Ben Copeland

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ben Copeland

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

September 12, 2023

Education

High school

Myers Park High School

Personal

Birthplace

Escondido, Calif.

Religion

None

Profession

Small business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Ben Copeland (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Charlotte City Council in North Carolina. He lost in the Democratic primary on September 12, 2023.

Copeland completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ben Copeland was born in Escondido, California. He earned a high school diploma from Myers Park High School. His career experience owning his own small business. He previously worked for Tesla and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2023)

General election

General election for Charlotte City Council At-large (4 seats)

Incumbent Victoria Watlington, incumbent Dimple Ajmera, incumbent James Mitchell, and incumbent LaWana Slack-Mayfield defeated Steven DiFiore II in the general election for Charlotte City Council At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Victoria Watlington (D)	23.2	65,869
✔		Dimple Ajmera (D)	23.1	65,625
✔		James Mitchell (D)	22.2	63,053
✔	Submit photo	LaWana Slack-Mayfield (D)	21.6	61,270
		Steven DiFiore II (L)	8.2	23,312
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6	4,489

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 283,618
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Charlotte City Council At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Charlotte City Council At-large on September 12, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dimple Ajmera	21.7	19,164
✔	Submit photo	LaWana Slack-Mayfield	19.9	17,579
✔		James Mitchell	18.8	16,669
✔		Victoria Watlington	17.9	15,818
		Charlene Henderson El	12.9	11,447
		Ben Copeland	8.8	7,820

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,497
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Steven DiFiore II advanced from the Libertarian primary for Charlotte City Council At-large.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Copeland in this election.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ben Copeland completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Copeland's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Hello, my name is Ben Copeland. I’ve lived in Charlotte since 2004 and I want to give back to the community that has given me everything. While living in Charlotte, I’ve had the opportunity to live in many different parts of Charlotte and experience our great community. I am a private pilot and small business owner. I am hoping to become the youngest person ever elected to Charlotte’s City Council!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Affordable Housing
• Infrastructure Development
• Environmental Policy

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

Involving residents is a top priority. As a young person, I know how it feels to feel hopeless and left out of important decisions when said decisions will ultimately have the biggest impact on the lives of the youngest generations.

Community Question Featured local question

How should record requests from the public be handled? Do you have any policies around transparency and accountability you want to enact?

Honesty is the best policy. There has been some recent controversy about behind closed door discussions involving possible renovations to the Panther’s stadium. This was not discovered until several months after the talks. I believe all citizens should be allowed to know what their city government is spending money on and what the terms of the negotiation look like.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

In order to drive down crime, we must provide opportunities for everyone to succeed in society. To start, we must ensure everyone has access to affordable housing and a good job.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

Charlotte’s sustainable energy action plan or “SEAP” has laid the foundation for Charlotte’s future goals, but we must not ish even harder to reach a sustainable future. To achieve this, I will advocate for the transition to battery-electric vehicles for all city vehicles including but not limited to CATS, CMPD, CMSO, City of Charlotte vehicles, and airport vehicles.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

Charlotte’s roads and highways were constructed in the 1950s and 60s. We must fight for additional federal, state and local funds to upgrade this crippling infrastructure as more people continue to move to Charlotte every year.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The top issue I am running on is affordable housing. Charlotte has experienced a major issue with continual urban sprawl. To contain this issue, the City Council must pass an updated UDO or unified development ordinance which will allow housing units to be constructed closer together, thus driving down cost for everyone and allowing people to live closer to where their jobs are located.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

A good council member will listen to the feedback of voters, city staff, experts, and trusted individuals. The council member will then make an informed decision using facts and logic.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.

Note: Copeland submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on July 10, 2023.

Show past responsesHide past responses

April 29 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Hello, my name is Ben Copeland and I’ve lived in Charlotte for 19 years. I have lived in many places across our beautiful city including the communities of University City, Plaza Midwood, Eastway, and Barclay Downs. I graduated from Myers Park High School in the IB Program and am a current UNC Charlotte student majoring in Finance. I am a successful small business owner who cares about his community and wishes to become the first Gen Z member of our council to introduce fresh ideas and perspectives.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Housing
• Community Development
• Oversight

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a citizen of Charlotte, I have seen the continual development of our beautiful city. From the airport expansion project to the development of Camp North End to the changing of zoning laws to allow for the construction of skyscrapers in South End, our city has seen so much development over the past couple of decades. While this development is exciting and must be continued, we must also make sure the existing members our our community are not driven out. With the recent property reevaluation that took place where the average value of a property went up significantly, the council must ensure property taxes reflect citizen’s actual ability to pay.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was with Tesla as a seasonal vehicle delivery advisor.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Copeland submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on April 29, 2023.

See also

2023 Elections

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Candidate

Charlotte City Council At-large

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