School board incumbents ousted
Republicans make gains nationally and in N.C., but effects are muted in Mecklenburg; Voters toss 3 of 4 CMS board members
◼️ CMS board members Sawyer, Strain, Cheek fall to challengers
◼️ Budd defeats Beasley 51%-47%
◼️ Republicans fall short of super-majority in General Assembly by 1 seat
◼️ N.C. Supreme Court flips to 5-2 Republican control
◼️ Democrats will continue to dominate Mecklenburg commissioner seats 9-0
Voters speak: Election results were mixed, with local voters returning most Democratic incumbents, while at the state and federal levels, Republicans gained seats. Republican Ted Budd beat Democrat Cheri Beasley in the marquee U.S. Senate race.
On a night when Republicans added seats in Congress and the North Carolina legislature, favorites and incumbents largely held on in Mecklenburg County — with one big exception.
Voters elected five newcomers to the nine-member Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, which will face key decisions in the coming months on hiring a new superintendent and reversing dips in test scores. Three of four incumbents lost.
In other local races, Democrats largely held on, maintaining control of the county commission and the federal and state legislative delegations.
A quick look at Tuesday’s key results:
➡️ U.S. Senate: U.S. Rep. Ted Budd won the race over Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley, a former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice. Budd will take retiring Republican Richard Burr’s seat. Nationally, control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear this morning, with close races in Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona, but odds seem to favor Democrats narrowly holding control of the chamber.
➡️ U.S. House: Democrats Jeff Jackson and Alma Adams won Charlotte-area seats in the U.S. House, on a night when Republicans were projected to win enough seats nationally to take control of the House for the first time since 2018. Democrats also won two closely contested seats in Eastern North Carolina, making the state’s delegation a 7-7 split between Republicans and Democrats.
➡️ State legislature: Republicans slightly expanded their majorities in the N.C. House and Senate but fell one win short of gaining a veto-proof supermajority in the House. That means Democrats will retain the ability to stop Republican legislation that lacks bipartisan support. In two closely watched races, Republican John Bradford won re-election in northern Mecklenburg, while Republican Bill Brawley fell short in Matthews, losing to Democrat Laura Budd.
➡️ N.C. Supreme Court: With two victories, Republicans will control the court by a 5-2 margin, providing an edge on issues likely to appear before the court, such as redistricting and education funding.
➡️ County commission: Democrats retained their hold on all 9 commissioners seats Tuesday, and the winners included all seven incumbents who faced challengers. In the rematch in the District 5 race, Democrat Laura Meier held off challenger Republican Matthew Ridenhour, who served as a county commissioner from 2012-2018.
➡️ School board. Voters ousted three of the four school board members who were up for re-election Tuesday, and there will be five new members on the nine-person board. The school board race was one of the most critical local races because the new board will have to hire a superintendent at a time when the district is reeling from the effects of Covid. Thelma Byers-Bailey in District 2 was the lone incumbent who kept her seat. Incumbents Rhonda Cheek, Carol Sawyer and Sean Strain lost.
➡️ Bonds. Voters approved three bond referendums that will allow Charlotte to finance $146.2M for streets improvements, $29.8M for neighborhood improvements and $50M for affordable housing. The town of Matthews approved two bond referendums for up to $21M for transportation projects and $14M for parks and recreation projects.
Here’s the breakdown:
U.S. Senate
Republican Ted Budd (51%); Democrat Cheri Beasley (47%)
U.S. House
District 12: Democrat Alma Adams (63%); Republican Tyler Lee (37%)
District 14: Democrat Jeff Jackson (57%); Republican Pat Harrigan (43%)
N.C. Supreme Court
Winners: Richard Dietz (R), Trey Allen (R)
N.C. Senate
Winners: Vickie Sawyer (R), Mujtaba Mohammed (D), DeAndrea Salvador (D), Joyce Waddell (D), Natasha Marcus (D)
District 42: Democrat Rachel Hunt (55%); Republican Cheryl Russo (45%)
N.C. House
Winners: Mary Belk (D), Terry Brown (D), Nasif Majeed (D), John Autry (D), Carolyn Logan (D), Becky Carney (D), Brandon Lofton (D), Wesley Harris (D), Carla Cunningham (D), Kelly Alexander (D), Tricia Cotham (D)
District 98: Republican John Bradford (51%); Democrat Christy Clark (49%)
District 103: Democrat Laura Budd (52%); Republican Bill Brawley (48%)
Mecklenburg County Commissioners
At-large: Democrat Pat Cotham (28.7%); Democrat Leigh Altman (27.4%); Democrat Arthur Griffin (27.3%); Republican Tatyana Thulien (16.6%)
District 1: Democrat Elaine Powell (57%); Republican Ross Monks (43%)
District 2: Democrat Vilma Leake (unopposed)
District 3: Democrat George Dunlap (84%); Republican Dianna Benson (16%)
District 4: Democrat Mark Jerrell (74%); Republican Ray Fuentes (26%)
District 5: Democrat Laura Meier (52%); Republican Matthew Ridenhour (48%)
District 6: Democrat Susan Rodriguez-McDowell (52%); Republican Jeremy Brasch (48%)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education
District 1: Melissa Easley (30%), Rhonda Cheek (24%), Ro Lawsin (17%), Bill Fountain (15%), Hamani Fisher (12%)
District 2: Thelma Byers-Bailey (42%), Monty Witherspoon (38%), Juanrique Hall (18%)
District 3: Gregory (Dee) Rankin (76%), Steven Rushing (23%)
District 4: Stephanie Sneed (44%), Carol Sawyer (37%), Clara Witherspoon (18%)
District 5: Lisa Cline (52%), Trent Merchant (47%)
District 6: Summer Nunn (43%), Sean Strain (31%), Michael Watson (24%)
Bonds
Charlotte Transportation Bonds: Yes (77%), No (23%)
Charlotte Housing Bonds: Yes (74%), No (26%)
Charlotte Neighborhood Bonds: Yes (77%), No (23%)
Matthews Transportation Bonds: Yes (57%), No (43%)
Matthews Parks and Recreation Bonds: Yes (57%), No (43%)
So what do the 2022 election results mean? Come hear from a political expert — and have a drink
Join the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce and The Charlotte Ledger for a discussion of the 2022 election results with one of North Carolina’s leading political analysts: Michael Bitzer, the chair of the Department of Politics at Catawba College.
