Charlotte, North Carolina municipal elections, 2015

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2015 Elections for Mayors and City Councils

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The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary took place on September 15, 2015. A primary runoff took place on October 6, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 17, 2015. All 11 city council seats were up for election.

In the mayoral race, six candidates ran in the Democratic primary, including incumbent Mayor Dan Clodfelter and current councilmembers Michael D. Barnes and David L. Howard. Roderick Davis, DeJawon Joseph and Jennifer Roberts also ran in the Democratic primary. Clodfelter and Roberts proceeded to a Democratic runoff, where Roberts defeated the mayor by about 2,000 votes. Edwin Peacock defeated Scott Stone in the Republican primary. Clodfelter was appointed mayor in April 2014 after then-Mayor Patrick Cannon was arrested on federal corruption charges. Roberts defeated Peacock in the general election.

In the city council races, 12 Democrats and three Republicans filed to run for four at-large spots. Incumbents Claire Green Fallon and Vi Lyles, along with Julie Eiselt and James "Smuggie" Mitchell, made it through the Democratic primary. The council members in Districts 1 through 7 all filed for re-election. Incumbents in District 1 and District 6 were unopposed.

The failed LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance and the city budget that passed in June were major issues in the campaigns. Read more below.

Mayor

Candidate list

Democratic primary candidates:

• Councilman Michael D. Barnes
• Dan Clodfelter a - Incumbent Clodfelter was first appointed in 2014.
• Roderick Davis
• Councilman David L. Howard
• DeJawon Joseph
• Jennifer Roberts a

Democratic runoff candidates:

• Dan Clodfelter
• Jennifer Roberts a

Republican primary candidates:

• Edwin B. Peacock III a
• Scott Stone

General election candidates:

Jennifer Roberts a

Edwin B. Peacock III

Election results

Mayor of Charlotte, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jennifer Roberts	52.3%	41,749
	Republican	Edwin Peacock	47.6%	38,019
		Write-in votes	0.14%	112
Total Votes				79,880
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Mayor of Charlotte Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jennifer Roberts	54.3%	12,811
Dan Clodfelter Incumbent	45.7%	10,784
Total Votes		23,595
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official primary runoff results," accessed October 22, 2015

Mayor of Charlotte Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jennifer Roberts	35.8%	11,106
Dan Clodfelter Incumbent	25.8%	7,998
David L. Howard	23.7%	7,369
Michael D. Barnes	14%	4,335
Roderick Davis	0.5%	152
DeJawon Joseph	0.3%	86
Total Votes		31,046
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Mayor of Charlotte Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Edwin B. Peacock III	66.1%	8,354
Scott Stone	33.9%	4,275
Total Votes		12,629
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Polling

General election

2015 Charlotte Mayoral Election (General Election)
Poll	Jennifer Roberts	Edwin B. Peacock III	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Victory Enterprises (October 5-9, 2015)	40%	40%	20%	+/-4.8	400
Lake Research Partners (October 8-11, 2015)	52%	35%	13%	+/-4.9	400
The Charlotte Observer (October 12-16, 2015)	54%	39%	7%	+/-2.7	1,324
AVERAGES	48.67%	38%	13.33%	+/-4.13	708
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Democratic primary

2015 Charlotte Mayoral Election (Democratic Primary)
Poll	Dan Clodfelter*	Michael D. Barnes	David L. Howard	Jennifer Roberts	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Public Policy Polling (August 26-27, 2015)	21%	14%	9%	39%	17%	+/-3.4	816
Lake Research Partners (June 17-21, 2015)	16%	16%	9%	30%	29%	+/-4.9	400
AVERAGES	18.5%	15%	9%	34.5%	23%	+/-4.15	608
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) is used to denote incumbency.

Republican primary

2015 Charlotte Mayoral Election (Republican Primary)
Poll	Edwin B. Peacock III	Scott Stone	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Public Policy Polling (August 26-27, 2015)	44%	26%	30%	+/-4.2	538
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

City council

Map of Charlotte's council districts. Click to enlarge.

