Municipal elections are underway in Charlotte and many towns across the state, with polls closing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Voters are electing members of the Charlotte City Council, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board, and the mayors of some of the northern Mecklenburg towns.
And one of the biggest races to watch doesn’t involve any candidates at all — but rather $2.5 billion dollars in proposed school bonds for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which has sparked campaigns both for and against.
At West Charlotte Recreation Center, voter Bobbie Caldwell had this to say Tuesday: “Get up, get out, and vote. Do not sit at home because every vote matters, every vote counts. So, you can’t sit back and complain if you don’t get out and try and do something about it.”
WFAE’s Race and Equity Reporter Elvis Menayese and WFAE’s Community Engagement Producer Mona Dougani, spent the day out talking to voters and joined WFAE's Nick de la Canal on All Things Considered.
Nick de la Canal: Elvis, let’s start with you. The school bonds are one of the big races to watch. You heard from people campaigning for these bonds today. What did they say, and how are they feeling?
Elvis Menayese: I spoke with Mary McCray, co-chair of the Vote Yes Bond campaign. She has mixed feelings.
Mary McCray: “I’m cautious but yet still I'm confident because this is a community that knows the value of public education and how important it is for many of our children if we are going to provide them with those opportunities for upward mobility.”
Menayese: The 2.5 billion dollar bond package would help CMS with 30 projects. It will go towards building new middle schools, a new regional athletic facility in West Charlotte, and renovations and replacement projects.
This is the largest bond package ever proposed in North Carolina, and property taxes would go up. That’s been the main focus of the “Vote NO” campaign. We did reach out to them for an interview today but didn’t hear back.
De la Canal: Mona, you went to polling locations in south Charlotte, where you met up with Republican Charlotte city council member Tariq Bokhari and his opponent, Democrat Stephanie Hand. This is the only competitive race on city council. What did the candidates say?
Mona Dougani: Yes, so when I spoke with Bokhari he said he was feeling cautiously optimistic. He mentioned that early voting in Charlotte typically favors Democrats, and he knows that turnout is going to be really important today, and that it is a close race.
Tariq Bokhari: “I think the main pitch is balance is important. Diversity of perspective and thought is important, and we're in danger of completely losing that here in Charlotte. This is one of the last Republican seats that exists, so there's no danger of a Republican agenda coming to the forefront if I'm reelected. But what we could lose if I'm not, is a balanced conversation.”
Dougani: For Hand, she said she feels excited. Remember, last election, she lost by just 357 votes. She said her pitch revolves around being a pragmatic leader focused on safe communities and strong economic development. When I asked what she thinks is different about this election versus last election she said she will have to wait until tonight to see how things go.
Stephanie Hand: “Well I think that it is a groundswell. We have a great team that's working extremely, extremely hard and at the end of the day, as a student athlete, I've got to wait till the buzzer says 'zero zero,' and then we'll know what the outcome is.”
De la Canal: Okay we'll have to wait for the buzzer there. So we know that voter turnout is expected to be light in this election. It is an off year. There are no state or federal races on the ballot. But what did you guys see out there? Are voters turning out?
Menayese: I was at three different polling stations, and the turnout was low for all of them. The majority of the voters were older adults.
Many of the voters said they were paying close attention, especially to the school bonds. That includes Bobbie Caldwell, who was the poll with her great-granddaughter. She says she's in favor of the bond package with reservations.
Caldwell: “I will be willing to pay the extra two cents or whatever it is in order to get these upgrades done and new schools built. But to be honest with you, I feel for the people who say that they can’t afford it because I’m on a fixed income and I really can’t afford it. But that’s a sacrifice I’d be willing to make.”
De la Canal: Okay. Mona, how about you?
Dougani: I was at four different polling stations. I would say the turnout was light for all of them as well…no lines or anything.
Many of the voters I spoke to said they were supporting the school bonds, but there was one person who said he wasn’t. This is David Tondreau at Montclaire Elementary School.
David Tondreau: “Every time we've passed school bonds they've passed and the schools haven't gotten any better. So I don't think money is the issue. I think it's personally, I think CMS needs to be broken up into smaller groups and reduce the amount of overhead involved in the school system.”
De la Canal: Finally, we should also mention this race for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board where 14 people are running for three seats. How are voters figuring out who to vote for?
Dougani: Some people said they did their research, but a number of people mentioned that they did not know who to vote for. Some people said they skipped that section. One person mentioned that they played a game of eenie, meenie, miney, mo.
De la Canal: Oh great. Okay.
Menayese: I heard similar things. I came across one person doing last-minute research at the poll. Other people mentioned contacting friends and colleagues who work with the school system to find out about the 14 candidates running.
De La Canal: Well, we will have to see who comes out on top.
