CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Mayor Rob Harrington is now in office and facing the city’s challenges for his 18-month term. Channel 9 sat down with the Queen City’s 60th mayor this week to talk about several hot topics.
In May, municipalities across the Charlotte area pulled their support for a project that would bring toll lanes to Interstate 77 south of Uptown. State lawmakers want them to pay back the money that was already spent.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Charlotte City Council selects Rob Harrington as interim mayor
- Colleagues, supporters praise new Mayor Rob Harrington
- Robert Harrington transitions from NC Bar Association to interim mayor
- Charlotte mayor’s term will include airport lease negotiations
- Rob Harrington sworn in as Charlotte’s 60th mayor
Channel 9’s Deneige Broom asked: “Council is now on a time crunch to either reverse the vote or possibly have to pay the state back millions of dollars. How do you think that should go?”
Mayor Harrington responded: “So, you know, we’re the budget dropped Thursday. You know, we’re in the process, you know, with all of our, you know, the attorney’s office and others of working through that bill and making sure we sort of understand all that is there. You know, clearly we’ve got work to do in what appears to be the next 90 day timeframe, and we’re gearing up for that, but I think again those priorities that I’ve laid out for myself will allow us to take those on, but it’s got to be, you know, it’s a process that involves a lot of work by council, a lot of work by me as a part of the council, and then engagement with the community.”
Broom: “From the legal side with that, do they have legal standing to try to claw that money back?
Harrington: “Does the state have legal standing to say? I’ve said I’m here as mayor and not as lawyer, so I don’t want to go too far down that path.”
Broom also asked the mayor about his plans for the city’s affordability crisis.
Harrington: “We’ve got to make sure that this is continues to be a welcoming city for the 150 people who move here a day, but also a welcoming city that folks who have been here for generations can really participate in, and we’ve just got to keep that balance is vital to our continuing success as a city. So housing trust fund and other measures that, that you know, hopefully we can explore to make the city affordable, not just in housing but across the board.”
Broom: “One thing that a lot of people coming here would hear about are potential safety concerns. How are you working with CMPD on some of their crackdowns, especially with the teen takeovers we’ve been seeing?”
Harrington: “Yeah, I have had a chance to meet at least briefly with [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police] Chief [Estella] Patterson, who I think is fantastic ... and recognized for that, not just across the city but across the state. You know, public safety is certainly one of the number ones, if not the number one. And it’s not just the fact of public safety, because the statistics, if you look year over year from last year to this year, statistics are good; but people have to perceive that, and everyone has to perceive that, right? Visitors have to perceive it, people all over town have to perceive it, and they have to feel, not just see, but feel that all of us are being equally well taken care of.”
Join us Friday morning on Eyewitness News to hear from the mayor about how he plans to use his business experience in the public sector, and how he describes his leadership style.
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