Bitzer and Bryan Holladay of the Chamber’s public policy committee will examine what the results mean for Charlotte businesses and residents, the prospects for state and federal legislation and the outlook for the 2024 election — followed by an informal social hour.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 16 (next Wednesday); 5-6:30 p.m.
Where: Envision Charlotte, Innovation Barn, 932 Seigle Ave., Charlotte
Cost: Free! (seating limited)
➡️ For more details or to register — go to the Charlotte Area Chamber’s website.
1 year after IPO, AvidXchange says it’s eyeing acquisitions; CEO says falling stock price is ‘disconnected’ to strength of business
It has been a little over a year since Charlotte fintech company AvidXchange went public. Since then, inflation has surged, the IPO market has dried up and the stock price of many tech companies, including AvidXchange, has sunk.
But CEO Michael Praeger says he’s optimistic about the company’s future — and says the timing of taking the company public couldn’t have been better. In an interview on the latest episode of “Carolina Business Review,” Praeger said the $600M+ AvidXchange raised from the IPO in October 2021 is allowing it to continue to grow — and to look at buying other companies.
He told host Chris William:
We’re going into — whether you want to call it a recession or dicier economic times — with this war chest of a balance sheet that allows us to do some really unique things that a lot of other companies can’t do in the current environment: continuing to lead on our investments in innovation and growth and really be opportunistic related to potential acquisition candidates as they come along in the coming year.
AvidXchange, which makes financial software for businesses, is one of only a few of homegrown Charlotte tech companies to make it big. But the company’s stock price is down 50% this year. It hasn’t turned a profit but says it’s ahead of projections and that revenue keeps growing. Praeger said it’s frustrating to see the company’s strengths not reflected by the market:
Probably the most frustrating thing about being a public company is that you have a daily scoreboard of value for the business. When you go to a sports event and watch a game unfold, the scoreboard kind of matches what’s happening on the field or on the court. As a public company, you see the scoreboard, but it’s disconnected to what’s actually happening in the business.
And he added that even though many people over the years expected him to move AvidXchange to a big tech hub like Boston or Silicon Valley, he’s happy he built the company in Charlotte: “I think Charlotte is actually a competitive advantage for us. I’d rather be kind of a bigger fish in a smaller pool and be a role model than just be another start-up company in one of the other markets.” —TM
➡️ You can catch the full interview on “Carolina Business Review” shown on PBS stations or on the Carolina Business Review podcast.
Related Ledger article:
“20 years later, a big bet on tech pays off” (Oct. 8, 2021)
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
Thursday: Impact 704 Academy, 6-8 p.m., Camp North End, Charlotte. Learn how to help shape our future! Sustain Charlotte’s new FREE Impact 704 Academy is back with a deep dive into transportation. This advocacy-focused series, supported by Southminster, starts at 6 p.m. Nov. 10 at Camp North End. Free event.
Thursday: Verse & Vino, 6-9:30 p.m., Charlotte Convention Center. Verse & Vino is Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation’s signature annual fundraiser. This celebration of reading, writing and the joy of libraries is shared with a community of readers and New York Times best-selling authors. This year's authors include David Baldacci, Sarah McCoy, Megan Giddings, Adriana Trigiani and Javier Zamora. $200.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
Reval notices delayed: Mecklenburg County Assessor Ken Joyner said notices to county property owners containing new property valuations will go out in early- to mid-March instead of in January. The new schedule will allow officials to re-evaluate the changing market, he said. Residential property values have increased an average of 57%, while commercial properties are up an average of 39%, he said. (WFAE)
Harmful algae: Potentially harmful algae blooms have been found in two coves near the McDowell Nature Preserve in the Steele Creek area. (WBTV)
Business group departure: The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s chief advocacy and strategy officer, Kelly O’Brien, has left the organization after less than two years. She helped lead the push for a new transit plan for the Charlotte region. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
New state leader for Duke: Duke Energy announced that Kendal Bowman will become president of the utility’s North Carolina operations, succeeding Stephen De May, who is retiring after 33 years. (Duke Energy)
New U-City leader: University City Partners named Keith Stanley, executive director of Near West Side Partners in Milwaukee, as its new CEO. He’ll start in January. Interim director Tobe Holmes will remain with the organization as senior director of land use and economic development.
Santa returns: Santa Claus arrives at SouthPark Mall on Friday. He’ll be available for photos through Dec. 24.
You didn’t win the Powerball: The one winning ticket for the record $2.04B Powerball jackpot was sold in California.
Programming note: Ledger editor Tony Mecia appears as a guest on 90.7 WFAE at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Thursdays for a discussion of the week’s local business news in the station’s “BizWorthy” segment. Audio and transcripts are also available online.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project