Candidate list

At-large (four seats)

Note: Incumbents David L. Howard (D) and Michael D. Barnes (D) did not run for re-election.
Democratic primary candidates:

• Laurence E. Bibbs
• Darrell Bonapart
• Bruce Clark
• Julie Eiselt a
• Claire Green Fallon a - Incumbent Green Fallon was first elected in 2011.
• Sean Gautam
• Shawn Greeson
• Mo Idlibby
• Vi Lyles a - Incumbent Lyles was first elected in 2013.
• Billy D. Maddalon
• James "Smuggie" Mitchell a
• Aaron Sanders

General election candidates:

Julie Eiselt a

Claire Green Fallon a

Vi Lyles a

James "Smuggie" Mitchell a

Pablo Carvajal

John K. Powell Jr.

David Michael Rice

District 1

General election candidates:

Patsy Kinsey a - Incumbent Kinsey was first elected in 2003.

District 2

Democratic primary candidates:

• Alvin "Al" Austin a - Incumbent Austin was first elected in 2013.
• Steven Jones

General election candidates:

Alvin "Al" Austin a

Justin Dunn

District 3

Democratic primary candidates:

• Rosa Hodge-Mustafa
• LaWana Mayfield a - Incumbent Mayfield was first elected in 2011.
• Warren F. Turner

General election candidates:

LaWana Mayfield a

Eric Wayne Netter

District 4

General election candidates:

Greg Phipps a - Incumbent Phipps was first elected in 2013.

Michael P. O'Hara

District 5

Democratic primary candidates:

• John Autry a - Incumbent Autry was first elected in 2011.
• Scott Derek Jenkins

General election candidates:

John Autry a

District 6

General election candidates:

Kenny Smith a - Incumbent Smith was first elected in 2013.

District 7

General election candidates:

Chris Turner

Edmund H. Driggs a - Incumbent Driggs was first elected in 2013.

General election

Charlotte City Council At-large, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Julie Eiselt	17.0%	44,419
	Democratic	Vi Lyles Incumbent	16.4%	42,807
	Democratic	Claire Green Fallon Incumbent	15.8%	41,352
	Democratic	James "Smuggie" Mitchell	14.3%	37,406
	Republican	John K. Powell, Jr.	14.2%	37,158
	Republican	Pablo Carvajal	11.7%	30,517
	Republican	David Michael Rice	10.4%	27,246
		Write-in votes	0.29%	764
Total Votes				261,669
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Charlotte City Council District 2, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alvin "Al" Austin Incumbent	79.6%	7,190
	Republican	Justin Dunn	20.4%	1,839
		Write-in votes	0.07%	6
Total Votes				9,035
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Charlotte City Council District 3, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	LaWana Mayfield Incumbent	76.1%	5,325
	Republican	Eric Wayne Netter	23.7%	1,656
		Write-in votes	0.2%	14
Total Votes				6,995
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Charlotte City Council District 4, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Greg Phipps Incumbent	71.5%	6,259
	Republican	Michael P. O'Hara	28.4%	2,486
		Write-in votes	0.1%	9
Total Votes				8,754
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Charlotte City Council District 7, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Edmund H. Driggs Incumbent	68.7%	9,779
	Democratic	Chris Turner	31.2%	4,439
		Write-in votes	0.05%	7
Total Votes				14,225
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results - Mecklenburg County," November 16, 2015

Primary election

Charlotte City Council, At-large Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Vi Lyles Incumbent	18.8%	19,194
James "Smuggie" Mitchell	17.3%	17,689
Julie Eiselt	12.7%	13,011
Claire Green Fallon Incumbent	11.8%	12,029
Billy D. Maddalon	9.3%	9,525
Darrell Bonapart	9%	9,179
Mo Idlibby	6.6%	6,759
Bruce Clark	3.8%	3,872
Aaron Sanders	3.4%	3,434
Shawn Greeson	3.1%	3,198
Sean Gautam	2.3%	2,369
Laurence E. Bibbs	2.1%	2,106
Total Votes		102,365
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Charlotte City Council, District 2 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Alvin "Al" Austin Incumbent	78.2%	3,922
Steven Jones	21.8%	1,093
Total Votes		5,015
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Charlotte City Council, District 3 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
LaWana Mayfield Incumbent	59.6%	2,432
Warren F. Turner	33.7%	1,373
Rosa Hodge-Mustafa	6.7%	274
Total Votes		4,079
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Charlotte City Council, District 5 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Autry Incumbent	74.5%	2,776
Scott Derek Jenkins	25.5%	951
Total Votes		3,727
Source: Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed September 24, 2015

