CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx was elected to a second term on Tuesday. He became the first Democrat to win a second term as Charlotte mayor since Harvey Gantt in 1985.
He had about 67 percent of the votes on Tuesday night with 97 percent of precincts reporting, beating out challenger Scott Stone.
During his victory speech, Foxx said progress was made during his first term, mentioning jobs and a low crime rate. He said he would continue to work on issues important to area residents.
"This is not easy stuff," Foxx said. "But you didn't put me here to do an easy job. You put me here to do a hard job, and that's what I'm going to do."
Foxx said there is still a lot of work to do in the next two years, such as improving regional transportation, city county consolidation and doing more with tighter budgets.
"One of the first things I'm going to do is push for city, county consolidation," Foxx said. "If we can get the whole thing done, let's get functional consolidation done. Let's make our government work for the people who pay the bills."
Stone, an engineer and business executive, trailed Foxx in fundraising throughout the campaign. He campaigned on promises to cut city spending, create more jobs and eliminate plans for a streetcar line.
Stone told his supporters they worked hard but just couldn't pull off the upset they wanted.
Stone was trailing from the moment results started coming in Tuesday night.
"When he was 8,000 votes up after early voting, we knew we were in big trouble," Stone said. "So, we need to redouble efforts and we need to learn from this."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board will have some new faces after Tuesday's election.
Ericka Ellis Stewart was the lead vote-getter in the field of 14.
Longtime CMS teacher Mary McCray finished second, winning a seat on the board. Current board member Tim Morgan finished third, winning the final at-large seat.
McCray told Channel 9 she will be looking at the future of standardized testing.
"What is the purpose of it? Are we fulfilling the purpose of it and what are the kids getting out of it? Are they taking it serious?" McCray said. "That will be one of the challenges as we move forward as a new board is figuring out how do we continue to close the achievement gap."
Morgan and the rest of the board will pick a replacement for his district seat.
The new school board members will help shape the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, deciding on issues including teacher pay-for-performance and more testing for students.
According to the Board of Elections, 97,000 votes had been counted in Mecklenburg County by Tuesday night. That's about 16 percent of registered voters.
"It is very important for everyone to get out there and vote, especially in elections where there is no president or governor to vote for," said voter Allison O'Connor. "Regardless of who is running, it is important for people to get out there and exercise your right to vote.
About 3 percent of voters took part in early voting.
Turnout is typically lower when it's not a presidential election year.
WSOC
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