Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2017)
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| 2017 Charlotte mayoral elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 21, 2017 |
| Primary election: September 12, 2017 General election: November 7, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor & city council |
| Total seats up: 12 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
Democratic City Councilwoman Vi Lyles defeated Republican City Councilman Kenny Smith in the race for mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 7, 2017, with 58 percent of the vote. A poll released in late October 2017 showed a tight race between the two candidates, with 41 percent of respondents favoring Lyles and 40 percent of respondents favoring Smith.[1] Lyles became the city's first black woman to serve as mayor.[2]
Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who was elected in November 2015, was defeated by Lyles in the Democratic primary election. State Senator Joel Ford, Constance Johnson, and Lucille Puckett were also defeated in the Democratic primary. Smith defeated Kimberley Barnette and Gary M. Dunn in the Republican primary.
Issues like the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police and the clash between Charlotte's non-discrimination ordinance and the state's House Bill 2 were national news in 2016 and are contributing to an increased interest in the city's municipal elections. Because the incumbent was defeated in the primary election, the winner of the general election became the city's seventh mayor in eight years.[3]
Charlotte also held an election for all 11 city council seats; click here for more information about those races. A primary was held on September 12, 2017, and a primary runoff was held on October 10, 2017, for one city council race. Candidates needed to receive over 40 percent of the vote in the primary in order to avoid a runoff election.[4]Elections
General election
Candidates
☑ 
Councilwoman Vi Lyles
☐ 
Councilman Kenny Smith
Results
| Mayor of Charlotte, General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Vi Lyles |
59.15% | 72,073 | |
| Republican | Kenny Smith | 40.75% | 49,652 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.11% | 132 | ||
| Total Votes | 121,857 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results," November 16, 2017 | ||||
Polling
An Elon University/Charlotte Observer/WBTV poll conducted from September 18-22, 2017, showed that Lyles had higher favorability than Smith among the 493 poll participants. For Lyles, 40 percent had a favorable view of her, 16 percent had an unfavorable view, and 44 percent had no opinion. Asked about Smith, 17 percent had a favorable view, 32 percent had an unfavorable view, and 51 percent had no opinion. The poll did not ask participants who they would vote for in the race between Lyles and Smith.[5]
General election polling
| 2017 Charlotte Mayoral Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Vi Lyles | Kenny Smith | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Spectrum News/SurveyUSA (Oct. 18-21, 2017) | 41% | 40% | 19% | +/-4.4 | 517 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary election
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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Results
| Mayor of Charlotte, Democratic Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Vi Lyles |
46.13% | 15,805 |
| Jennifer Roberts Incumbent | 36.23% | 12,412 |
| Joel Ford | 15.95% | 5,466 |
| Constance Partee Johnson | 0.91% | 311 |
| Lucille Puckett | 0.78% | 268 |
| Total Votes | 34,262 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 18, 2017 | ||
| Mayor of Charlotte, Republican Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kenny Smith |
88.62% | 7,921 |
| Gary M. Dunn | 6.21% | 555 |
| Kimberley Barnette | 5.17% | 462 |
| Total Votes | 8,938 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 18, 2017 | ||
Polling
| 2017 Charlotte Mayoral Democratic Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Jennifer Roberts | Vi Lyles | Joel Ford | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Lake Research Partners (Commissioned by the Jennifer Roberts campaign (June 1-4, 2017) | 35% | 21% | 15% | 28% | +/-4.9 | 400 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance
General
Primary
Endorsements
General
The table below shows endorsements from local and national groups for the 2017 Charlotte mayoral general election.
| Candidate endorsements for general election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Vi Lyles | Kenny Smith |
| Black Political Caucus |  |
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| Charlotte Firefighters Association [6] | |
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| NC Values Coalition PAC[7] | | |
| Democracy for America | |
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| Human Rights Campaign[8] | |
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| MeckPAC[8] | |
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| Equality NC[8] | |
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| The Charlotte Observer[9] | |
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| Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition[10] | | |
Primary
The table below shows endorsements from local and national groups for the 2017 Charlotte mayoral Democratic primary.
