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Charlotte City Mayor
Charlotte Mayor– Vi Lyles
Notes: Mayor Lyles has given a lot to this city over the years. From her time as Budget Director to serving on City Council and the last eight years as Mayor, she has always sought to balance priorities and take a common sense approach to managing growth and moving our city forward. More recently she worked with other elected officials in the region and actively negotiated with members of the North Carolina General Assembly to obtain authority to place a referred measure on the November ballot. The proposal would raise funds for an enhanced regional transportation system and establish an authority to manage those funds and set priorities for future projects. Her ability to work across the aisle and develop meaningful relationships with those representing diverse interests has contributed to her becoming a successful leader.
Charlotte City Council
District 1-Danté Anderson
Notes: Mayor Pro Tem Anderson is a cerebral leader and quite adept at running council meetings, a task she has performed with ever increasing frequency over time. She possesses a big picture view which is fundamental for those we entrust to make decisions that do, in fact, affect our everyday lives. Anderson has had quite a successful career and has accomplished more academically than most. She is the type of elected official with the kind of qualities we need as Charlotte experiences the positives associated with growth and economic development as well as the big city challenges that come as well. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson is a consistent leader who is not afraid to make difficult decisions.
Danté Anderson — Donate via ActBlue
District 2 –Malcolm Graham
Notes: Malcolm Graham has been an effective leader for Charlotte and a consistent champion on economic development issues. He is running unopposed and will begin a new term in December. Graham has a long career in public service and is the kind of even keeled, practical voice we need in local government more than ever. We look forward to working with him in the next term as we share the priority of maintaining and expanding Charlotte’s steady economic might.
District 3 –
A complicating set of factors leads us to offering no endorsement of any candidate in this race at this time.
District 4 –Wil Russell
Notes: Russell has a strong background in the building industry, specifically in the affordable housing niche. He also currently serves on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission where he has gained a first hand look at how the private sector has sought to develop and build housing to meet the needs of our growing region only at times to see good, quality projects derailed by a few loud voices who resist change at all costs, even if it may benefit many. Russell took on the incumbent councilmember in 2023 but lost in a three-way race. This time around it is a head to head matchup and turnout will be a major factor in the outcome. Russell embodies the kind of attributes we seek in those who will lead our city through this next phase of growth and change. He is well grounded and a sound decisionmaker. The current office holder regularly seems unprepared for public meetings and uses a majority of her time on the dais to grandstand and give the impression she is looking out for her constituents when in reality she consistently votes against approving projects that would provide homes for those desperately seeking them.
District 5 –Marjorie Molina
Notes: Molina has held the seat for two terms and is once again facing a Primary Election challenge, this time from the extreme left. Her opponent is an adherent of New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This opponent is currently circulating a mail piece with an endorsement from former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts. He also has come out in opposition to the transportation referendum that will be on the November 4th ballot. REBIC is a strong proponent of the measure and we and our members have invested significant efforts to see it move forward. Molina, on the other hand, is supported by many in the mainstream and her work to see the Eastland project reach fruition was a huge accomplishment. She is also a single mom who balances caring for her kids, working at a full-time job, and ably representing the interests of her constituents. Again, this race will largely come down to voter turnout. The unions have organized efforts in this election cycle to back candidates that would disrupt, simply for the sake of disruption. We need to elect leaders who know how to run a city and Molina is one of those. Marjorie could be doing many other things but chooses to make a difference by serving her community. We must work hard to ensure she has the opportunity to continue her important work.
Vote | MarjorieMolina for Charlotte City Council District 5 |Charlotte
District 6 –
This race is likely to be the most competitive race when it comes to the General Election. As such, we will revisit at the appropriate time following the primary election.
District 7 – Ed Driggs
Notes: Councilmember Driggs is unopposed for reelection beginning his new term in December. He has been a strong leader and has an uncanny ability to effectively communicate with other council members, most of whom operate on the opposite side of the political spectrum. His work on the transportation initiative shouldn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated as he played a huge role throughout the process to bring all sides together.
At Large
Notes: Several weeks ago, we were alarmed to report that several councilmembers pushed for a vote on a proposed ordinance containing provisions that were beyond the scope of authority of the Charlotte City Council. When the vote was finally taken it was deadlocked at 5-5, until Mayor Lyles cast the deciding vote. Here’s what we reported about it: Two For Tuesday | July 1, 2025 – REBIC. The councilmembers pushing for the vote of yes utilized taxpayer time to debate an issue over the course of several months, knowing they had no chance for success, but did so with the intent to organize union and union-supporting voters for the city elections. Three of the four At Large incumbents LaWana Mayfield, Victoria Watlington, and Dimple Ajmera, joined by Tiawana Brown (District 3) and Reneé Johnson (District 4) are the ones who voted in favor. Based on the number of candidates who filed to run At Large, and the general lack of substantial name identification they possess, makes it appear the incumbents are likely to capture enough votes to get them through the Primary Election. We will revisit these races when we reach the General Election.
There is no more important agenda item than the upcoming Charlotte City Council Primary. Voting Day is September 9, 2025. Until that time we encourage you to visit the website Vote.MeckNC.gov.
Want to know the locations, hours, and availability of the early voting sites? See this Early Voting Sites PDF with Map.
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