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Robert Mitchell (North Carolina)
Robert Mitchell was a Democratic candidate for District 1 representative on the Charlotte City Council in North Carolina. Mitchell was defeated in the primary election on September 12, 2017. Click here to read Mitchell's response to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal candidate survey.
Biography
Mitchell grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from Independence High School. He also earned an associates degree. Michell served in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years and worked for the U.S. Department of Defense. He has served as the president of Black Wall Street District Charlotte.[1][2]
Elections
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 defeated incumbent Patsy Kinsey and Robert Mitchell in the Charlotte City Council District 1 Democratic primary election.[3]
| 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 | ||
Campaign themes
2017
Mitchell participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates.[4] The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Better paying jobs ($15.00 min wage) Housing |
” |
| —Robert Mitchell (September 4, 2017)[2] | ||
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 |
| Government transparency | Civil rights | ||
| Housing | City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | ||
| Unemployment | Environment | ||
| Transportation | Recreational opportunities | ||
| Homelessness | K-12 education | ||
| Crime reduction/prevention | 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 |
|---|---|
| Very important | |
| State | |
| Increased economic opportunities. Increasing our minimum wage will help stop a lot of crime. Most people can't live on minimum so they use crime as a supplement for money they can't get in a job. | |
| Create a more competitive business climate | |
| Charlotte, NC is a very diverse city that still has a southern feel. Our culture and diversity is too live for. | |
| I would like to see more change to policy when it comes to diverse living areas. We have no force law when it comes to housing hence gentrification taking root in the city centers and coming out. We need law concerning developers and a higher percentage of affordable houses should built in these contracts. |
Mitchell provided the following additional comments with the survey:
| “ |
In order for upward mobility to take place, we must have better paying jobs, without social income most people go homeless or live a life of poverty.[5] |
” |
| —Robert Mitchell (September 4, 2017)[2] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Robert Mitchell Charlotte City Council. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Charlotte, North Carolina | North Carolina | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Robert Mitchell for City Council District 1: About," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2017, "Robert Mitchell's Responses," September 4, 2017
- ↑ Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed July 23, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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