Blake Van Leer

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

Blake Van Leer

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Purdue, 2006

Personal

Birthplace

Atlanta, Ga.

Religion

Christian: Episcopalian

Profession

Entrepreneur

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Blake Van Leer (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.

Van Leer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Blake Van Leer was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Van Leer's career experience includes working as a entrepreneur. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Purdue in 2006.

Van Leer has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• ChickTech
• Society of Women engineers SWE
• NSLS
• SAR

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (2024)

General election

General election for Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners At-Large (3 seats)

Incumbent Arthur Griffin Jr., Yvette Townsend-Ingram, and incumbent Leigh Altman won election in the general election for Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners At-Large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Arthur Griffin Jr. (D)	34.0	419,319
✔	Submit photo	Yvette Townsend-Ingram (D)	33.1	407,703
✔		Leigh Altman (D)	32.9	406,294

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,233,316
= 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 Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners At-Large (3 seats)

Incumbent Leigh Altman, incumbent Arthur Griffin Jr., and Yvette Townsend-Ingram defeated incumbent Pat Cotham and Blake Van Leer in the Democratic primary for Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners At-Large on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Leigh Altman	26.0	58,331
✔	Submit photo	Arthur Griffin Jr.	24.8	55,639
✔	Submit photo	Yvette Townsend-Ingram	23.8	53,336
	Submit photo	Pat Cotham	17.6	39,446
		Blake Van Leer	7.9	17,722

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 224,474
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Van Leer in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Blake Van Leer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Van Leer'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.

Purdue BA Information Systems, Minor Business Studies; Georgia Tech MBA Business Candidate Comes with an extensive business and AI background, managed billion dollar budgets, and comes from a long line of progressives dating back to the 1950s

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?

• Mecklenburg is growing massively and I want to make sure our communities, and schools are prepared instead of “Reacting” to growth and burdens each election
• My second goal is to bring a fresh perspective with a focus on our future and incorporating modern technology. For example, we can measure the success of our projects with real metrics and these reports are transparent. I also want to make sure our educators have the resources and support they need for our children's future. Our youth can learn more useful skills that may not require a degree, e.g., drone maintenance and piloting; 3D printing; 3D displays; coding; and AI manufacturing.
• In our county, homicides and gun-related assaults have doubled in the last 5 years. At the county level, we need to invest strategically in our education. I can’t stress this enough! CMS has done a great job, however after meeting with some local communities, they feel like they’re not heard and are asking for more support. When reading reports, it shows we’re investing hundreds of millions into some communities and seeing inadequate results. This means we’re not tracking data enough or not tracking it properly and, in other words, taking a sledgehammer to hammer a nail. In the private sector, we hold emergency meetings when this happens. This is where I can see AI helping us analyze schools and community data quicker and recommendations

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

A few at the top of my list are housing, education, health systems, homelessness, economy, and transportation. When it comes to housing, economics, and education, I view these as connected, and by that, I mean we can enhance our education system by preparing our children’s future with modern life skills. If you look at other countries like China, they teach computer science at an early age and as their second language. Additionally, we could be looking at drone piloting, drone maintenance of drones or similar tech. Better prepared children mean better wage earners to help keep up with housing and contribute to our economy. We can also partner with our zoning department, the city, and developers to make sure we’re strategically growing with

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

It's multi billion dollar budget with extremely important support mechanisms for our communities. e.g. we can provide resources for communities with low graduation rates, crime or food deserts. We also have a high mortality rate with infants in certain communities, the smallest amount of education and prenatal exams will reduce deaths by 30%.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Kathy Ireland, Warren Buffett, Bobby Grier, my grandparents. I was blessed enough to work for Kathy and her network, Warren Buffett, Marcus Lemonis. AmFam and more. They always put people first as their ultimate success metric, for example if we only worked with people who involved MDGs set by the United Nations or gave back to a charitable cause and not just a check amount. We had to organize real events and make change.

Civil Rights Icon Bobby Grier and his son Rob are also someone who I speak with on a regular basis and inspire me daily. Bobby said you do not have to be the loudest person to make change, you just have to do the right thing at the right time and show up regardless of what people say.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My book about the 1956 Sugar bowl is due out late 2024. It tells an important story about the civil rights movement, unity and how sometimes we can make 3 steps forward, 2 steps backwards and need to fight for those 2 steps to make real change.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

People and communities first!

I disagree with candidates who are running for personal opportunity rather than for the betterment of Mecklenburg County.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I put people first, have a proven track record to get real results driven with modern solutions.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To prepare the entire county for a better future with better policies and resources.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made an impact which helped better lives and hopefully saved a few as well.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The most significant for me was 911, a teenager just starting college. It was a pro moment in my life.

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

Creating video games, one which was too successful. I created a free game for my friends as a teenager, which quickly spiraled into 8000 members, which meant my mother was not happy with the computer "rack space" I took up in the office or the electricity bill. To help pay for this, I deployed donations for coin or merch in game systems. However this came with its own set of problems, e.g. economics, inflation, etc. After I mastered those aspects, I sold it and went on to college where I studied technology and analytics.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Walter Isaacson books and Unlikely General.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Batman, I'm actually related to his namesake Founding Father Anthony Wayne.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

In 2020, I lost my son Stellan due to a rare heart disease. I slept next to him on a cot for 40 days and watched over 140 surgeries. I think about him every day, and, as my colleague Richard Lui said, use this profound experience to help people and honor his name.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

This job is much like a COO or CEO position; you're collaborating with numerous other leaders to get things accomplished. You need a mixed group on the board, those who are advocates for their communities and others to help drive results. Essentially, you need a dream team of members who collaborate.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes and no, I think it's important to have a mix of members bringing different skills and expertise to the board.

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

I believe a mix of community communicators, business, and political experience can help drive real results for the communities.

Tell us your favorite joke.

I'm not saying I'm not Batman, I'm also not saying I'm not Batman,

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

It's 2024, there are so many solutions and technology breakthroughs to actually stand by frequently touted words like accountability and transparency. We can also model out room for error to avoid funding shortfalls.

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.

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Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners At-Large

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