I'm volunteering for the Anthony Foxx for Mayor campaign in Charlotte, where Anthony -- a young, dynamic Democratic City Councilman -- faces off against fellow councilman John Lassiter, a Republican, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Regardless of the outcome, Charlotte will have its first new mayor in 14 years. The seven-term incumbent is Republican Pat McCrory, who ran unsuccessfully for governor last year. Lassiter is McCrory's close political ally and buddy (seriously, they take vacations together and everything).
Charlotte hasn't had a Democratic mayor since Harvey Gantt from 1983-87 (you may remember Harvey from the nasty 1990 U.S. Senate race against Jesse Helms; you know, the "hands" ad?). Since then, the Republican mayors of Charlotte have run with the standard Chamber-of-Commerce, tax-cutting, ignore-minority-neighborhoods agenda, building up banking-friendly downtown Charlotte while letting poorer neighborhoods decay.
Charlotte, though traditionally a pretty conservative town, actually has a 7-4 Democratic majority on the City Council, and Mecklenburg County went for President Obama last year by a wide margin. It's the largest city in a state that just turned blue last year after nearly 30 years of GOP domination. We want to keep it that way.
We need your help. It'll be a tight race, but Lassiter already has a significant edge in campaign donations. You can help reverse that by donating and spread the word about Anthony's vision for One Charlotte, One Future by directing your friends (especially in North Carolina) to learn more about him.
You can contribute to the campaign here.
Please follow the campaign through our official blog here. (I write the thing, so do me a favor and sign up as a follower!) You'll also find links to Anthony's Twitter feed, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Please pass this on to friends, family, or anyone else interested in seeing a Democrat back in the mayor's office and a new start for ALL the citizens of Charlotte. Thanks so much!
FoxxIn09