CHARLOTTE MAYOR-ELECT PREPARES TO TAKE OFFICE (Biz Journal)
A month after Anthony Foxx won election as Charlotte’s new mayor, the Democrat is poised to take office on Monday night.
Foxx stopped by the Charlotte Center City Partners board meeting yesterday afternoon and then took his daughter to The Square to light the Christmas tree outside Bank of America’s headquarters. While he tried to keep pace with his daughter, Foxx also offered his thoughts on what’s ahead.
During the past four weeks, he’s “been working on reducing the poetry of the campaign into the prose of actual action steps.”
On Monday, Foxx plans to outline some of his initial goals when he takes the oath of office.
At the same time, a new City Council will be sworn in, with Democrats holding an 8-3 advantage — and both Foxx and Republican mayoral rival John Lassiter will no longer be councilmen. Their departures are a marked shift, as both men carried great influence on the council and led or served on key committees. Of the two new members on council, Democrats David Howard and Patrick Cannon, Foxx noted only Howard is without council experience; Cannon served six terms beginning in 1993 before leaving politics for four years.
The mayor-elect emphasized the importance of city government playing an active role in trying to boost employment in the months ahead, picking up on a constant campaign theme. Using the mayor’s bully pulpit and forging more public collaboration between the city, the Charlotte Chamber and the Charlotte Regional Partnership are among the suggestions he has in mind.
“I’ve got some ideas about that,” Foxx said with a grin, “but I can’t tell you about that until Monday. If I start telling you that stuff now, what’s left?”
The 38-year-old attorney spent the past few weeks mulling over not just policy and proposals, but also more mundane but important matters such as how to balance his political post, his regular job and family life.
Check here next week for more on Foxx’s swearing-in and the new council. Below he offers a few more thoughts as he spends his last weekend as a council member before becoming mayor:
On his mayoral bid, which began last fall: “Honestly, it was a really, really long campaign season. There are federal races that don’t go as long as this one went. I’ve had to take some time to just decompress and to focus on the steps of getting the things done that I said I would get done. And I feel very comfortable that I’ve got a good idea of how that will happen. Of course, I’ve got to work with a new council.”
On speaking with seven-term Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who did not seek re-election: “When you’ve done something for 14 years (as McCrory has as mayor), it makes stuff that’s perhaps challenging look easy. I have a high appreciation for how well he learned the job, how even simple things were managed very well, how ethical government was and how his leadership really has made a difference in the city. We talked a lot about the most effective ways to link up with other mayors across North Carolina to try to get things done. Time management and how to do some of the nuts and bolts of the job. He couldn’t have been more gracious with his time and his input. I’ve got him in my cell phone, so if I ever have a question ….
“The other thing that’s neat about Charlotte is we’ve got five former mayors (living). That’s an enormous resource. And I plan to use that resource at critical times, so I’ve got a good amount of perspective in those former mayors. I intend to use it because this is a challenging time. It’s a time we haven’t seen in this area in at least two generations.
“There’s a lot of anxiety out there. And I understand that. I’m a very resilient leader. In a time of great challenge and adversity, the most important thing to do is to keep our community’s focus on where we’re headed. If we stay focused on continuing to be a great community, a place where families and businesses want to (be), the right choices will get made. It’s when we vary from that, we get ourselves in trouble.”
On Democrats controlling council and mayor’s office: “I think my record speaks for itself in terms of how I’ve tried to manage issues. I make decisions that I think are good for our city. I don’t vote any more (as mayor). I can stop things from happening (with mayoral veto), but in our system, the council makes most of the decision. My purpose is to make sure those decisions are good. How do you do it? The first thing is you have to recognize there isn’t a monolithic majority on council. There’s a lot of diversity of perspective and viewpoint — that’s what democracy is all about. I don’t think that the numbers bear out the diversity that is on the council. The second is really encouraging the council to get fully engaged on issues. That means people in both parties playing an active role in the conversation. Not just throwing up their hands and saying, ‘I don’t control this.’ That’s not helpful, useful or what people elected us to do. The good thing about local government is there are lots of ways for people to express their opinions. In committees, through council discussion. People will find I’m going to be extremely respectful of the diversity on the council. The focus is on good ideas, not where they originate. (People aren’t) looking for antics, they’re looking for good leadership.”
On his desire to review the city’s bonus policy amid backlash stemming from county and city leaders being awarded bonuses during a time of job freezes and cuts: “I definitely understand how people feel, and that’s why my view is that the council ought to have some early discussion about how we’re going to treat that issue going forward. It’s always better for anyone in a work setting to know what’s likely going into the budget season. I’d rather have those conversations earlier with the three people we hire rather than later. I’d at least like them to have some awareness that there’s a possibility that there won’t be a bonus.”
Friday, December 4, 2009, 11:53am EST | Modified: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 2:39pm
