Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane cruised to a third term in Tuesday’s municipal elections, and Charlotte Democrats voted to end the brief tenure of appointed Mayor Dan Clodfelter in favor of former four-term Mecklenburg County commissioner Jennifer Roberts.
Meantime, voters embraced several Raleigh City Council candidates who favor tougher restrictions on growth, especially near downtown areas that in recent years have seen a culinary and residential boom. Two council incumbents, Eugene Weeks and John Odom (the council’s only registered Republican), lost to anti-development challengers.
Those were the main highlights of Tuesday’s contests, which featured general elections in a handful of North Carolina cities and primaries in many others. Other municipal general elections (or runoffs, in a few cases) are set for Nov. 3.
McFarlane, who made the city’s acquisition of the Dorothea Dix campus from state government a priority in her most recent term, easily defeated Republican Bob Weltzin by a margin of 74 percent to 25 percent.
The council races became heated in recent weeks as Democratic heavyweights Dean Debnam (co-founder of the Public Policy Polling firm), consultant Perry Woods, and campaign finance attorney Michael Weisel entered the debate over outdoor dining restrictions, especially near Fayetteville Street downtown and in the Glenwood South area.
A political committee backed by Debnam ran full-page advertisements in the Raleigh News & Observer and television spots, alleging that incumbent councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin and downtown restaurant owners were aligned to encourage debauchery among young downtown residents, saying they wanted to make Raleigh “Drunk Town.”
Debnam’s committee also filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections accusing their opponents of engaging in illegal campaign coordination. Incumbents Russ Stephenson (who ran citywide) and Kay Crowder of District D, whose views are aligned with Debnam’s, won new terms on the council.
While Baldwin won re-election to her at-large seat with 31 percent of the vote, several other challengers aligned with the “downtown vibrancy” movement did not fare as well, in particular at-large candidate Matt Tomasulo, who finished third behind Baldwin and Stephenson, and Ashton Smith, who finished a distant second to Crowder.
A runoff in District A is expected, but it’s not clear who will be on the ballot. The three-way race between RDU Airport Authority Chairman Dickie Thompson, state Department of Agriculture spokesman Eddie Woodhouse, and Raleigh Planning Commission Vice Chairman J.B. Buxton was separated by roughly 135 votes at press time.
Meantime, in Charlotte, Roberts defeated Clodfelter by 55 percent to 45 percent after winning a six-way September primary by a 10-point margin, 36 percent to 26 percent. Roberts drew heavy support from black voters and progressive advocacy groups. She left the county commission in 2011 and lost the 2012 race for the 9th U.S. Congressional District to Republican Robert Pittenger.
Clodfelter, considered a pro-business moderate, served three terms on the Charlotte City Council and 15 years in the state Senate. He was appointed to complete the term of former Mayor Patrick Cannon, who was indicted early last year and later convicted on corruption charges.
Roberts began her campaign and fundraising efforts for mayor not long after Cannon resigned. Clodfelter initially appeared to show little interest in running for a full term and even though he had raised more money than Roberts in the most recent quarter and had been endorsed by The Charlotte Observer, he did not prevail.
Roberts will face Republican Edwin Peacock Nov. 3.
Rick Henderson is managing editor of Carolina Journal.