| Candidate endorsements for Democratic primary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Jennifer Roberts | Vi Lyles | Joel Ford |
| Black Political Caucus[11] | |
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| Human Rights Campaign[12] | |
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| Democracy for America[13] | |
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| Charlotte Fire Fighters Association[14] | | ||
| The Charlotte Post[15] | |
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| MeckPAC[16] | |
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| Equality NC[17] | |
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| Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition[18] | | ||
| New South Progressives[19] | |
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| Sierra Club[20] | |
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| Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council[21] | |
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| Unite Here Local 23 North Carolina Chapter[22] | |
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| The Charlotte Observer[23] | |
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2017
The election for mayor of Charlotte shared the ballot with elections for 11 seats on the Charlotte City Council and six seats on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools school board.
Issues
Candidate forums
General
The general election debates were attended by Vi Lyles (D) and Kenny Smith (R).
| October 12 League of Women Voters and WTVI |
The forum was taped on Thursday, October 12, and aired on Tuesday, October 17.
- What was discussed?
- Leadership: Lyles and Smith both said they would be a better leader than Mayor Jennifer Roberts. "First and foremost, we will work with all members of council. I've got a reputation of working across party lines," Smith said. In response, Lyles said, "You know because I did challenge the current mayor in the primary that of course that I believe the leadership needed to change."[24]
- Transit: Both candidates said that they wanted to improve the city's public transportation system. They also both said they favored letting voters decide whether to approve a half-cent sales tax that would be used for transit projects. On the subject of toll roads, Smith said, "I opposed toll lanes when the vote was put to us." He continued, "I thought it was a bad deal for citizens." Lyles said, "I don't think anybody wants toll roads. We know that. But the question is how do we pay for roads at all? Tolls are basically a user fee. There is still going to be free access on those lanes where we have tolls."
- Taxes: Lyles talked about her time working as a city budget director and said, "I've done over 22 budgets without a tax increase, including those on the council." Smith responded by saying that Lyles had voted for a tax increase as a councilmember in 2015. Lyles said that she had voted in favor of the increase because a change in the garbage collection fee offset the tax increase for most residents.[25]
| October 5 The Black Political Caucus |
Click here to watch videos of the debate.[26]
- What was discussed?
- Low-income housing: Smith criticized Lyles' July 2017 vote against Councilman Ed Driggs' proposal to use hotel/motel tax revenue for improvements to the Bojangles' Coliseum. The plan would have allowed the city to spend the $18.5 million planned for the Bojangles' Coliseum on other projects, like low-income housing. The city was considering using the hotel/motel tax to attract a major league soccer team to the city, and Lyles said she wasn't comfortable "making those kinds of decisions quickly." Smith said Lyles did not want to take money away from soccer. Lyles said, "To say that I did not support affordable housing?" She said he had designed a bond package for that issue.
- Non-discrimination ordinance: Smith said the city council should have focused on economic mobility instead of passing the discrimination ordinance. "It’s about priorities," he said. Lyles said she would be more collaborative than Mayor Jennifer Roberts.
Primary
| Click [show] on the right to read about candidate forums that occurred prior to the primary election. | ||||
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Campaign videos
Lyles
Smith
Television ads
Mayor Jennifer Roberts aired the only TV campaign ad prior to the 2017 primary election. It was released to reporters on August 18 and began airing on TV on August 21. [33]
Non-discrimination ordinance
The non-discrimination ordinance that the Charlotte City Council passed in February 2016 prompted the General Assembly of North Carolina to pass a bill preempting the local ordinance and launching the topic into a national debate. The state repealed its law in March 2017, but the issue was still expected to be a presence in the 2017 mayoral race.
All three Democratic candidates said they supported expanding LGBT rights and protections. Mayor Jennifer Roberts criticized the state bill that repealed HB2 because it prohibited local governments from enacting any anti-discrimination policies for three years. When asked about the HB2 repeal bill, Councilwoman Vi Lyles said, "I supported the nondiscrimination ordinance. That’s what passed and we have to have something to go forward. When you’re in government… sometimes you have to support things that move us forward." State Sen. Joel Ford criticized Roberts' relations with the state government and said he would be more effective in working with the governor and the general assembly. Councilman Kenny Smith, on the Republican side, voted against the non-discrimination ordinance in 2015 and 2016. He called it the "most divisive issue ever."[34]
Click through the timeline below to see the major events related to Charlotte's non-discrimination ordinance and the state's HB2.
