Republican mayoral candidate John Lassiter held a news conference on Friday to announce he believes the Democratic Party has resorted to "dirty politics."

Lassiter said a flier that was sent out to about 30,000 Democratic and unaffiliated voters crossed a line, using a grainy black and white photograph of him and suggesting that he’s more interested in helping developers than homeowners.

“This is the kind of thing we’ve seen in other statewide campaigns and in campaigns around the country, but we’ve avoided here in Charlotte,” Lassiter said.

He said he doesn't think his opponent, Democrat Anthony Foxx, knew about the flier, but he claims members of Foxx's campaign staff may have.

“It says that he didn’t (know),” Lassiter said. ”But the information is only information that his campaign would know.”

A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Democratic Party told Eyewitness News the organization stands by the flier and that it is spelling out the issues for voters.

“The issue for us is who is he taking money from and who benefits from his votes? If you want to call that negative, that’s a matter of interpretation,” Kerra Bolton said.

Bolton also said the state party did not consult with Foxx’s campaign before sending the flyers out.

A spokeswoman for Foxx’s campaign said he was not available for interviews Friday, but in a statement Foxx said, “Throughout this mayoral race, I have focused on the affirmative message of my campaign and issue differences between myself and my opponent. I am proud of the positive campaign we have run, and I have no intention of changing course now. I particularly appreciate Mr. Lassiter's acknowledgement that I had no role in sending any independent mailer."

• PDF: Text Of Lassiter's Statement • PDF: Carolina Democratic Party Flier

Charlotte Mayor Candidates Agree: It's The Economy

They've argued over tax increases and streetcars. But Anthony Foxx and John Lassiter, candidates for mayor of North Carolina's largest city, agree on one thing: The new leader's priority should be turning around the faltering local economy.

Foxx, a Democrat, and Lassiter, a Republican, said in recent interviews that Charlotte has to move quickly to create and retain jobs.

"There's nothing more pressing," said Foxx, 38.

Said Lassiter: "The number one challenge -- no matter who you talk to -- is the economy and job creation. We've seen a significant hit to our financial services industry." Thank you for participating. Which person would you like to see become the next Charlotte mayor? Which person would you like to see become the next Charlotte mayor? Republican John Lassiter Democrat Anthony Foxx

With the nation's banking meltdown, Charlotte has lost thousands of good-paying financial services jobs. Bank of America, one of the nation's largest banks, is headquartered in Charlotte. So was Wachovia, which was bought by Wells Fargo. For years, construction cranes symbolized the city's explosive growth. Now, many of the downtown projects have stalled.

Foxx and Lassiter, both lawyers and city council members, are competing in the Nov. 3 election to replace Mayor Pat McCrory, who is stepping down after 14 years.

Charlotte has a council-manager form of government, meaning the mayor and council make policy but a professional manager runs day-to-day operations. The mayor's post, considered a part-time position, pays $39,000 a year.

The city tends to lean Democratic, but has elected a Republican mayor for the past 21 years. No matter who's elected, Foxx and Lassiter said the next mayor will face a difficult economy that threatens the city's tax base.

"Obviously, we're going to have to work harder on retention than we ever had to," Foxx said. "We were humming for a while, but we can't ride a wave of prosperity anymore. We have to go back and redouble our efforts to keep existing employers here and keep those jobs here."

One way to do that: "Work more aggressively to recruit more companies that draw on these very same financial services workers that a company like Bank of America might be transitioning out," he said, noting that GMAC Financial recently announced plans to expand in Charlotte.

Lassiter agreed the city has to aggressively recruit and retain businesses. But he said the city also must diversify its economy.

"We have to expand our economy to include renewable energy and health care and biotechnology," said Lassiter, 55, who founded Carolina Legal Staffing.

The candidates acknowledge that economic issues are often driven on a national level, but both were optimistic there were steps a mayor can take to help. They include meeting with business leaders and marketing the city.

"I'm on a first-name basis with every major CEO in the region," Lassiter said. "You have to have the ability to talk honestly about what do you need to continue to remain here and invest here and keep the jobs here."

That, he said, has become increasingly critical.

"We need to be selling Charlotte. We have lower rent rates. We have an educated workforce in financial services that is unparalleled. We have access to an airport that will take you nonstop to any other city in the country. And we've got to market those strengths. That's exactly how we pitched that to GMAC," he said.

It's been a relatively low-key campaign in the city of nearly 687,000 people. The candidates have appeared at debates and agree on many issues.

They both voted for a 2 percent hotel tax increase to help build the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and support extending the city's light rail line to the northern part of the city and suburbs to reduce traffic.

However, Lassiter and Foxx took different positions on a 2006 budget vote that increased property taxes by 9 percent. Lassiter opposed it, but Foxx supported the measure because it allowed for the hiring of 70 police officers.

Their latest disagreement involves a proposed streetcar. Both candidates support it in principle, but last month Foxx voted to override McCrory's veto of a $4.5 million engineering study for the line. Lassiter supported the mayor's position, saying it made no sense to pay for a study when there's no budget for the project.

"We just don't have the funding source," Lassiter said.

• VIDEO: Eyewitness News Sits Down With Mayoral Candidate John Lassiter (R) • VIDEO: Eyewitness News Sits Down With Mayoral Candidate Anthony Foxx (D)

Previous Stories: October 30, 2009: Should Charlotte Mayor Position Be Full-Time? October 28, 2009: Mayoral Candidates Take Different Stances On Local Campaign Dollars October 25, 2009: Thousands Cast Early Votes In Mecklenburg County October 22, 2009: Mayoral Candidates Make Home-Stretch Push At Barbecue, On TV October 13, 2009: Charlotte Mayoral Candidates Weigh In On Mall's Future September 28, 2009: Charlotte Mayoral Debate Canceled After Candidate Withdraws September 16, 2009: Lassiter Easily Wins Charlotte GOP Mayoral Primary August 27, 2009: Early Voting Begins In Charlotte August 19, 2009: Campaign Contributions Could Hint At Next Charlotte Mayor July 31, 2009: Candidates In Charlotte Mayoral Race Raise Big Money