Three Democrats are vying for the District 1 seat after incumbent Elaine Powell opted not to run for re-election: Jessica Finkel, Morris Mac McAdoo and Adam Pasiak. The winner will face Republican Aaron Marin in November.
McAdoo did not respond to our candidate guide. We will update this with his response if we receive it.
Jessica Finkel
What is your occupation? Production Strategist.
What is the top issue and how do you plan to address it?
The top issue I see impacting our communities is affordability. Affordability impacts everything, from the housing market and rent prices, to food and transportation. Too many hard-working families that have lived in their communities for decades are being priced out and truly left out of the conversation surrounding what’s going on in their communities. The affordability crisis is driving instability, homelessness, and longer commutes, with the idea of a 15-minute neighborhood feeling like a distant dream more and more every day.
As County Commissioner, I will focus on investing in critical and sustainable home repairs, supporting eviction prevention and rental assistance, and partnering with municipalities to build affordable housing and increase targeted housing support. I plan on starting by sharing resources from the Inflation Reduction Act through a website I helped build called energyfundsforall.org, which shows all of the funds that are available to homeowners, renters, nonprofits, local governments, and more, and how they can lower their energy bills, and how to get money to make their homes more energy efficient. The county has underutilized the funds available through this program, which could provide solar panels for county buildings, help us install renewable energy projects like geothermal and wind, and lower our overall energy footprint.
Funds like these, as well as programs like the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program and Crisis Intervention Program, often go untouched because people are unaware of the available resources or are hesitant to ask for help. By connecting with nonprofits and grassroots organizations, and ensuring that people not only know the money is available but also how to access it, we can help our neighbors stay in their homes for decades to come.
Are you in favor of raising property taxes?
For years, Republican leaders in Raleigh have repeatedly cut state taxes, not for everyday individuals, but for corporations and the wealthy, while refusing to fund public education, mental health services, and housing. So, while our state government refuses to properly fund the counties and won’t pass a budget, we do have to utilize property taxes to keep our local government moving.
However, that burden shouldn’t disproportionately fall on the shoulders of homeowners and small business owners. It instead should fall to large corporations, who are already getting tax breaks on the state level and can, and should, pay their fair share of taxes in the counties in which they operate. According to the Pew Research Center, more than six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised. North Carolina may be rated best for business, but not for workers. The corporations that benefit from being located in Mecklenburg County should also give back to those who help make them successful. That way, we as a community can continue to support them, and they can be successful in our county.
What should Mecklenburg County do about the stalled Brooklyn Village project?
The installation of the Brooklyn Project feels like a continued slap in the face to those who were directly impacted by the “urban renewal” and razing of the community. It currently represents both a promise and a failure - a promise to repair historic harm, and a failure to deliver timely, transparent results. Mecklenburg County has a responsibility to make sure public commitments tied to this project are honored.
The county should re-center the original purpose of Brooklyn Village: restorative development that benefits the descendants of the historic Brooklyn community, including meaningful affordable housing and real economic opportunity. A first step in this process could be collaborating with local unions on how we can best move forward with the development of this space. From there, we can find a developer who pays a livable wage and ensures harm is addressed from the beginning of construction.
If the current structure cannot deliver on those goals, the county should be willing to revisit agreements, reset expectations transparently, or explore alternative paths forward in partnership with the community. Doing nothing is not acceptable - accountability and action is required.
What separates you from your opponent(s)?
I bring a combination of community-rooted leadership, policy understanding, and a deep commitment to equity and civil rights. I understand how county decisions affect people’s everyday lives, and I have spent years advocating for justice locally in order to build a safe, healthy future for all people.
I have worked and volunteered in a variety of justice spaces for my entire career in order to support my community. I’ve been on the ground, organizing protests, phone banks, door-knocking sessions, talked to communities about petitions, fundraisers, and opportunities to get involved. These nonprofits and grassroots organizations are doing the work to support their neighbors every day in their communities. My relationship with them sets me apart. I will stand beside them and ensure they get the funding they need to help them and their communities thrive, not just survive.
Adam Pasiak
What is your occupation? Strategic Sourcing Manager - Contracts at Honeywell.
What is the top issue and how do you plan to address it? So many of the issues facing Mecklenburg County are interconnected that it’s hard to pick just one to be the “Top Issue” but if you look across Mecklenburg County, a common theme or issue has to Housing Instability and Affordability. All across Mecklenburg County we are seeing hard working folks becoming more and more “cost-burdened” by the rapidily increasing costs of housing. Couple that with all of the other costs associated with living in and around Mecklenburg County, we have a rapdily growing problem that is going to lead to an already growing homelessness crisis and even further compound our economic mobility issues.
