CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just hours after being sworn in as Charlotte's newest mayor, Jennifer Roberts was up early Tuesday morning helping out city sanitation workers. Channel 9 was there as she helped put trash in a garbage truck.
Roberts, along with Charlotte's new city leaders, were sworn into office Monday.
https://twitter.com/JennaWSOC9/status/674027673421750272
She took the oath next to her husband and son.
"Expanding opportunity should not be a zero-sum game that creates winners and losers," Roberts said. "We must commit to all of Charlotte being a winner."
Roberts scheduled herself a jam-packed agenda for her first full day in office.
The mayor has been uptown for the grand opening of First Ward Park but she was up and working well before dawn. She met with sanitation workers at 6 a.m. and then spent the next few hours picking up yard waste with crews.
She was also out on a ride-along with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and has a number of other events scheduled throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
“I want to show I'm ready to work tirelessly for our city,” Roberts told Channel 9. “That I believe in supporting all aspects of city government.”
Roberts was headed to a lunch event in west Charlotte at noon and will visit an after-school program before speaking to an LGBT group Tuesday night.
She vowed to make good on a campaign promise to increase wages for people who work for the city.
Councilwoman Vi Lyles was elected mayor pro tem.
The mayor's office in Charlotte has had a revolving door the last few years. Roberts is the city's fifth mayor in the last three years.
She took over from Dan Clodfelter, who was appointed mayor after the arrest of former mayor Pat Cannon on bribery charges.
Roberts won a convincing victory over Clodfelter last month and ran for mayor for more than a year.
Since winning she has continued to spend a lot of time in the community, talking about the need to address crime, transportation and economic mobility -- and the need to do it in every part of the city.
“We want to make sure that your success does not depend on the zip code where you were born or where you happen to live,” Roberts told Channel 9. “We want to make sure everyone has access.”
Roberts already has plans for what she wants to do during her first days in office, saying reducing crime and focusing on the city's youth will be her top priorities.
“We know a lot of young people who don't have productive things to do get led astray and end up doing things,” Roberts said during a youth community event Sunday. “The challenge there is even if you get a misdemeanor on your record it makes it that much harder to get into college or find a job."
Roberts said she wants to focus on jail diversion for those teens. She also expressed her hope to expand gang prevention into middle schools.
Roberts stressed these efforts must come with community involvement.
Roberts also plans on organizing a summit within the first 100 days as mayor to ensure there are more opportunities and resources for the young people in the city.
“Whether they are nonprofits, houses of worship, community organizations or businesses,” Roberts said. “We want to find and assess the gaps. “Find resources and money and fill those gaps."
On Monday Channel 9 toured an area facility that does just that.
Bahailu Academy provides a counter narrative to the path that's been laid out for many teens in Charlotte.
The after school program aims to keep area middle and high school students out of trouble and gives them a place to learn and grow.
“Students want to be successful,” said Lori Krzeszewski, who serves as executive director of the academy. “Students don’t come in saying they want to get into crime.”
Katende Mwalaba joined the academy during his senior year in high school. Mwalaba said he grew up in poverty and that the center gave him hope.
“This small after school program changed my life,” Mwalaba said. “Having the opportunity to become something in life because it’s so hard these days.”
Roberts also said small business, transportation and housing opportunities are on the top of her agenda. She plans on going on a police ride-along, visiting the city's solid waste department and LGBT Chamber of Commerce all on her first day as mayor.
As she steps in, Clodfelter will step away. CLICK HERE to hear more from Clodfelter.
Roberts' schedule for her first full day in office is detailed below.
6 a.m.: Solid Waste ride-along at Solid Waste Services, 1105 Otis St.
8 a.m.: CMPD ride-along at the Metro Division, 1118 Beatties Ford Rd.
10:30 a.m.: First Ward Park grand opening at Park at 422 E. 9th St.
12 p.m: Lunch and small business visits, District 2 at One Way Smoke House, 2316 Lasalle St.
3:30 p.m.: After school program at Behailu Academy, 451 E. 36th St.
5:30 p.m.: Domestic violence tree lighting at CMPD Headquarters, 601 E. Trade St.
7 p.m.: LGBT Chamber of Commerce at Sugar Creek Brewery, 215 Southside Dr.
Be sure to download the WSOC-TV Wake Up app to get the latest breaking news, weather and traffic on your phone first thing in the mornings.
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
- Gastonia teen killed after being pulled into wood chipper
- Officer comforts partner in fallen police horse's final moments
- Guilty plea: Mother starved kids, beat them for saying they were hungry
- CMPD: Woman may have been kidnapped after shooting
- Police: Teens shot girl in arm with pellet gun at Concord Mills
- Great white shark washes ashore at Wrightsville Beach
WSOC
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
