(The Center Square) – Public safety is the calling card of real estate agent Terrie Donovan as she tries to become the first Republican since Pat McCrory to win the mayor’s race in North Carolina’s largest city.
Charlotteans on Tuesday will make Election Day choices, and Donovan is trying to block a fifth term by Democrat Vi Lyles. The Queen City’s estimated population of 944,742 in an October report from the Office of State Budget and Management puts it 14th largest in the nation, second among eight South Atlantic states and 7th in the 16-state South as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
There are no statewide seats or referendums on the ballot this fall in what is considered an off-year election.
In addition to a record-setting tenure in Charlotte from 1995-2009, McCrory was also the last Republican governor in the nation’s ninth largest state at an estimated 11.1 million population.
Democrats are strong in the nation’s second largest financial community. A Republican hasn’t won an at-large seat for City Council since 2011, or any seats on the Mecklenburg County Commission since 2018.
Affordable housing, jobs, transportation, racial equity and economic inclusion are the bedrock platforms of Lyle’s campaign.
Donovan is campaigning on public safety and accountability in the local justice system. In a third-quarter release of statistics from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, overall crime is down 8% and violent offenses down 20%.
Yet buried to the 12th graph of the analysis, Sgt. Todd Martin of the Southeast Service Area Crime Reduction Unit says, “We continue to see a troubling pattern: a disproportionate number of violent incidents and property crimes are being committed by individuals with extensive criminal histories – many of whom continue to cycle through the justice system without facing meaningful consequences. The cycle of catch and release does not reduce crime in our community.”
Included in the report from police was arrest history for a 15-year-old. Since August 2023, the juvenile has been arrested 111 times, with seven charges of stolen property, 45 charges of larceny from an auto, and 55 charges of auto theft.
Decarlos Brown Jr., facing first-degree murder in the death of Iryna Zarutska, adds to that narrative. Zarutska was killed on Aug. 22, and the video released in September went viral nationally. He had 14 prior arrests dating to 2011, spending one significant juncture in jail but otherwise regularly returned free including in January by Magistrate Teresa Stokes.
Elsewhere in the largest cities of the state, Greensboro decides a nonpartisan ballot between Marikay Abuzuaiter and Republican Robbie Perkins. Abuzuaiter, registered Democrat according to the State Board of Elections, is mayor pro tempore and a member of the City Council; Perkins, a Republican, is a council member and former mayor.
In Durham, where the race is also nonpartisan, incumbent Leo Williams is challenged by Anjanee Bell. Both are registered Democrats, according to the State Board of Elections.
Raleigh, second largest city in the state, is a notable exception with municipal elections scheduled in conjunction with the 2026 midterm cycle.
