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The articles from Inside Politics With Steve Harrison appear first in his weekly newsletter, which takes a deeper look at local politics, including the latest news on the Charlotte City Council, what's happening with Mecklenburg County's Board of Commissioners, the North Carolina General Assembly and much more.

‘Roadrunner and Coyote’ square off on transit plan

 The Lynx Blue Line train
The Charlotte Ledger
The Blue Line drives by uptown.

Two weeks ago, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez McDowell hosted a forum in Steele Creek about the multi-billion-dollar transportation plan on the November ballot.

Interim CATS Chief Executive Brent Cagle was on the panel, along with McDowell, Matthews Commissioner Renee Garner, eastside leader Greg Asciutto and former Charlotte City Council member Braxton Winston.

McDowell and the three others are against the proposed one-percentage-point sales tax increase referendum, though they didn’t say so at the forum. Cagle, as a city employee, can’t advocate for the referendum.

During the Q&A, attorney and tax supporter Larry Shaheen cried foul, saying county resources were supporting a de facto rally against the tax. He got into a heated back-and-forth with Garner.

“The panel was stacked,” said Shaheen this week in an interview. “It was absolutely an illegal use of county funds.”

That confrontation epitomized Shaheen’s role in trying to get the sales tax increase over the finish line.

Shaheen, a Republican, was a key inside player in getting the transit bill through the Republican-controlled General Assembly. He’s also been perhaps the most vocal public supporter of the tax, working the phones, public forums and his connections to get it across the finish line with voters next month.

A high school debate champion, he’s at times hyperbolic. Often emotional. Occasionally confrontational.

Larry Shaheen
X profile
Larry Shaheen

Shaheen’s nemesis, in a way, is Robert Dawkins of the progressive group Action NC.

Dawkins takes a different approach. A keyboard warrior, he makes several social media posts a day from his Mint Hill house, criticizing the tax as hurting low-income residents more than helping them. He uses AI to make cartoons mocking the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, which is funding the pro-tax campaign. He watches City Council meetings, hunting for potential viral moments to bolster his argument. He’s made fun of Shaheen in a video, putting circus music under comments he’s made about the tax.

His posts don’t get many views, but the views they get matter. Some get picked up by the local media and politicians.

“I'm the small rebel force,” he said.

In a way, Dawkins and Shaheen both enjoy playing the role of insurgent: Shaheen acting behind the scenes to shepherd the tax referendum through a skeptical Republican stronghold in Raleigh, Dawkins fighting against the business and political establishment in Charlotte to kill the tax on what should be friendly ground. Dawkins and Shaheen have known each other since 2011, when they were on opposite sides of a fight over how Mecklenburg County Commission districts should be drawn. Shaheen sided with the GOP-controlled General Assembly, which intervened and kept a map that was more favorable to Republicans.

That Shaheen-Dawkins battle 14 years ago made sense — at least when judged by traditional political alliances.

Today’s battle is a bit of an upside-down world: Shaheen, a Republican, is pushing to raise the sales tax to 8.25%, with most of the money going to public transportation, which is usually not a GOP priority. Dawkins, a Democrat, is trying to torpedo it.

“You remember that cartoon — the roadrunner and the coyote?” Dawkins said. “Larry and I do all that. But after we punch the clock, we’re done with that. I’d have a beer with him.”

Lots of money versus almost no money

On paper, the vote on the tax referendum should not be much of a contest.

Local leaders have spent more than five years laying the groundwork. The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has said it will spend roughly $3 million to support the tax, which would fund new rail transit; improvements to the bus system; and more bike lanes, sidewalks and roads.

The alliance is spending much of that on social media. And with early voting set to begin Oct. 16, campaign mail is now arriving in people’s mailboxes.

Dawkins doesn’t have much.

“We bought a few signs — not that many. Maybe a couple of hundred of signs for people to put in their yards," he said. “We have a couple of lit pieces that we have handed out in churches. Maybe we will have enough for a radio ad, I’m not sure.”

He said he’s focused on reaching Black voters. Dawkins said the plan will lead to more displacement and that the sales tax is regressive. He said people have been left out of the planning.

In his previous work at Action NC, Dawkins worked to bring Sunday voting to the state. Close to home, he’s worked to increase how much the city of Charlotte spends on its Housing Trust Fund. Again, he’s usually on the other side of Shaheen.

"I've never been in a battle with Larry where we were on equal ground, because he is representing powerful interests,” he said.

Shaheen responded: “Anytime someone says, ‘We can’t raise money,’ then you just weren’t able to raise money. Robert is doing a great job with what he has. But if there was robust, passionate negative support, that would show up in funding.”

Robert Dawkins.
WFAE
Robert Dawkins.

Shifting positions

Both men have arguably flipped their positions.

In 2023, Shaheen posted on social media a photo of an unused bike lane, criticizing the city’s decision to take away space from vehicles for bikes. The post caught the attention of then-House Speaker Tim Moore, who mocked the city’s plans to invest heavily in bike infrastructure.

Shaheen’s post — and Moore’s comments — ultimately led to the final transportation bill requiring that 40% of sales tax money be set aside for roads. The city began calling it a “Roads First” plan.

But a closer look at the city’s plan for the roads money still shows a heavy investment in bike lanes, with little for additional road capacity for vehicles.

Shaheen has nevertheless defended the plan.

Dawkins, for his part, pushed the city to set aside money for buses, which primarily serve the city’s poorest residents. At his urging, the final bill requires that 20% of new tax revenue be spent on buses and microtransit. That hard requirement meant less money for rail — and made it harder to bring the Silver Line light rail to east Charlotte and Matthews.

Even after winning that concession, Dawkins still trashed the plan.

“Robert did what he was supposed to do and advocated for his community,” Shaheen said. “But when he and his folks say, 'No one consulted us,’ that isn’t true.”

Who has the edge?

Who has the edge?

Early voting begins Oct. 16. Election Day is Nov. 4. There’s no public polling on the tax’s chances, so trying to figure out what will happen is a bit of a combination of tea leaf-reading and vibes-based guesswork.

The last few days have brought good news for the ‘Yes For Meck’ campaign. Gov. Josh Stein and Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt came out in favor of the tax. And more importantly, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte said it’s backing the tax, throwing the group’s critical endorsement behind the effort. The BPC joins former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt as two prominent Black voices supporting the plan.

But the anti-tax coalition also has momentum.

The majority of Charlotte City Council supports the plan, but that support is far from rock-solid.

City Council member LaWana Mayfield said at this week’s Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum that she’s against the tax, joining council member Tiawana Brown and council member-elect J.D. Mazuera Arias in opposition.

And Council member Renee Johnson said Thursday she’s also a no.

“The proponents even say this isn’t perfect, but let’s pass it anyway," she said. “Ask yourselves: Where else would that standard be acceptable? How can we knowingly accept a flawed plan?”

Meanwhile, in Raleigh, Republican state auditor David Boliek is still hammering the city of Charlotte about transit security after the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on the Lynx Blue Line.

Dawkins said he thinks the referendum is a 50-50 race. Shaheen said he thinks the pro-tax side will win big, getting between 65% or 70% of the vote.

Disclaimer: WFAE staff member Julian Berger is Mazuera Arias’ partner. He is not involved in any coverage of the District 5 race or coverage of the Charlotte City Council.

Steve Harrison is WFAE's politics and government reporter. Prior to joining WFAE, Steve worked at the Charlotte Observer, where he started on the business desk, then covered politics extensively as the Observer’s lead city government reporter. Steve also spent 10 years with the Miami Herald. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.