Outgoing Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory didn’t keep quiet about his feelings for the N.C. General Assembly — from alleging that the capital was caught up in a culture of corruption to having cantankerous meetings with state representatives to taking a caravan to Raleigh to make a point about hometown crime issues.
And during that time, Charlotte seemed to lag behind on getting necessary resources — like funds to complete I-485, more bodies in the district attorney’s office to keep repeat offenders off the streets and lights on I-277.
On top of that, when federal stimulus money was divvied up by the governor’s office, none of it was allocated for local road projects; in response, McCrory said, in a Feb. 23, 2009 Charlotte Business Journal article, “I’m convinced that Charlotte gets the short end of the stick.”
Even longtime McCrory supporters questioned his approach to dealing with state lawmakers following his failed bid to become governor. “Do I think the mayor is being helpful? My answer would be no,” Bob Morgan, president of The Charlotte Chamber, said to the Business Journal in an article published on March 20, 2009.
But come Dec. 7, what does Anthony Foxx, the Q.C.’s new mayor, plan to do to repair the relationship between Charlotte and Raleigh?
“There are three things,” Foxx said in an interview with Creative Loafing the week before he took office. “First, extending some of the efforts that I’ve already started in terms of building one-on-one relationships with leaders in Raleigh. There is absolutely no substitute for being able to pick up the phone and calling the governor directly or calling a member of the General Assembly directly.”
State Sen. Dan Clodfelter, who had a tense exchange with McCrory in July about state tax plans, said Foxx’s efforts in Raleigh haven’t gone unnoticed. “Anthony has spent time as a city council member coming up here,” Clodfelter said. “Talking with folks about city issues and taking the time to do that — not always having anything specific that he needed at the time, but just generally getting to know folks … and not just the Mecklenburg people either.”
Next on Foxx’s agenda is building coalitions within the Charlotte region. “One goal I have is establishing regional dialogue with mayors and other local government leaders within our region and build regional priorities,” he said. “I believe if we carry those to Raleigh as a region, we will have a lot more effectiveness in getting resources and attention paid to this area.”
According to Foxx, there is greater power in cooperating with municipalities near Charlotte because in Raleigh there are powerful representatives who serve some of the other 17 counties that make up the metro area. “If we’re able to cooperate and build regional priorities, I think we’ll be in a position to make a huge difference in areas like transportation, economic development, the environment, workforce development and you can go on down the list,” said Foxx.
The third way the mayor-elect said that he plans to repair the relationship with the folks in Raleigh is through coalitions of cities across the state that are urban or urbanizing.
“The challenges that Charlotte face in transportation, education — you pick the topic — we’re either at the forefront of where other cities are going to be in North Carolina or we’re in a very similar place with those cities. And there is also going to be a lot of potential in working across borders with other cities across the state that are experiencing the same challenges and making our voices heard,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one silver bullet for improving the relationship, but I think the combination of those three things will be enormously helpful.”
State Rep. Beverly Earle, who lost to McCrory in a 2007 bid to be mayor of Charlotte, said with new and different leadership in the city, citizens will see more results and less posturing — like the mayor’s previously mentioned caravan to Raleigh — rather than having a conversation.
“I work with many Republicans, and I don’t see partisanship all the time. I heard McCrory speak on programs, and I think he makes everything all partisan … it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve worked with some of our delegation people down here, and it’s a better working relationship. [With McCrory] there was always another agenda,” she said.
With Foxx, Earle said she expects a more open relationship between the General Assembly and the city of Charlotte.
“I think Anthony is going to be great for the city. He’s approachable, and Democrats and Republicans will feel comfortable with his leadership and his style of leadership. I think it’s going to be a different day, and I’m really looking forward to it. Everywhere I go, folks have been in tune to what’s happening in Charlotte and they’ve been saying ‘congratulations.'”
Those words, Earle said, are coming from people within and outside of Mecklenburg County.
“I think every opportunity that McCrory gets, he bashes what state government [and] what the governor is doing, and it’s going to be a new day. We already get a bad rep in Raleigh, and then when you have the leadership to come with an attitude … it does not help us when we’re trying to bring resources back to the county,” said Earle. “We’re all here to serve the citizens of Mecklenburg.”
This article appears in Dec 1-7, 2009.
