2009 Charlotte Mayoral Debate
From Sept. 29, Kids Voting Mecklenburg presents the 2009 Charlotte Mayoral Debate between candidates Anthony Foxx (D) and John Lassiter (R). Video of the debate can be viewed below.
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| Anthony Foxx | John Lassiter |
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| Party: Democratic | Party: Republican |
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Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign): Raised in the Dalebrook neighborhood of Charlotte by his mother and grandparents, Anthony Foxx knows the power of opportunity. Though his family had modest financial means, they made sure Anthony received a great education and taught him the value of hard work and service. Anthony watched his grandparents, who were public school teachers, sacrifice for his education and work tirelessly to help make Charlotte a better place. Thanks to their efforts, city leaders committed to expanding opportunity to all parts of Charlotte and his own hard work, Anthony received a great education at West Charlotte High School and went on to Davidson College. At Davidson, Anthony received a bachelor's degree in history and was the first black student body president. Anthony attended New York University School of Law as a competitive Root-Tilden Public Interest Law Scholar. After law school, Anthony followed the lessons of his grandparents, setting out to make a difference. He served as a judicial clerk for the U.S. Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit, a trial attorney for the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. Anthony returned to Charlotte to give back to the city that had given him so much. An at-large member of Charlotte City Council since 2005, he strongly advocates for Charlotte neighborhoods and families. Anthony championed a groundbreaking initiative to create job growth in Charlotte neighborhoods along five varying business corridors. He ended years of neglect by fighting to hire police officers and build roads. He has chaired the city council environment and transportation committees and is a member of the economic development committee. Anthony is married to the former Samara Ryder; they have two children: Hillary (5) and Zachary (4). |
Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign): A successful entrepreneur and small business owner, John has business and public service expertise stretching over two decades. With undergraduate and law degrees from Wake Forest University, John joined Belk Stores in 1983 serving as vice president in the legal department, and later Senior Vice President of Human Resources. In 1997, John founded Carolina Legal Staffing, which has grown to 4 offices in 2 states. The company was named to the INC5000 in 2007 and as a Top 100 Small Business in North Carolina in 2008 Since 2003, John has served as an at-large member of the Charlotte City Council and currently chairs the Economic Development and Planning Committee. He previously served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education and served as vice chair from 1997 until 2001 and on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission. He is President of the Mecklenburg County Bar and Past-President of the Children's Law Center and has served on the boards for Crisis Assistance Ministries, Junior Achievement, Dowd YMCA, Center City Partners, North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Leadership Charlotte and the Charlotte Regional Partnership. He currently serves on the Parent's Council at UNC Chapel Hill and served on the Law Alumni Council at Wake Forest University. He is a 1991 fellow of the Institute of Political Leadership and a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, which recognized him with the Circle of Excellence award in 2001 and was most recently a member of Class 6 of CBI's Leadership Development Initiative. John and his wife of 26 years, Beverly, have two sons, Ben, a CPA in Charlotte and Alex, a student at UNC.
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Candidate Statement: Charlotte deserves a mayor who will roll up his sleeves and solve problems that previous status-quo leadership has swept under the rug. I have a proven record of putting the people of Charlotte ahead of politics. I have the right leadership, experience and vision for Charlotte. My platform is comprised of three key elements. First, economic recovery and jobs are priority number one. As chair of the city council Economic Development and Planning Committee, I worked to make large company recruitment and retention a priority this year despite some objections. As Mayor of Charlotte, I will focus on strengthening and diversifying our employment base by recruiting and retaining employers in both traditional and emerging industries, including financial services, health care, manufacturing, distribution, energy and biotechnology. Working with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, the Charlotte Regional Partnership, city economic development staff and other elected officials, I will work harder than any Mayor of Charlotte has to promote job growth and retention. Second, I will improve the quality of life in every part of Charlotte by improving public safety and transportation, building quality neighborhoods for families and businesses and creating public-private partnerships to grow jobs in all of Charlotte. Third, I will build more effective partnerships in Raleigh and Washington by promoting regional approaches to transportation, economic development and environmental issues, closing the revolving door within the criminal justice system and working to complete needed road projects such as I-485. Now is the time when Charlotte needs a different type of leader; someone who will roll up his sleeves and work for all of Charlotte, not just select neighborhoods or special interests. We are all one Charlotte with just one future. Thus my campaign slogan is: "One Charlotte. One Future." | Candidate Statement: Charlotte is facing three critical issues: Creating jobs in a challenging economy, getting repeat criminals off the streets to keep our homes and businesses safe and keeping our taxes low and the quality of our public services high. Meeting these needs will require a record of experience and proven leadership, of public service and success in private enterprise, and a leader who balances family, professional life and commitment to this city. We need to position our city as the most attractive community for business investment where it is easy for a company to expand or relocate its operations. We must rebuild our financial services sector while diversifying our economy in energy, healthcare and biotechnology. We need to continue to invest in our police force and while working with other cities across North Carolina to insure we get our share of criminal justice dollars. We need to watch our city budget like it is our own and find ways to stretch our limited funds to avoid the pattern of tax increases that continue in Raleigh and Washington. We can provide a safe, clean and affordable community and create a city that is attractive for our children to live and work.
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