New Charlotte mayor speaks about taking office

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Twenty-seven days after being elected mayor, Patrick Cannon officially has the power.

Hours before being sworn in Monday he sat down with Eyewitness News anchor Blair Miller and said he's still settling in to the new title.

"I just see it as being successful and winning another office, but apparently it's much more than that," Cannon said.

Cannon was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 1993. Despite that, he said he's had much to learn to take over the office.

He said his first priority is focusing on jobs.

"They should look for me being intentional about really trying to get out here and drill down on creating those opportunities," Cannon said. "To be able to meet with domestic and international leaders to bring about more business development."

He's looking beyond his first term in office as mayor and said he's hoping one day people will say this about Patrick Cannon, "When he was mayor, we saw a great change in this community occur – from economic development to transit to housing and just our overall quality of life. That's what I look forward to somebody saying about me one day."

Michael Barnes, who received the highest votes in the city council at-large race, was elected Charlotte mayor pro-tem.

To see more on Cannon, click here.

WSOC