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Councilman Poised To Nominate Kinsey For Interim-Mayor

Charmeck.org

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will resign Monday afternoon to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and the work of finding his replacement begins.

Current City Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey may be first in line.

Whomever the city council chooses to temporarily fill the mayor's seat must be a Democrat like Foxx. That's the law. But council members have added another stipulation, says Democrat James Mitchell: It won't be someone who "has ambition to run for mayor."

That excludes Mitchell and fellow Democrat Patrick Cannon who's the mayor pro-tem. On Monday night, Mitchell says he'll nominate another of their colleagues: 1st District Representative Patsy Kinsey.

"For me, it was about someone who can step in and deal with the hot issues now and I didn't want to put an outsider in," says Mitchell.

Those issues include the city's quest for more transit funding and an ongoing tussle with state lawmakers over control of the Charlotte airport.

Among the other Democrats who've been mentioned for interim mayor are former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and former City Councilwoman Nancy Carter.

Republican City Councilman Andy Dulin says the council will be looking to appoint someone non-confrontational.

"This person will not – should not – come in and start wanting to take a position on policy," says Dulin.

The interim-mayor will serve until December when whomever wins the November election is sworn in.