What can the county do? The county needs to continue it’s focus/strategy with public-private partnerships and increase funding for efforts like the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Ecosystem. A program/effort that is helping to bridge the gap between homelessness and housing stability. The county can also continue to engage with the publis and identify more housing stability wrap programs that are designed to keep folks in their homes, like the HOMES Tax program, that is designed to help offset the burden of County property taxes. More longterm solutions include; continuing to work with developers, towns and the state to create a more “affordable” housing market through UDO design and transit-oriented development with the passage of the new transit sales tax.
Are you in favor of raising property taxes?
It’s a difficult decision with every budget, and not a decision I would take lightly. As a general rule of thumb for me.... We should only raise taxes if all other avenues have been explored and the alternative to raise taxes is a reduced quality of life for Mecklenburg residents.
The argument for raising taxes:
o Continued investment in infrastructure & CMS: We passed a $2.5B bond in 2023 to pay for modernizations to CMS facilities and repaying those bonds requires a steady tax revenue, as well as continued future investment/growth in our funding to keep up with our growth school population.
o Public Safety & MEDIC: More specifically hitting closer to home in District One, we’re experiencing a “MEDIC Desert” where folks are waiting 40-50 minutes for a MEDIC to arrive and relying on town fire or police services to provide aid when a Medic is necessary. We need to hire approximately 75-80 more staff members and explore dedicated MEDIC facilities in the north part of the county.
o General “Closing the Gap”: With a state government that is refusing to pass a budget and fully fund services they are obligated too fund, the County is “covering the bill” to the tune of almost $500M a year. All the while trying to establish new services for our residents, like the MECK Pre-K program, senior services, and expansion of our greenways and other recreational services that are core to the mental and physical health of our residents.
The argument against raising taxes:
o Upcoming revaluation: Even though they have slowed recently, many property values since the last revaluation are likely to increase during the 2027 revaluation. This means there’s a potential tax increase for residents already built into upcoming budgets, even if the rate remains the same.
o The “Double Whammy”: Residents have already been hit with a 1 cent Sales Tax increase with the passage of the PAVE Act transit Tax and are also facing potential town/city tax rates increases depending on where they are in the county. So should the county instead look to cut funded toward specific programs in order to ease that burden?
What should Mecklenburg County do about the stalled Brooklyn Village project?
The situation with Brooklyn Village is one of the most complex and emotionally charged challenges currently facing the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, and rightfully so. The project is at a critical crossroads after nearly a decade of delays and the recent breakdown between the County and the developer (Peebles) certainly puts us in an even more challenging position.
o I don’t see a path forward with the current developer, depending on guidance from the County attorneys, I see the most likely outcome being a break from the agreement with Peebles, even if it requires arbitration to resolve.
o Once the current agreement with the developer is resolved, the County needs to restore its trust with the community and prioritize “meaningful” affordable housing for the project. The most recent proposal for Brooklyn Village planned for nearly 250 affordable units, that would have been a good thing.
o Brooklyn Village is not just a real estate project; it is an attempt to make amends for the “Urban Renewal” that destroyed a thriving Black neighborhood in the 1960s. The county should move beyond “plaques and names” and integrate a true cultural anchor into the site. This could include a permanent museum space, dedicated storefronts for minority-owned small businesses (MWSBEs), and a significant preservation of Marshall Park’s utility as a public gathering space.
What separates you from your opponent(s)?
In one simple phrase, “I’ve been doing the work and I bring that experience with me day one!”
From my days as Co-Chair of the Citizen transit Advisory Group and as a Public Advisor on the North Region Parks & Rec Advisory Council, I bring a working knowledge and established relationships with many of the folks already in the room. I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to run, I didn’t drop out of another race I couldn’t win to try and win this race, I’ve been invested in this community since day one and that’s why when I spoke with Commissioner Powell back in September, she was more than excited to pass the environmental stewardship torch to me to carry forward. (Please feel free to verify this directly with Elaine) My years of commitment to the North Meck community is also why I have the endorsements of Mayor Christy Clark and Mayor Rusty Knox, because I’ve worked alongside them both for years, trying to improve the lives of North Mecklenburg residents.
(WATCH BELOW: Political Beat Preview: NC District 55)
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