Political Equations [NC Black party switcher]

The Rhinocerous Times ^ | April 24, 2003 | M.E. Pellin

[JohnnyZ]

There’s one less Democrat and one more Republican in Mecklenburg County, and the math might just work out to one more Republican on the Charlotte City Council. Long odds on another political calculation might add up to a new Republican mayor.

Last week, Optimist Park community activist Linda Williams officially switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. On Monday, former City Councilmember Mike Castano, who has been a Republican since birth, officially announced he was running for mayor, seeking to unseat four-term incumbent Pat McCrory, also a Republican, who might or might not run for another term. McCrory hasn’t announced, but said he is leaning in that direction. Williams has hinted strongly at running for the Council’s District 2 seat, currently held by James Mitchell, a Democrat.

“I figured if I was going to run as a Republican, I ought to at least be registered as one,” Williams said. “My views are more conservative and I’ve found that our representative from District 2 hasn’t really represented us as well as he could.”

{snip}

Williams is best known for her outspoken advocacy of Optimist Park – a District 2 neighborhood. Most recently, Williams helped launch a quest to try and get the Council to relocate an asphalt plant slated to be built within a stones throw of Optimist Park homes. To his credit, Mitchell has also gone to bat for the neighborhood, trying to find a workable solution to the asphalt plant dilemma. But Williams said she was discouraged that Mitchell didn’t see a potential problem on the horizon and act more quickly to avert it. Construction of the asphalt plant at its proposed location runs in direct conflict to the goals of a neighborhood development plan for the area that was approved by the Council.

“That’s part of the problem,” Williams said. “There seems to be a real disconnect between our elected officials and what the needs of the community are.”

That certainly was the case last year, Williams said, when Optimist Park was denied a neighborhood improvement grant to help pay for private security patrols to police the neighborhood. The request was prompted by a series of crime-and-drug-related problems that Optimist Park residents said plagued their neighborhood the previous year.

When the city refused to fund its grant request, the Optimist Park Community Association (OPCA), led by Williams, began a fund-raising campaign to hire their own security patrols.

Williams said when the OPCA asked elected officials for donations, the group received a decidedly different response from Democrats and Republicans. Not one Democrat offered a donation, while several Republicans did.

“I guess when it comes to public safety, some people are willing to put their money where their mouth is,” Williams said. But it wasn’t the donations from Republicans that got Williams thinking about a change in political jerseys.

That came after Williams was invited to attend one of former City Councilmember Don Reid’s weekly breakfast meetings, often a political gathering post for Republicans.

“I learned so much from those breakfasts, how they meet and actually discuss issues,” Williams said. “And I don’t think any one person agrees totally with everything any other person has to say, but the point is they’re willing to listen to your opinions and respond to your concerns.”

A willingness to listen and respond to the community’s concerns is something that Williams said has been lacking during Mitchell’s tenure as the District 2 councilmember.

“The main thing I want to do is bring back a sense of community ownership to the decisions that are made by our elected officials,” Williams said. “I want to give community leaders better access and more information so they can represent their neighborhoods and solve their problems.”

[JohnnyZ]

This is great news from Charlotte! Linda Williams has really fought hard for her community and is a wonderful addition to the Republican Party. She might even be able to take out James "Smuggie" Mitchell in the election this year . . .

Oh, and she's black, as is Mitchell and half the district.

[LdSentinal]

And one less vote for John Edwards in 04' . . . if he runs, of course. Either way, Congressman Richard Burr (R) gets another vote.