fellow commissioners have largely praised his receptiveness to ideas and discussions, and he’s gotten in front of disagreements and built consensus on a board that sometimes has been dysfunctional in the past.

UNC Charlotte student Cade Lee is a thoughtful, progressive Democrat who is critical of Dunlap’s transparency issues surrounding the county budget. He would bring to the board an ambitious platform that includes action on climate change and gun violence prevention. We don’t think Lee is the best candidate in this district race, but we believe he has a promising future in public service.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 2:55 PM.