Police and public safety
Keith Scott shooting
On September 20, 2016, Officer Brentley Vinson arrived at an apartment complex to serve a warrant. In the parking lot, he fired four times on an uninvolved man, Keith Lamont Scott. Vinson said he believed that Scott was exiting his car armed with a handgun and that Scott ignored his commands. Scott died from the gunshot wounds in the hospital. Scott's death and a dispute over whether he was armed prompted a curfew and spurred several days and nights of protests and property damage in Charlotte. During the protests police deployed tear gas, more than a dozen police officers sustained minor injuries, and a protester was shot by a civilian and later died. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) declared a state of emergency in Charlotte late on September 21, 2016.[35][36]
Mayor Roberts was criticized due to the city's initial refusal to release footage of the shooting from the police officer's body camera and dashboard camera. Six days after the shooting, Roberts wrote an op-ed saying that the city should have been more transparent and should have released the video earlier. She was also criticized for not calling a curfew or accepting additional law enforcement help from the state soon enough. Roberts and the city council faced an angry crowd at the city council meeting on September 26, 2016. Some people called for her and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney to resign.[37]
Candidate positions
At a candidate forum in April 2017, Roberts defended her actions in the aftermath of the shooting. "I was the first city official to call for full release of body camera video," she said. "I wrote an editorial and I got heat for it. I called us – the city – out for not being transparent." State Sen. Ford accused her of using the op-ed to put the blame on the police chief, which Roberts denied. "If you have a problem with the chief, you take him in the back. When you undermine authority, you open it up for everyone else to do the same," said Ford. Councilwoman Lyles said they should stop using the word transparent. "I believe that if we can't trust (CMPD) then we have to do something differently. We have to make the department look more like our community. I will work very hard to do that," she said.[32]
| Positions of 2017 mayoral candidates on police and public safety | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Voting history in Charlotte
In the lead-up to the 2017 election, Charlotte was a Democratic-led city. Mayor Jennifer Roberts was a Democrat, and the city council was governed by a 10-2 Democratic majority. Forty-eight percent of registered voters were Democrats, compared to Republicans, who made up 22 percent of registered voters.[43] In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) led Donald Trump (R) 62 to 33 percent in Mecklenburg County. Learn more about the county's presidential voting history below.[44]
The mayorship has been held by a Democrat since 2009. Prior to 2009, however, a Republican held the seat for over two decades. This includes the tenure of Pat McCrory (R), who served as mayor from 1995 to 2009 and went on to become governor of North Carolina.
Given the larger percentage of registered Democrats in the city, the margin between Jennifer Roberts and Republican candidate Edwin Peacock in the 2015 mayoral race was slimmer than one may have expected. She defeated Peacock 52 to 48 percent. In 2013, Patrick Cannon (D) defeated Peacock 53 to 47 percent.
