A Mayor is the political head of an incorporated city, town or village – otherwise known as a municipality.

There are 7 mayors in Mecklenburg County: in Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville.

How are mayors elected?

Mayors are elected every two years by a citywide (in Charlotte) or town-wide (Mecklenburg County towns) vote.

• If you are a resident of Charlotte, you can vote for Charlotte mayor but not for Cornelius mayor. If you are a resident of Huntersville, you can vote for Huntersville mayor but not for Matthews mayor.
• If you are unsure where you are registered to vote (which city or town), you can look it up here.
• No matter where you live, the local government officials in each city and town are important. Their decisions can impact residents outside of the city or town limits.

Responsibilities

The general responsibilities of the Charlotte mayor are:

• Preside at city council meetings, including voting in the event of a tie and having the option to veto a vote.
• Together, the Mayor and City Council are responsible for establishing the general policies under which the City operates.
• The Mayor is the chief spokesperson for the city.

Mayors in surrounding Mecklenburg County towns have similar responsibilities. This year, there will be a primary election for the Republican mayoral candidate for the City of Charlotte. The Democratic candidate is unopposed and will face the winner of the Republican primary. Mayors in Mecklenburg towns serve in non-partisan offices so there is no need for a primary – their races will be in the general election.

Learn more

Learn more about the role of the Mayor in Charlotte.

What is the difference between a city, town or village? In North Carolina, nothing – the terminology is simply the preference of the residents!

Website: www.MayorJimTaylor.com

E-mail: Jim@MayorJimTaylor.com

Phone Number:: 704-845-1864

Twitter name or URL:: http://twitter.com/jamesptaylor

Current Occupation:: Vice President – Finance @ Wachovia

Education–Highest Degree:: BA – University of South Florida

What office are you running for?: Mayor

Please share with us a short personal/professional biography:: Jim Taylor – Current Matthews Mayor Pro-Tem
Age 45
Employer: Wachovia Bank. Vice President – Finance
Live in Matthews for 20 years
Graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Grew up in Miami, Florida
Married for 19 years to Joselyn Taylor
Two children in CMS schools
Spare time – spending time with family and fixing things around the house.

15 Years of dedicated service and experience to the Town of Matthews
10 years on Town Council
Current Mayor Pro-Tem
Co Chair Matthews Historical Task Force
Board of Directors Matthews Fire Department
Past Board of Director Matthews HELP Center
Matthews Alternate Representative on MUMPO
Working with Transit Authority and CATS
Advocate for Matthews’ students at CMS

Most important organizations you belong to (up to three):: Family
Church
Matthews Community

List up to three (3) of your most important political/civic accomplishments in the last five (5) years:: Public Safety – Expansion and upgrade of Matthews Fire Department while Maintaining a low tax rate for Matthews and having fiscal responsibility and sound financial basis for decisions made with taxpayer funds. Public Safety is priority

Schools – I have supported neighborhood schools for many years. Schools in Matthews are some of the best in the entire county because of the involvement of the parents, students and residence of the town. I have a great working relationship with Dr. Pete Gorman. My efforts will remain centered around achieving and maintaining high standards in our schools. With two children in the CMS system, I have a vested interest in keeping the level of education superior for the families of Matthews.

Historic Preservation – As co-chair of the Historical Task Force I am involved in establishing a long range historical preservation advisory committee to set the foundation for preservation efforts. Preservation of our history will enhance the future as we blend heritage with responsible progressive development. Our past, present and future plans will coexist in Matthews to preserve our legacy for future generations

Why are you running for the office of your choice?: I was encouraged and asked to run in order to continue the progressive leadership of Town Government. I love being involved in Matthews and want to continue to contribute to my community. Matthews is a wonderful place to live, work, play and raise our families. I have served as a Commissioner of Matthews for 10 years, the last two as Mayor Pro-Tem. I have learned a lot in my 5 terms in office and know I am ready to lead Matthews going forward. I want to continue working for the citizens of our community and maintain the strong and vibrant community we all love. Together we need to protect what we have worked so hard to achieve while always striving to improve as we move forward. I want to continue to bring positive progressive leadership as Mayor of the Town of Matthews. These are exceptionally challenging times for each and every one of us. Now, more than ever requires Experienced, Knowledgeable Leadership and Strong Partnerships for our community. I believe in honesty and accountability. I do not dodge or sidestep any issue, especially those tough or difficult issues which are crucial to ensure that Matthews will continue to be known as the best of the best. I am the best candidate to become the next Mayor of Matthews.