Districts map

Below is a map of Charlotte's council districts as of 2015. There were seven districts. Each district elected its own representative on the council. Click the map to return to the candidate list.

Issues

City budget

Chief Financial Officer Randy Harrington and ​Interim Budget Director Kim Eagle answer questions about the city budget.

On June 8, 2015, the council approved a budget with a 7-4 vote. Its passage allowed the city to make up for an almost $22 million gap in the budget. In May 2014, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed legislation that repealed the business privilege taxes, which went into effect July 1, 2015. This caused a lost revenue of $18 million in Charlotte. The city's newly passed budget raised property taxes by 2 percent, or by one penny for each $100 of valuation. For a property valued at $350,000, the owner would pay $13 more in taxes. In exchange for the increased property taxes, the council lowered the annual garbage fee for single-family homeowners from $47 to $25. The budget also increased stormwater fees, which especially affected properties with a large amount of concrete surface. According to The Charlotte Observer, the 10 percent of homeowners who have the most concrete surface would pay about $12 more per month in stormwater fees. The budget took effect July 1.

District 6 Councilman Kenny Smith, who voted against the budget, criticized the tax increases. "It feels like south Charlotte is the city's piggy bank," he said. Councilwoman Claire Fallon also voted against the budget, saying that money was spent on the arts, bikes, and the streetcar, but not on new equipment for the fire department. Spending taxpayers' money on the new streetcar, which began running during the summer of 2015, had been a contentious budgetary issue. Meanwhile, Councilman David L. Howard voted in favor of the budget, arguing that the majority of people would pay less in taxes than in the previous year.

Comments from Charlotte's 2015 mayoral candidates on the city budget and taxes.

Dan Clodfelter Mayor Dan Clodfelter did not speak or vote (the mayor only votes if there is a tie) at the budget meeting, but he had previously spoken in favor of the plan. Clodfelter spoke out against the state assembly's tax decisions that caused the deficit, saying, "It’s really perverse. They’re basically just dismantling the income streams for cities." He noted that the city would need to find a new source of revenue. Councilman Michael D. Barnes voted against the budget. He said, "I cannot support tax increase so I'm not supporting budget [sic]." In the past, Barnes has voted against budgets in part because they funded the streetcar using general fund money. Michael Barnes Harold B. Collins Councilman David L. Howard voted in favor of the budget and said that those who opposed it were too worried about the perception of the tax increase. He said, "Most of you will pay less than you paid last year. That's important to remember." As reported by The Charlotte Observer, 73 percent of residents would pay less between the property tax changes and the reduction of the garbage fee. When criticized by opponent Scott Stone for voting for a budget that included streetcar funding, Republican candidate Edwin Peacock accused him of trying to misrepresent his record. When on the council from 2007 to 2011, Peacock voted twice against funding the streetcar but later voted for the entire budget, which included the funding for the streetcar. He said that Stone's attack against him "demonstrat[ed] what he doesn't know about the budget." Edwin Peacock Scott Stone Republican candidate Scott Stone spoke strongly against the streetcar project during the September 1 debate. He said, "Absolutely it's the wrong direction. I would do anything I could to stop it." He criticized his opponent Edwin Peacock for voting for the budget that included the streetcar funding. Stone said he would veto a budget that included such funding.

