Republican Edwin Peacock was appointed Monday to finish the final six months of Tariq Bokhari’s City Council seat representing District 6 in south Charlotte. Bokhari resigned last month for a high-level job with the Federal Transit Administration.
The vote deadlocked, with five voting for Peacock and 5 voting for Krista Bokhari, Tariq Bokhari’s wife.
Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie and chose Peacock.
In a notice, Lyles cast her vote as reflecting the will of council members, even though the vote was tied.
“And I have listened to many of us talk about what the opportunities are, and in this case, I believe the council supported Edwin Peacock as the next District 6 representative,” she said. “And so with that, that is my vote.”
In all, 10 people were considered for the vacancy.
Krista Bokhari said she was the best person to help the city win support for a 1-cent sales tax increase for transit, and she had the support of several key GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Destin Hall. His support will be critical if Charlotte’s transit bills advance in the General Assembly.
But Krista Bokhari has also fiercely defended her husband, whose threatening text messages to Police Chief Johnny Jennings last year led the city to give him a six-figure financial settlement. Krista Bokhari blasted the decision and called on Jennings to resign.
In the end, the mayor picked the known quantity of Peacock, who last served as an at-large member in 2011 and lost a bid for mayor in 2013.
The vote was largely centered around pre-existing alliances on the council.
The five members who supported Peacock were Malcolm Graham, James Mitchell, Marjorie Molina, Danté Anderson and LaWana Mayfield. In general, four of the five — Graham, Mitchell, Molina and Anderson — often side with the mayor on most issues. Mayfield’s votes are more unpredictable.
The five members supporting Bokhari were Ed Driggs, Tiawana Brown, Reneé Johnson, Victoria Watlington and Dimple Ajmera.
Driggs, a Republican, often votes with Lyles, but, in this case, he followed the recommendation of the Mecklenburg Republican Party and backed Bokhari. Brown, Johnson, Watlington and Ajmera were either critical or skeptical of the financial settlement with Jennings.
Peacock has said he doesn’t plan to run for the seat in the fall election. Krista Bokhari could run for the south Charlotte seat.