What makes you the most qualified candidate?: In my 15 years of Public Service to Matthews, I have clearly demonstrated my ability to relate to a wide variety of people and understand diverse issues.
I am always eager to investigate and evaluate all positions prior to making a decision. Matthews deserves no less.
I have:
15 Years of dedicated service and experience to the Town of Matthews
10 years on Town Council
Current Mayor Pro-Tem
Co Chair Matthews Historical Task Force
Board of Directors Matthews Fire Department
Past Board of Director Matthews HELP Center
Matthews Alternate Representative on MUMPO
Working with Transit Authority and CATS
Advocate for Matthews’ students at CMS

My unique qualifications include the fact that I have the ability to work together and bring people together.

I am endorsed by 100% of the candidates running for the office of Matthews Commissioner as their choice for Mayor. These are the people whom I would be working with and they know what is involved in being Mayor.

I have 100% of Candidates for Town Council Endorsing me for the position of Mayor and current Mayor, Lee Myers, Enthusiastically Endorses me for Mayor. These are the people that know what is needed to be the Mayor of our Town and the people I would be working with when elected.

What regional issue do you believe most affects your municipality (such as crime, roads, schools, etc.) and what role do you believe your municipality can play in improving it?: Transportation and roads are the biggest regional issues we will face together. We need to try to get Union COunty included in the discussions as well because they are the fastest growing segment in the area and their growth is impacting all of us in some way.

Do you believe there could be better collaboration among the municipalities in Mecklenburg County? If so, what would you suggest to improve it?: Yes…. More communication. This is where Experience comes in and I have the expierience needed to keep Matthews as a leader within the region.

How can residents get involved in your campaign? Please include campaign manager or volunteer coordinator’s contact information.: Campaign Manager – Alesa Klein – 704-576-4011

alesaklein@windstream.net

Website URL: http://www.anthonyfoxx.com

Phone Number:: 704-342-8005

Facebook Page:: Anthony Foxx for Mayor – November ’09

Twitter:: @Foxx4CLTmayor

Current Occupation:: Attorney

Education–Highest Degree:: New York University School of Law

Please share with us a short personal/professional biography:: Raised in Charlotte by my mother and grandparents, I learned early how to overcome adversity through hard work and personal responsibility. I attended the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools through high school, graduating from West Charlotte High School. I graduated from Davidson College and New York University School of Law as a Root-Tilden-Snow Public Interest Law scholar.
In my career, I have worked in all three branches of the federal government and spent the last eight years in private practice at Hunton & Williams, where I am a business litigation attorney. In my law practice, I have defended large and small companies in courts throughout the United States.

Since 2005, I have served as an at-large member of Charlotte City Council, and I have worked to serve the entire community well. I have chaired the Environment Committee and the Transportation Committee. Over a party-line vote in 2006, I supported ending the neglect of our public safety, transportation and neighborhood needs. Today, our crime rate is down, the city is building roads again for the first time since 2002 and neighborhoods are stronger.

My wife Samara and my children, Hillary and Zachary, give me tremendous love and support.

Three (3) most important organizations you belong to:: (1) My family,
(2) Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
(3) North Carolina State Bar

Three (3) most important political/civic accomplishments in the last five (5) years:: (1) Public safety, transportation and neighborhoods. I voted to override a mayoral veto and party line vote to pass the 2006 city council budget which funded all 70 requested police officers to reduce crime, returned the city to building/repairing roads for the first time since 2002 and set about improving neighborhoods.
(2) Expanding Economic Development To Challenged Areas. I led a strategy to improve economic conditions in challenged areas. By addressing crime, environmental problems, land assembly challenges (Eastland Mall) and zoning issues, the city can encourage private sector growth in these areas while expanding our tax base, growing jobs and improving available goods and services.
(3) Getting $5 million of Safelight/SafeSpeed Funds to CMS: Last spring, I stood up and ended a silent dispute between the city and school system over these funds. By forcing the transfer of these funds, we helped to keep effective teachers in the classroom.