LGBT ordinance

In March 2015, an ordinance that would have extended the categories for nondiscrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity was defeated by a 6-5 vote of the city council. The meeting about the ordinance attracted many citizens on both sides of the issue. The section that would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they identified with was removed before the final vote. Some council members voted against the ordinance because they felt it was too weak without the bathroom section. LaWana Mayfield, one such council member, said, "I will not and I cannot support an amendment that does not protect all of our citizens." Others opposed the full ordinance, including councilman Kenny Smith, who said that the ordinance would "impose the progressive left’s new morality on our citizens." Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey, who voted in favor of the ordinance, said, "I just believe it’s the right thing to do. ... I believe we’re all God’s children, and we’re all equal. It’s very simple for me.”

The failed ordinance spurred LGBT advocacy groups to join together in a movement called "TurnOUT Charlotte!" for the 2015 elections. They endorsed council candidates Julie Eiselt, Billy D. Maddalon and James "Smuggie" Mitchell, as well as incumbents Vi Lyles, LaWana Mayfield, Alvin "Al" Austin and John Autry.

Comments from Charlotte's 2015 mayoral candidates on the nondiscrimination LGBT ordinance.

Dan Clodfelter The Mecklenburg LGBT Political Action Committee (MeckPAC) gave incumbent Mayor Dan Clodfelter its mayoral endorsement. Clodfelter said he supported the full LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance. The following quote is from Clodfelter's campaign website: "I have been a longstanding supporter of legislation at both the state and local level seeking to remove discriminatory barriers that block full participation in our community by our LGBT citizens, dating back to the first vote I cast in 1992 in favor of a City Council anti-discrimination ordinance." Councilman Michael D. Barnes voted against the ordinance. Prior to the vote, Barnes said, "I've had a lot of people reach out to me concerned about their children being in the bathroom with adults of the opposite sex. The balancing act is, how do we properly address the concerns of the people who want it passed and the concerns of people concerned about their kids, and women concerned about their own safety in the bathroom?" MeckPAC gave Barnes a warning in their ratings, meaning that they "strongly discourage support" for him. When asked at the debate on September 1 whether he would veto a LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance, he did not say whether he would or would not. He said the process should include more community input. Michael Barnes David L. Howard Councilman David L. Howard voted in favor of the ordinance. MeckPAC listed Howard as "receptive," meaning that he "expresses some level of support for LGBT equality." When asked at the debate on September 1 whether he would veto a LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance, he said he would not. He proposed having more single-stall bathrooms in public buildings that anyone could use. Jennifer Roberts was also listed as "receptive" by MeckPAC. In response to her rating, her campaign released a statement: "Jennifer is excited about her deep support in the LGBT community due to her long history of standing up for equality and inclusion. Jennifer helped bring domestic partner benefits for county employees, spoke in favor of the undiluted ordinance, and publicly opposed Amendment 1. Many in the LGBT community remember her support and will be voting for her in the primary." Jennifer Roberts Edwin Peacock MeckPAC did not give an endorsement for the Republican primary, but they did label candidate Edwin Peacock with a warning because he did not support the ordinance in full. Peacock said the warning was unjustified and said, "I’m trying to build a city that is welcoming to all who can make a positive contribution here. I’ve made the contrast between my opponent, who is talking about his ‘One Charlotte’ campaign, but only showing up to one part of Charlotte — South Charlotte — and not answering MeckPAC’s survey. So, to be given a warning? Really?" Peacock said that while running for Congress in 2012, he was the only Republican candidate to oppose the state's same-sex marriage ban. At the September 1 debate, Peacock said he would not have been in favor of the ordinance. Republican candidate Scott Stone did not fill out MeckPAC's survey. At the September 1 mayoral debate, Stone said that he would veto an ordinance that would allow transgender people to use the bathroom of the sex that they identify with. Scott Stone

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Charlotte North Carolina Election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Charlotte, North Carolina municipal elections, 2015 - Google News

See also

• United States municipal elections, 2015
• Charlotte, North Carolina

External links

Suggest a link

• Mecklenburg County Board of Elections - Official candidate list
• Mecklenburg County Board of Elections - Multi Year Election Schedule
• Mecklenburg County Board of Elections - Official primary election results
• North Carolina State Board of Elections - Unofficial primary runoff results