2023 Charlotte City Council candidate questionnaires

Candidates reply to our questions on growth, housing and their priorities

Oct 15, 2023

These are the responses to The Charlotte Ledger’s questionnaires for candidates for Charlotte City Council.

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(Responses were compiled by Sucharita Kodali and edited by Tony Mecia.)

City Council At-Large Candidate Responses

Dimple Ajmera (Democrat)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first six months of the new city council term?

We must restore trust in our public transportation by addressing safety, reliability and efficiency concerns.

Q. There appears to be a rezoning request for several acres of undeveloped land south of the 4-Mile Creek Greenway in South Charlotte; this will soon come to a vote in front of the whole council. The developers hope to build a large apartment community but many local area residents are opposed to this. What is your stance on this?

I will work with the district representative to do a proper due diligence and understand the community's needs before making a decision.

Q. What else can the council do, beyond approving the UDO, to balance the need for housing with neighborhood concerns about traffic, infrastructure, safety, environmental protection and property values?

Affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing our city as one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. We need to increase the housing supply to address the affordable housing crisis while ensuring the quality of life does not diminish for our residents. As we require developers to address various community benefits in their development, we must be mindful of not jeopardizing the American dream of home ownership.

Steven J. DiFiore (Libertarian)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first six months of the new city council term?

For struggling Charlotteans to reach their full potential, our city must take action to help eliminate poverty traps. One such trap is the clustering of subsidized housing in low-income areas of the city with few employment opportunities. Currently, those who need vouchers have little choice in where they can use those vouchers. This clustering of poverty only magnifies the difficulties in escaping the poverty trap. I would like to see Charlotte's housing voucher program reformed so it provides greater freedom and flexibility to our fellow citizens. If vouchers were more like cash and could be spent on any apartment in the city, then people would have more choice in where to live, such as closer to work or in a better school districts. This will help them raise their standard of living and climb the economic ladder.

Affordable housing is a perennial issue in Charlotte politics. Many voters will say they support greater housing options until those options are near them. This creates a downward spiral in public policy discourse that ensures the issue will never truly be solved. I don't believe homeowners who oppose more housing near them do so out of malice, but rather out of fear of the unknown. Our citizens need brave leaders who will instill confidence that new development is possible in a way that benefits everyone. I favor liberalizing our zoning ordinances to allow property owners to utilize their land in the most profitable manner, and that includes increasing the housing supply. The city needs to focus on providing robust city services to growing areas of Charlotte so that existing communities don’t see a degradation in the services they depend on or a deflation of their property values.

Approving the UDO is a fantastic first step, but the city and county need to continue the work of further liberalizing the zoning ordinance. Removing the prohibition that mandates detached single family homes in many residential areas is a necessary reform going forward as our city grows. Additional land use policy is needed to help direct the development of our infrastructure, environmental protections and to preserve community property values. One such tool in others cities is the use of deed restrictions in residential communities and properties. Other cities have used these as effective tools for land use moderation and we can implement an adapted policy for use in Charlotte. In this way we can balance the needs of a growing city, the pressures on expanded services, and the concerns of homeowners.

LaWana Slack-Mayfield (Democrat)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first six months of the new city council term?

In the upcoming term, one of my focus areas will be to expand the CLTbyTLC housing program I started in 2017 to directly assist homeowners who are being targeted by investors in our working-class communities by assisting with home repair, education around keeping their homes and the impacts to wealth building through their equity and connecting residents with additional resources to make sure they understand the impacts if they choose to sell without a clear plan in regards to their housing needs.

Although a rezoning petition number would be helpful for this question, I believe my previous comments in regards to multi-family vs owner/occupied homeownership stand. I am concerned that Charlotte is quickly becoming a rental vs owner/occupied City and this could could have a detrimental impact on providing needed services to our residents due to our tax structure and the State's leeway in regards to corporate business taxes which in large part are lower than many home tax bills. I will address the vote accordingly when it is presented to full Council.

Political Will vs. Political Authority...Council can update its language to clearly state the expectation for businesses to pay their fair share for our infrastructure needs vs. allowing billionaires to pay a minimal fee as the cost of doing business in our City while small businesses absorb much higher fees. As far as safety, I believe we need to return to “Community Policing,” along with updating our hiring practices to ensure any/all staff earning over $100,000 must live within the limits of Charlotte proper, as they are making decisions that impact the residents without feeling the economic impacts of those decisions. The market is leading the way in regards to property values, and I have asked the City Manager & staff to present to full Council the impacts of our city becoming a highly rental vs owner/occupied city along with the concern that I have and have spoken to from the diocese in regards to impacting property values by building multi-family that negatively impacts the quality of life of current homeowners through 2-5 build processes, construction related debris in neighborhoods and loss of privacy to owner yards due to a large building being built in direct proximity which residents have identified flooding and erosion of their land due to those projects. Expanding the scope of the SEAP program will ensure we are on task for our environmental goals and for goodness sake STOP ALLOWING CLEAR CUTTING of our mature trees for the sake of infill development.

Victoria Watlington (Democrat)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first six months of the new city council term?

Kicking off the three-pronged strategy for restoring uptown quality of life (public realm, safety, real estate/economic development)

I will defer to the district rep to gain understanding of the current situation. I firmly believe that the people rule, and our growth should reflect our values. I have worked over the last four years to bring neighbors and developers to the table to co-create solutions.

