The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on someone to finish the final six months of former council member Tariq Bokhari’s term. He resigned last month to become a high-ranking transit official in the Trump administration.
His wife, Republican Krista Bokhari, is one of 10 candidates for the job, along with two former City Council members who served more than a decade ago: Republicans Edwin Peacock and Andy Dulin.
A large part of Krista Bokhari’s message to council members is that she is best equipped to help the city get approval for a one-cent sales tax increase needed for a multibillion-dollar transit plan.
“With a potential tax referendum coming in November you’ll want someone in this seat who can build trust and navigate conversations with both this council and the General Assembly,” she said in a video to council members.
To bolster her case, she has noted she has endorsements from some key Republicans.
State legislators Vickie Sawyer and Tricia Cotham, who have both sponsored legislation to allow a sales tax increase to move forward, have backed her. GOP House Speaker Destin Hall also supports her, as does Charlotte-area Rep. Tim Moore. Moore was the House speaker before Hall.
The Mecklenburg Republican Party also supports Krista Bokhari, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat in November.
The person who finishes Tariq Bokhari’s term must live in the south Charlotte district and be a member of the same party as Bokhari, a Republican.
While Krista Bokhari has support from prominent Republicans, she must convince nearly an all-Democratic City Council. There is only one Republican currently serving, Ed Driggs.
It’s unclear whether those council members will want a break from the chaos that has consumed the city in the last three weeks, some of it stemming from the Bokharis themselves.
In late April, council members in closed session to reach a financial settlement with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings. The chief was upset with threatening text messages he received from Tariq Bokhari in the summer of 2024. Bokhari wanted officers to be able to wear new protective vests; Jennings did not.
Bokhari sent him texts saying he would work to get Jennings fired and that he would try to cripple his legacy.
The settlement with Jennings is worth $300,000, according to council member Tiawana Brown.
The decision to settle with Jennings — and how the vote was taken — upset some council members.
Victoria Watlington said in an email to constituents that she felt the city had acted unethically and illegally in moving forward with the payment.
Krista Bokhari has called on Jennings to resign. And she has challenged the city’s rationale for the settlement in lengthy social media posts.
Dulin represented District 6 for eight years, through 2013. He also served one term in the General Assembly. Peacock was an at-large council member and lost a bid for mayor in 2013.
Conservative writer Andrew Dunn is also running. He was communications director for Republican Dan Forest during his 2020 campaign for governor.
Other people who have applied include: Sary Chakra; David Jewell; Christopher McBride; Douglas Paris; La Reshai Poore; and James Rice.
