Filing opened Friday for municipal races in Charlotte and the six suburban towns and for three at-large Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board seats.
Among the first in line to file was Derek Partee, a Huntersville town commissioner who hopes to become the town’s mayor. “I like to get ahead of the crowd, get ahead of the field,” he said.
Ben Copeland, who filed for his first political office, said people told him opening day was a time to meet people and get attention. He described himself: “First time I’ve been eligible, 21 years old, a student at UNC Charlotte. Hoping to be the first Gen Z member of Charlotte City Council and bring a new era of ideas to the city here.”
Shamaiye Haynes, a west Charlotte community activist and first-time candidate, showed up to kick off the school board race.
“I’m running for school board because I think we need a community voice on the board and I have several initiatives that I want to see pushed forward that I feel like only I can get pushed forward,” she said.
At noon Mecklenburg Board of Elections Director Michael Dickerson gave candidates the go-ahead to start filing their paperwork. He said it’s his 25th filing season in the job.
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” he said, watching candidates and supporters chat and take photos in the Board of Elections office. “And got a good crowd now rolling in. That’s great to see.”
Filing ends July 21; find an updated list of candidates here.
Charlotte’s mayoral and city council races are partisan, with a primary Sept. 12. The others are nonpartisan.
All told, 49 positions will be filled by Mecklenburg voters in November. Voters will also get to decide on $2.5 billion worth of bonds for school construction and $1.5 billion for parks, libraries, Central Piedmont Community College and other county projects.
If it seems like school board and municipal races just happened, that’s because the 2021 municipal and school board races were postponed to 2022 until officials could get updated census data to redraw districts. Now they’re back on the normal cycle.
