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Here are some of the other stories catching our attention.

6 Apply For District 5 City Council Seat As Autry Moves To Legislature

Six Democrats have applied to replace Charlotte City Council member John Autry, who won election Nov. 8 to the state House of Representatives.

Autry, a Democrat, was unopposed for the House seat in District 100, which lies southeast of downtown Charlotte.

The council honored Autry during Monday night's meeting, where the six candidates also had a chance to address the council.  The candidates are:

  • Dimple Ajmera, 30 - A current member of the Charlotte Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, Ajmera moved to the U.S. with her family at age 16. She works as a project manager at TIAA Inc. She's a Certified Public Accountant with a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California.
  • Chris Chambers-Woodruff, 29 - Woodruff is a lifelong resident of District 5 and graduated from Independence High School. He served six years in the U.S. Navy. He's a registered investment adviser who has volunteered with the NAACP, Boys and Girls Club and Friendship Trays.
  • Johnell Holman, 56 - A transplant to Charlotte from Columbia, SC, he also served in the U.S. Navy.  
  • Marjorie Molina, 36 - She's been a Charlotte resident for 12 years and describes herself as a mother, entrepreneur and campaign organizer. She has worked on Autry's campaigns.
  • Matthew Newton, 37 - Newton is a lawyer and Mecklenburg County Democratic Party chair. He brought a cheering crowd of supporters to Monday's meeting, where he said he has the support of key community leaders in District 5. He says he won't run for a full term when his appointed term ends.  
  • Queen Thompson, 60 - She's a former Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools teacher who once ran for school board. She says she's a social worker, counselor and rehabilitation specialist.

The city council expects to pick one of the six to fill the remainder of Autry's term at its Jan 17 meeting.  He or she would be sworn in the following day, with a formal ceremony Jan. 23.

David Boraks previously covered climate change and the environment for WFAE. See more at www.wfae.org/climate-news. He also has covered housing and homelessness, energy and the environment, transportation and business.