Presidential elections
In 2004, John Kerry (D) narrowly won Mecklenburg County over George W. Bush (R), 51.6 to 48 percent. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won the county by a higher margin: 62 percent compared to Donald Trump's (R) 33 percent. Barack Obama (D) received about 60 percent of the county's vote in both 2008 and 2012. The total number of Mecklenburg County residents that voted in the presidential race increased from 323,102 in 2004 to 472,857 in 2016. Around 155,000 votes were cast for the Republican nominee in both years. Votes cast for the Democratic nominee increased by 127,734 and votes cast for a third-party candidate or write-in candidate increased by 21,587.[45]
About the city
- See also: Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is a city located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. As of 2010, its population was 731,424.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
Since 1929, the city of Charlotte has utilized a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[46]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
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| Demographic Data for Charlotte, North Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | North Carolina | |
| Population | 731,424 | 9,535,483 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 307 | 48,622 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 48.8% | 68.7% |
| Black/African American | 35.2% | 21.4% |
| Asian | 6.5% | 2.9% |
| Native American | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 14.3% | 9.4% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.1% | 87.8% |
| College graduation rate | 44.3% | 31.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $62,817 | $54,602 |
| Persons below poverty level | 12.8% | 14.7% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Charlotte mayoral election. 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
- ↑ Spectrum News, "Exclusive Poll: Tight Race for Charlotte Mayor Between Vi Lyles and Kenny Smith," October 23, 2017
- ↑ CBS News, "Democrat Lyles elected as Charlotte's first female African American mayor," November 8, 2017
- ↑ WCNC.com, "Lyles' win over Roberts means Charlotte will have its 7th mayor in 9 years," September 13, 2017
- ↑ Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, "Multi Year Election Schedule," accessed February 22, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Poll shows Lyles starts Charlotte mayoral race with ‘wind to her back’," September 26, 2017
- ↑ WCNC.com, "Charlotte Firefighters Association endorses Vi Lyles," October 18, 2017
- ↑ WCNC.com, "NC Values Coalition PAC endorses candidates in Charlotte race," October 19, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Human Rights Campaign, "HRC, Equality NC, MeckPAC Endorse Vi Lyles for Mayor of Charlotte," October 5, 2017," October 5, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte has two capable candidates for mayor. We think one has the edge," October 27, 2017
- ↑ Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition, "2017 REBIC Election Guide," accessed October 27, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Black Political Caucus has endorsed a mayoral candidate. How will it shape the primary?" May 22, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "LGBT groups make their picks for Charlotte mayor, council," August 23, 2017
- ↑ Democracy for America, "Our Candidates," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Joel Ford campaign website, "Charlotte Firefighters Endorse Joel Ford for Mayor," August 29, 2017
- ↑ The Charlotte Post, "The Post endorses Vi Lyles in Democratic mayoral primary," August 31, 2017
- ↑ MeckPAC,"2017 Charlotte Mayoral & City Council Endorsements," August 23, 2017
- ↑ Equality NC, "LGBT Leaders Announce Charlotte Candidate Endorsements," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ REBIC, "REBIC Announces Endorsements for Charlotte City Council Primary," August 8, 2017
- ↑ New South Progressives, "NSP Endorsements," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Sierra Club, "Sierra Club Endorses Jennifer Roberts for Mayor of Charlotte," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council, "September Primary Endorsements Announced," August 22, 2017
- ↑ Jennifer Roberts campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Who we like in the Charlotte mayor’s race, and why," August 23, 2017
- ↑ WFAE, "Mayor Candidates Agree On Need For Change, But Not Other Issues," October 12, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Business Journal, "Charlotte mayoral candidates differ on protest response," October 12, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Affordable housing vote flares up at first mayoral debate," October 5, 2017
- ↑ The Charlotte Observer, "Observer, WBTV mayoral debate to broadcast live tonight," September 1, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Lucille Puckett on September 7, 2017," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ QNotes, "Charlotte mayoral candidate Constance Partee Johnson goes after Roberts, the media and Hindus after loss," September 13, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Mayoral candidates vow to repair ‘broken’ relationship with Raleigh," August 21, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "In mayoral debate, Jennifer Roberts and Vi Lyles play nice," June 20, 2017
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte’s first mayoral debate drew unusually large crowd. Interest may only grow," April 22, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Jennifer Roberts’ first TV ad features an image of Donald Trump," August 18, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "HB2 may be dead. But it’s very much alive in Charlotte’s mayoral race," April 7, 2017
- ↑ BBC, "Charlotte police: Keith Scott was warned to drop gun," September 21, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "3rd Night Of Charlotte Protests Is Peaceful; Protester Shot Wednesday Dies," September 22, 2016
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte mayor faces furious crowd at City Council meeting," September 26, 2016
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ wsoctv.com, "Mayor Roberts focuses on transportation, public safety in state of city address," February 6, 2017
- ↑ Vi Lyles campaign website, "Vi’s 7-Point Plan for a More Equitable Charlotte," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Joel Ford campaign website, "Joel Ford's Crime Fighting Plan For City Of Charlotte," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Kenny Smith campaign website, accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Kenny Smith planned to run against Roberts. Will his strategy work against Lyles?" September 13, 2017
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "What presidential candidate did your Mecklenburg neighborhood vote for?" November 10, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, "Election Results," accessed October 2, 2017
- ↑ City of Charlotte, "Government at a Glace," accessed August 26, 2014
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