Election Results: Transit Tax Passes, Dems Pick Up Council Seat
More than 175,000 Mecklenburg County residents showed up to vote in this year’s general election, approving a controversial sales tax increase to fund more transportation infrastructure, reelecting Mayor Vi Lyles to a fifth term and electing two new members to Charlotte City Council.
Transit Tax Referendum
With more than 20% of registered voters in Mecklenburg County casting a ballot in this year’s election, voters passed a proposed one-cent sales tax increase despite considerable opposition from some community groups.
The PAVE Act, approved by the General Assembly and sponsored by Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham, gives Mecklenburg County the authority to apply the 1% sales tax increase and use the revenue to fund transportation projects such as roads, rails and buses.
The generated funds from the tax will be split 60/40, with 60% of revenue going toward the foundation of the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority (MPTA) and the bus and rail infrastructure it will oversee and 40% going toward road development across different municipalities.
The MPTA will follow a countywide governance structure with 27 seats: 12 appointed by Charlotte City Council, one from each of the six other municipalities in Mecklenburg County, six appointed by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, and one each appointed by the NC Senate president pro tem, NC House Speaker, and Governor.
“This vote is a once-in-a-generation win for Mecklenburg County,” wrote Eugene A. Woods, co-chair of the Yes for Meck campaign, in a statement Tuesday night. “It paves the way for safer streets, faster commutes, and better access to work, school, and health care—for everyone. Now begins the work of building a transportation system that connects every corner of our community, so all residents can share in the economic growth and quality of life improvements this historic moment now makes possible.”
Action NC, the grassroots community organization that led the opposition effort, also released a statement on Tuesday night thanking those who voted against the plan and decrying the effects it will have on the community.
“This battle isn’t over,” the statement read. “We will monitor next steps for implementation to make improvements where we can, and to tie the plan’s deficiencies and the dangers they pose for displacement and inequality to those parts of the city and county most in need of greater economic opportunity and development.”
Charlotte City Council
In the closest race of the night, Democrat Kimberly Owens beat out Republican Krista Bokhari to fill a seat long held by Republicans in District 6. The council’s other new rep will be Joi Mayo, who will replace Tiawana Brown in District 2.
The District 2 race was the only council district with three candidates, as Mayo beat out Republican James H. Bowers and unaffiliated candidate Robin Emmons.
A community advocate and former middle school math teacher who founded and serves as board chair for Transforming Nations Ford, a community development nonprofit that advocates for the Nations Ford/Arrowood Road corridor, Mayo also serves as a board member with Steele Creek Community Place.
Listen: Joi Mayo Is Transforming Nations Ford (2024)
In District 6, Krista Bokhari lost the race to replace her husband, Tariq Bokhari, who resigned his seat in March for what would be a short-lived stint in the Trump administration.
New District 6 rep Kimberly Owens has practiced law in Charlotte since 1994 and participated on the Council for Children’s Rights, providing due process to students facing expulsion and long-term suspension. She has also served as a chair for nonprofit boards like RAIN and its housing program The Havens.
Elsewhere in Charlotte City Council voting, Mayor Vi Lyles was elected to a fifth term, handily defeating Republican candidate Terrie Donovan by nearly 45 percentage points. All four sitting Democratic at-large reps will retain their seats. Dimple Ajmera was the top vote getter followed by Victoria Watlington, James “Smuggie” Mitchell and LaWana Slack-Mayfield.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education will have some new members joining for the coming term, starting in District 1, where incumbent Melissa Easley was ousted by challenger Charlitta Hatch.
A children’s book author and technology executive running who will be serving in her first elected office position, Hatch is pursuing her Ph.D with a certificate in Qualitative Research and Social Systems Transformation at UNC Charlotte while working as an adjunct professor teaching History of Racism and Psychology of the Black Experience.
Shamaiye Haynes will be another new rep, having beat out Juanrique Hall by 50 percentage points in District 2.
In 2018, Haynes founded the Charlotte Community Think Tank, an organization focused on spreading resources and academic appreciation for education on Charlotte’s west side. She has also served as a board member of the Black Political Caucus, League of Women Voters and the Charlotte Alliance of Black Accountants.
In District 5, challenger Cynthia Stone, whose campaign prioritized student safety, mental health, teacher retention, quality of education and transparency for the BOE, unseated current district rep Lisa Cline, who was the final Republican left on the board.
In District 6, Charlotte Works president and CEO Anna London will fill the seat left empty by Summer Nunn.
