Larken Egleston

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Larken Egleston

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Charlotte City Council District 1

Successor: Dante Anderson

---

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 17, 2022

Education

Associate

Johnson & Wales University

Bachelor's

Appalachian State University

Personal

Profession

Sales, Republic National Distributing Company

Contact

Campaign website

Larken Egleston (Democratic Party) was a member of the Charlotte City Council in North Carolina, representing District 1. Egleston assumed office on December 4, 2017. Egleston left office on September 6, 2022.

Egleston (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Charlotte City Council in North Carolina. Egleston lost in the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022.

Biography

Larken Egleston earned an associate degree from Johnson & Wales University and a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University. His career experience includes working in sales at Republic National Distributing Company. He has served as a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, as a state executive committee member for the North Carolina Democratic Party, as the Precinct #15 chair of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, and as the president of Young Democrats of Mecklenburg County. Larken was first elected to the Charlotte City Council representing District 1 in 2017.

Elections

2022

See also: City elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2022)

General election

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

The following candidates ran in the general election for Charlotte City Council At-large on July 26, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dimple Ajmera (D)	16.6	46,751
✔		Braxton Winston II (D)	16.3	46,045
✔	Submit photo	LaWana Slack-Mayfield (D)	15.1	42,582
✔		James Mitchell (D)	15.1	42,509
		Kyle Luebke (R)	10.1	28,600
		David Merrill (R)	9.0	25,385
		Carrie Olinski (R)	8.9	25,000
		Charlie Mulligan (R)	8.8	24,698
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	555

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 282,125
= 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.

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 May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Braxton Winston II	21.1	44,761
✔		Dimple Ajmera	18.9	40,073
✔	Submit photo	LaWana Slack-Mayfield	17.7	37,461
✔		James Mitchell	16.2	34,331
		Larken Egleston	14.0	29,637
	Submit photo	Patrick Cannon	12.2	25,789

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 212,052
= 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.

Republican primary election

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

David Merrill, Charlie Mulligan, Carrie Olinski, and Kyle Luebke defeated David Michael Rice in the Republican primary for Charlotte City Council At-large on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Merrill	24.0	19,541
✔		Charlie Mulligan	22.7	18,461
✔		Carrie Olinski	20.8	16,885
✔		Kyle Luebke	19.9	16,150
	Submit photo	David Michael Rice	12.6	10,281

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 81,318
= 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.

2019

See also: City elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2019)

General election

General election for Charlotte City Council District 1

Incumbent Larken Egleston won election in the general election for Charlotte City Council District 1 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Larken Egleston (D)	97.8	11,261
		Other/Write-in votes	2.2	250

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,511
= 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.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Charlotte City Council District 1

Incumbent Larken Egleston defeated Sean Smith in the primary for Charlotte City Council District 1 on September 10, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Larken Egleston (D)	73.0	6,721
		Sean Smith (D)	27.0	2,488

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,209
= 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

Egleston was endorsed by EqualityNC, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO), the Charlotte Area Local Postal Worker Union 375, the Charlotte Reproductive Action Network, MeckPAC, REBIC, Unite Here Local 23, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Police Officers (FOP Lodge 9), and Que Pasa Mi Gente.

2017

See also: Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2017) and Municipal elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2017)

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, held elections for mayor and city council on November 7, 2017. A primary was held on September 12, 2017. A primary runoff was held on October 10, 2017, for the district 5 race. A candidate needed to receive over 40% of the vote in order to avoid a runoff election. All 11 seats on the city council were up for election. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 21, 2017.

Larken Egleston (D) ran unopposed in the Charlotte City Council District 1 general election.

Charlotte City Council, District 1 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Larken Egleston  (unopposed)	98.11%	13,830
		Write-in votes	1.89%	266
Total Votes				14,096
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results," November 16, 2017

Larken Egleston defeated incumbent Patsy Kinsey and Robert Mitchell in the Charlotte City Council District 1 Democratic primary election.

Charlotte City Council, District 1 Democratic Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Larken Egleston	49.58%	3,281
Patsy Kinsey Incumbent	43.06%	2,849
Robert Mitchell	7.36%	487
Total Votes		6,617
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 18, 2017

Endorsements

Egleston received the following endorsements in 2017:

• Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg
• New South Progressives
• REBIC
• Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
• The Charlotte Observer
• Charlotte Firefighters (IAFF Local 660)
• Qué Pasa Mi Gente
• Charlotte Police Officers (FOP Lodge 9)
• MeckPAC (general election endorsement)

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Larken Egleston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Larken Egleston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Egleston's responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Affordable Housing – During my current term on council, we have made big strides on changing the way our city is addressing the affordable housing crisis. We have greatly accelerated our progress on both building new affordable units and preserving existing affordable units. We have also created an "Aging in Place” program to prevent displacement of low-income, senior homeowners. We must continue this momentum going into the next term. Transportation – During my time on council we have opened another portion of our light-rail system, changed our bus system to decrease ride times for most of our riders, increased spending on infrastructure to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists and moved forward in the planning process for our next light rail line – the Silver Line from Matthews to the airport and Gaston County. With the rapid growth our city is experiencing, we must continue to be proactive in building out our public transit system so people have safe, reliable ways to move around our city. Preservation – Charlotte has an amazing story to tell, but far too often we tell our story through a growing collection of roadside plaques. Historic landmarks and unique neighborhoods are attractive to new residents, new businesses, and longtime locals alike. Adaptive reuse of our existing built environment is more affordable, more eco-friendly, and ensures that Charlotte does not lose the things that make it special. My work on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission has given me a better understanding of the tools and tactics that can be employed by the city and developers to more effectively safeguard Charlotte’s history.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I have a strong passion for influencing our city's built environment. This could be in the form of residential housing that is safe, affordable, and energy-efficient. It could be old mill buildings brought back to life through creative adaptive reuse projects that create opportunities for small, local businesses. It could be greenways that provide space for recreation, but also connectivity between areas that might otherwise require an automobile to travel to and from. The things we build and preserve in our city should inspire us, improve our quality of life, increase pride in the community, and better prepare us for the future.

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.

Campaign website

Egleston's campaign website stated the following:

“	At a Glance Champion equitable distribution of workforce housing throughout our city to improve opportunities for upward mobility. Improve and expand our existing multi-modal transportation system, implement strategies to slow increase of road congestion, and provide safe options for cyclists and pedestrians. Promote preservation of Charlotte's rich history through active protection of historical landmarks and districts. Push for green initiatives that will make Charlotte a national leader in smart, clean growth and development.	”
—Larken Egleston’s campaign website (2019)

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Egleston participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate did not give a response.

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Housing	7	K-12 education
2	Civil rights	8	Environment
3	Transportation	9	Government transparency
4	Unemployment	10	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)
5	Homelessness	11	Recreational opportunities
6	Crime reduction/prevention	12	Public pensions/retirement funds

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	State
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Increased economic opportunities
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Focusing on small business development
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	Charlotte has something for everyone and balances the options of a big city with the feel of a small town.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	I want to make sure more people have a chance to benefit from the growth and prosperity of our city.

See also

2022 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Charlotte City Council At-large

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Charlotte City Council District 1 2017-2022	Succeeded by Dante Anderson (D)