Election 2011

Description

Early Voting ended at 1pm Saturday, November 5, 2011. Please go to the polling location on your voter card Tuesday, November 8, 2011 to vote.
Polls open at 6:30am and close at 7:30pm.

Municipal and some county-wide races are being decided this year, including the race for Charlotte’s mayor and the selection of three at-large members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board.

Highlights on this year’s ballot:

Charlotte’s mayoral race, with incumbent Democrat Anthony Foxx facing Republican challenger Scott Stone, who is making his first run for office. Foxx has piled up a big edge over Stone in fund raising and in public opinion polls.

Foxx, 40, was elected to Charlotte City Council in 2005 and then successfully won the mayoral race two years ago. Stone, 43, is former treasurer of the county’s GOP organization.

Foxx said he supports combining city and county government; extending the light-rail line to the UNC Charlotte area; and diversifying the city’s economy. Stone lobbied for cutting the city budget by selling off assets, including Ovens Auditorium and Bojangles Arena; and he says the proposed streetcar line and light-rail extension are bad ideas.

CMS board: Three incumbents — Joe White, Trent Merchant and Kaye McGarry — are not seeking re-election. That opens the way to select three new members on the nine-member board, at a time when the school system is looking for a new superintendent and wrestling with a controversial pay-for-performance plan for teachers.

Candidates are Larry Bumgarner, Elyse Dashew, Ericka Ellis-Stewart, Lisa Hundley, Keith Hurley, DeShauna McLamb, Tim Morgan, Ken Nelson, Hans Plotseneder, Aaron Pomis, Darrin Rankin, Lloyd Scher and Jeff Wise. Morgan is a current school board member, representing the district that covers southeastern Mecklenburg County. Scher is a former Mecklenburg County commissioner. Several of the other candidates have run for office previously or have been active in school causes.

Charlotte City Council: Four at-large seats are at stake, with four Democrats, four Republicans and one Libertarian on the ballot. Three incumbents — Democrats Patrick Cannon and David Howard, and Republican Edwin Peacock III — join Democratic challengers Claire Fallon and Beth Pickering, and Republican challengers Christopher Hailey, Mohamed Moustafa and Curtis Watkins, along with Libertarian Alexander Vuchnich in the race.

Four of the six district council seats have contested races.

Incumbent Democrat Patsy Kinsey faces Republican David Michael Rice in District 1.

Democrat LaWana Mayfield and Republican Ed Toney are vying for the District 3 seat.

In District 4, incumbent Democrat Michael Barnes is facing Republican Larry Shannon.

The District 5 race will be decided from between Democrat John Autry and Republican Dennis Peterson.

Unopposed today are incumbents Jamie “Smuggie” Mitchell in District 2, Andy Dulin in District 6, and Warren Cooksey in District 7. Mitchell is a Democrat, Dulin and Cooksey are Republicans.

Cornelius: Mayor Jeffery Tarte is unopposed, but there are six candidates for the five seats on the board of commissioners. Running are John Bradford III, Dave Gilroy, Jeff Hare, Lynette Rinker, Thurman Ross Jr., and Chuck Travis.

Davidson: Vince Winegardner and John Woods are opponents in the mayoral race. There also is competition in the race for board of commissioners, with seven candidates seeking five seats. Running are Kristen Coupal, Jim Fuller, Rodney Graham, Brian Jenest, Mickey Pettus, Laurie Verizon and Connie Wessner.

Huntersville: This northern Mecklenburg town has been a center of political activity this fall, with contested mayoral and town board races.

Incumbent Mayor Jill Swain has two opponents today — Beth Caulfield and Sandy Tilley.

The race for the six seats on the board of commissioners also is hotly contested, with 11 candidates. Seeking seats are Melinda Bales, Adam Boatsman, Charles Guignard, Charles Jeter, Ron Julian, Sarah McAulay, Dempsey Miller, Jeff Neely, Danny Phillips, Adam Planty and Brian Sisson.

Matthews: Incumbent Mayor James Taylor is unopposed.

Voters will have six candidates for the five board of commissioner seats — Paul Bailey, Suzanne Gulley, Jeff Miller, Nancy Moore, Joe Pata, Kress Query and John Urban.

Mint Hill: Incumbent Mayor Ted Biggers Jr. will face Jean Bonner.

And there are seven candidates for the four town board seats — Lloyd Austin, Carl Mickey Ellington, Christopher McAvoy, Brenda McRae, Eric Random, Tina Weaver Ross and Derrick Snyder.

Pineville: George Fowler, the dean of Mecklenburg County’s mayors, is running unopposed again.

But there are eight candidates for the four town board seats. Running are Al Baskins, Libby Boatwright, Melissa Davis, Jim Eschert, Deborah Fowler, Les Gladden, David Macala and David Phillips.

Information obtained from the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections website & Charlotte Observer

Click Here To Find Your Mecklenburg County Voting Location

2011 Mecklenburg County Candidate Listing

Mecklenburg County Republican Party

Mecklenburg County Democratic Party

Mecklenburg County Board of Elections

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