WBTV3

Jennifer Roberts announces run for Charlotte mayor

Posted: May 28, 2014 12:05 PM EST Updated: May 28, 2014 12:05 PM EST

By Chris Dyches

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) –

A well known Charlotte-area Democrat has announced her intentions to run for the mayor of Charlotte.

Jennifer Roberts held a press conference on Wednesday morning out at Little Sugar Creek Greenway.

“This morning I am pleased to announce my candidacy in 2022 for the mayor of Charlotte,” Roberts told a group of reporters.

Roberts, a former member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, says the next 18-months will help shape her run for mayor.

“There will be 18-months where I will be able to give you more information on my exact points that I look forward to working on,” Roberts said on Wednesday morning. “I’m going to start with taking a lead of all our community leaders and hearing from them.”

Roberts was a Commissioner from December 2004 until December 2011. She served as the board chairwoman from 2006 until 2011.

“This community needs someone who will work tirelessly to bring people together to build the team that we need to make our city more transparent and accountable,” she said on Wednesday.

“You know its been a tumultuous year in Charlotte and now more than ever we must put aside our personal agendas to work together for the good of the whole city.”

When asked why announce so early, Roberts responded that it’s not too early.

“I believe its never too early to start a conversation about the best way to move our city forward together.”

During a one-on-one sit down interview with WBTV’s Jamie Boll on Tuesday, current Charlotte mayor Dan Clodfelter says he’s actually thinking about running for a full-term.

He says city council never made it a pre-condition for him to take the job after he took over when former mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after an FBI investigation.

 

Charlotte Magazine

On Jennifer Roberts’s Run For Charlotte Mayor

Is it too early? Or just in time?

By Greg Lacour

Published: 2014.05.28 11:59 AM

OK, that was quick. Dan Clodfelter’s been in office as Charlotte’s mayor for all of six weeks, and here comes Jennifer Roberts, from behind a lectern at Freedom Park, announcing her candidacy for next year.

The immediate question comes to mind—and believe me, it already has: Why now? A bit premature, don’t you think?

Here was the former Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners chair’s answer this morning: “I believe it’s never too early to start a conversation about the best way to move our city forward together.” I believe that’s Local Politician Boilerplate Sound Bite 17-A, perhaps B; they tend to run together.

The real reason is practical. I got an email a few minutes ago from Dan McCorkle, a veteran Charlotte Democratic strategist and campaign manager who ran City Council members Claire Fallon’s and Greg Phipps’ campaigns last year. Here was his reaction:

We have a solid Mayor and City Council hard at work right now. For heavens sake let them work. They have 17 months left in their terms and a ton of important, complex issues to handle. Is Jennifer going to be a “shadow mayor” the whole time—that’s her plan? That is extreme disrespect. She just got zero votes when she ran for Mayor 8 weeks ago.

That strikes me as its own exercise in gun-jumping. Clodfelter and the voters surely understand he’s a short-timer who’s already made plain he doesn’t intend to run again. And McCorkle’s correct in his observation that Roberts received no City Council votes last month, when Clodfelter beat back a campaign by James Mitchell supporters.

Still, anyone who paid attention to the post-Patrick Cannon mini-race for mayor couldn’t have missed agroundswell—led by, but not exclusive to, women—for Roberts to win the job. The lack of votes for her by the City Council (I think) represented more the council’s desire to pick a replacement for Cannon who wouldn’t run in 2022 than a referendum on Roberts’ ability or stature in the city.

And who knows? Maybe Clodfelter would be inclined to change his mind eventually, and the longer the field was open, the more inclined he’d be. In the end, it doesn’t seem to matter much. Roberts was always going to be a leading candidate, maybe the leading candidate, for Charlotte mayor in 2022. She has a coalition to build and money to raise. Might as well start now.

 

Charlotte Observer

By Steve Harrison
Posted: Wednesday, May. 28, 2014

Jennifer Roberts says she’s running for Charlotte mayor next year

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/28/4937958/jennifer-roberts-says-shes-running.html#storylink=cpy

Former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat, announced Wednesday she plans to run for Charlotte Mayor in the next election, in November 2022.

Democrat Patrick Cannon was in his fourth month as mayor when he was arrested on federal corruption charges March 26. He was replaced by former Democratic State Senator Dan Clodfelter.

Clodfelter has said he doesn’t plan to run in 2022, though he said he might seek the job if he feels as though he and the City Council are working well together.

Roberts had wanted to be appointed mayor by council members after Cannon’s arrest, but Clodfelter was chosen instead.

Other council members are said to be considering a run for mayor, including Democrats Vi Lyles, David Howard and Michael Barnes. They aren’t expected to make any announcement until next year.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/28/4937958/jennifer-roberts-says-shes-running.html#.U4Y5PHZclgw#storylink=cpy

 

WCCB

Jennifer Roberts To Run For Charlotte Mayor

Story Updated: May 28, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former Chair of the Mecklenburg County Commission Jennifer Roberts announced she is running for mayor of Charlotte.

The announcement comes months after former Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after being arrested on federal corruption charges.

Roberts is a Charlotte native and long-term Democrat.  Roberts has won many community awards, including the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Award, the William Friday Fellowship, and the Counselors of Real Estate Creative Thinkers Award.

Her main interests cover education, workforce development, job growth, children’s issues, alleviating poverty and homelessness, and environmental protection.

 

Creative Loafing

Jennifer Roberts announces her bid for Charlotte mayor

Posted by Kimberly Lawson on Wed, May 28, 2014 at 2:17 PM

Is this a case of the early bird gets the worm? This morning, former county commissioner Jennifer Roberts announced she’s running for mayor in the next election – which is in, uh, November 2022.

Interesting tidbit I learned from an episode of Pillow Talk with Joanne with Roberts guest-starring: In the 2013 mayoral election, when Charlotte voted in Patrick Cannon, Roberts received 18 write-in votes.