Confront the brutal facts: We cannot build our way into affordable housing, given market demand. We need to recognize this and work with our regional partners to better plan employment centers and transportation to support our growing population. In addition, we’ve got to get people to work on jobs with livable wages that our society needs.

City Council District 6 candidate responses

Tariq Bokhari (Republican)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first six months of the new city council term?

While I have many initiatives in flight that I am committed to bringing to completion (like the reimagining of Symphony Park to become to town square of SouthPark), the top item I will be prioritizing for the first 6 months of this next term will be measurably improving quality of life for every resident of Charlotte.

One key component will be ensuring all of the needed ordinances are in place to stop homelessness and panhandling, working in parallel to improve the needed support services for those that are on the streets and not getting the actual help they need. Our streets have been taken over by tent cities, our intersections have become owned by aggressive panhandlers, and our citizens have been pleading for a solution to things like constant public defecation — yet our city has refused to even consider taking action. While I am in the super-minority and can’t get this done alone, I have seen a glimmer of hope in the last couple weeks from my colleagues, as I have continued to champion this. While taking immediate action requires taking a hard line and isn’t a pleasant thing to have to do, we can do it with empathy, because at the end of the day, it’s not good for anyone, including those in need, to turn a blind eye. When people ask why approaching this with urgency in the first 6 months is important, my answer is simple: Los Angeles didn’t happen overnight.

Another key component that can be implemented within the first 6 months is taking a proactive approach to combating crime. Three weeks ago, a jogger in SouthPark just a few doors down from my house was shot twice in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon by a repeat, violent criminal with mental health issues. Two weekends ago, there were 5 shootings across Charlotte where 4 people were hospitalized and 2 killed. Most people I talk to refuse to go uptown anymore. So far this year: 67 homicides, 968 robberies, 5,560 auto thefts, and 26,895 property crimes. CMPD has well over 300 vacant positions, with morale the lowest I’ve ever seen it. Crime is out of control in Charlotte, while we continue to villainize the heroes, treat the criminals like victims, and treat the victims as an afterthought. We must pass the ordinances needed, implement a comprehensive plan to improve morale, recruitment and retention rates in CMPD, and troubleshoot our broken criminal justice system one component at a time. Chicago didn’t happen overnight.

Charlotte is at a pivotal moment right now. What we decide to do in the next 5 years is going to shape what the next 50 looks like, but we can start down that path with a 6 month surge that can turn our current trajectory around. Many times, I am forced to stand alone, taking uncomfortable positions, because it is the right thing to do, and no one else is going to do it. While some may feel the ‘small things’ can seem inconsequential, or not worth the pain of making the tough decisions now, if we don’t it will become a death-by-1,000-paper-cuts story when our children look back on these times.

After years of fighting over the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and UDO, where the national progressive agenda pushed for cities to abolish single-family zoning as a reparation for redlining, we find ourselves in the exact opposite position. The very communities they claimed would benefit are actually beginning to be pushed out through gentrification. All this while, we handcuff developers with red tape that makes housing at scale less affordable, and we completely ignore our responsibilities for infrastructure to keep up with all the growth. San Francisco didn’t happen overnight.

Traffic is also becoming unbearable for many of our residents. Instead of building a roads-first plan to do something about it, our leaders continue to pander to those they promised the Silver Line light rail, despite the fact it has absolutely zero chance of happening, and because of that we are losing our chance to have the transformational investment our city desperately needs. Atlanta didn’t happen overnight.

I will continue fighting every day to fix the broken elements of the UDO, push for the creation of a roads-first plan while communicating the reality of the old plan, and focusing our efforts on making infrastructure planning the top priority of our investment strategy.

Stephanie Hand (Democrat)

Q. If elected, what is one tangible thing you would like to accomplish for Charlotte residents within the first 6 months of the new city council term?

Within the first 6 months of being the District 6 Council Representative, I will prioritize meeting with key stakeholders such as my colleagues, the City Manager, business leaders, Neighborhood Associations, CMPD divisions, Fire Departments, County Commissioners and the Charlotte Meck School Board Representatives for District 6. By fully engaging in the onboarding process as the new District 6 Representative, I will work so that the people’s voices and concerns of District 6 are heard, with agreed-upon sustainable solutions.

Q. What else can the council do (beyond approving the UDO) to balance the need for housing with neighborhood concerns about traffic, infrastructure, safety, environmental protection, and property values?

As the District 6 City Council Representative, I am committed to actively listening and engaging with the residents, business leaders, and organizations of District 6 and Charlotte. By collaborating with experts in housing, traffic, and infrastructure, I will work with leaders to find sustainable solutions that balance the need for housing with neighborhoods voicing their concerns and visions alongside the developers sharing their ideas and enhancements they propose for our communities.

Additionally, I will prioritize working with CMPD leaders in District 6, to understand the greatest needs and be a voice of advocacy to ensure our first responders receive the necessary tools and resources to work with community leaders. Together, we will have safer, cleaner communities.

By analyzing up-to-date data on officer pay and benefits, we can ensure that CMPD remains competitive in recruiting and retaining top-quality officers. Furthermore, I will collaborate with environmental leaders to examine innovative ways to minimize plastic waste, air pollution, and other ecological concerns through education and incentivizing organizations and communities.

Lastly, I will advocate for the utilization of multi-modal transportation options to promote cleaner air and create walkable communities where residents can easily access amenities and green spaces by walking, jogging or riding bikes.

We all must play our part in creating a better quality of life for all ZIP codes in District 6 and the greater Charlotte.

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