Why are you running for the office of your choice?: Charlotte is my home. I was born here, raised here and educated here. I am raising a young family now, and looking around the corner, I see a number of challenges and opportunities. As a city council member, I have worked tirelessly to address issues that threaten our future: public safety, transportation, environmental, managing growth and, of course, growing jobs. The concept that we will emerge from this downturn just as we entered it is wrong. We won’t. We have to rebuild our economy and set anew to keep Charlotte as a strong community of choice for employers and families. I see these challenges clearly, and I am confident that I am the best leader for our city right now.

What makes you the most qualified candidate?: Charlotte is facing a transition. The next mayor will not enjoy an economic wave to ride. If elected, I will have to work hard to create the next wave of economic growth. We need to diversify our economy, offer help to small businesses, create good jobs that cannot be outsourced, expand emerging sectors like clean energy, increase educational opportunities, improve access to after-school programs and keep our streets safe for businesses and families. We also need to make strategic and forward-thinking decisions about growth based on sound policies rather than special interests.

My record of service reflects the following: I am an inclusive leader. I believe in progressive, pro-business leadership. I work with developers, not for them. I am open-minded. I don’t have an over-reliance on how things have been done. I have a great respect for Charlotte and its history. I will work just as hard to make Charlotte a great place to live as I will to make it a great place to visit. I will build a new blueprint for job growth, not casting out the old but mining new opportunities. I will not allow our public safety or transportation needs to pile up.

In this challenging economy, if elected, what do you see as your role in improving the quality of life in Charlotte for all its residents?: The mayor sets the tone for our community, and in this election, residents will have to decide if they want the tone to be pessimistic or optimistic. I am an optimist, and my life experience has taught me that goals cannot be reached without relentless focus. I want to grow jobs in Charlotte. I want every corner of Charlotte to thrive, which means continuing to improve public safety, transportation and economic development efforts throughout Charlotte. I want to improve our relationships in our region and with our state leaders to get I-485 completed and widened and to address criminal justice issues, among other things. None of these goals will be easy but all of them are achievable. I have undergone the most extensive efforts to craft a workable agenda for Charlotte. The most important thing I can do as mayor is to give residents of Charlotte confidence that someone is thinking about their challenges every day, has a plan to address them and the political courage to fight for good results. My entire service on city council reflects this kind of approach.

What role do you see residents playing in improving the quality of life in Charlotte?: Government simply cannot solve every challenge we face. For example, public safety is a community challenge. We have the capacity to be the safest large city in America, and that’s my goal as mayor. We will need courageous neighbors who keep a vigilant eye on their communities and call in problems to our police department or code enforcement staff. We will need volunteerism to end the pipeline of crime by lifting the ambitions of Charlotte’s young people, showing them that they should aspire to everything their talents and ambitions lead them to accomplish. That’s the kind of Charlotte in which I grew up. I am not just talking about this kind of work. I am doing it myself, mentoring young people at West Charlotte High School, my alma mater. As mayor, I have pledged to spend a portion of every week tutoring a young person and challenging every able adult to do the same. We’re going to tackle our challenges one at a time – one child, one neighborhood, one city working together.

How can residents get involved in your campaign? Please include campaign manager or volunteer coordinator’s contact information.: Our campaign headquarters is open: 1524 Elizabeth Avenue (704-342-8005) from 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Mondays – Saturdays and 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. on Sundays. I encourage residents to connect through our website (www.anthonyfoxx.com), Facebook (Anthony Foxx for Mayor – November ’09) and Twitter (@Foxx4CLTmayor) – and get your friends to do so too. Please also donate securely online or mail a check to P.O. Box 34065, Charlotte, N.C. 28234.

This post was submitted by Anthony Foxx.