Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

In November 2007, Mayor McCrory became the first seven-term Mayor in the history of the City of Charlotte, continuing his record as the City’s longest-serving Mayor.

Mayor McCrory began his political career in Charlotte in 1989 when he was elected as an At-Large City Council representative in his first run for an elected office.  He was reelected in both 1991 and 1993, serving as Mayor Pro Tem in 1993 until first elected Mayor in 1995.

Mayor McCrory has distinguished himself as a leader in the areas of immigration, public safety, economic development, and transportation.  He has been recognized nationally for his leadership in developing Charlotte’s 25-year transportation and land use plan, including his efforts to secure $200 million in federal funds for light rail in Charlotte.Also, $2 billion in local and state road improvements have been made throughout the City over the past decade.

During Pat McCrory’s term as Mayor, the City population has grown by 20%, 200,000 jobs have been created, and he led the effort to recruit such companies as TIAA-CREF, General Dynamics Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales Culinary School. In 2005, Money Magazine listed Charlotte in its Top 3 Best Places to Live and Reader’s Digest named it one of the 20 Cleanest Cities in America.    

The Mayor founded the Mayor’s Mentoring Alliance in 1995 and has personally served as a Mentor to two youth.  In 2008, Charlotte was named a “100 Best Communities for Youth” by America’s Promise for the third year in a row. 

Candidate Statement:

During a debate in the 2007 Charlotte mayoral election between State House Member Beverly Earle and myself, Representative Earle turned to me and said: ”Mayor, you are not our bosses…we are your bosses.”   

After taking a moment to compose myself, I said, “Representative Earle you have it backwards…we are your bosses!”   I had felt for some time there was a serious gulf developing between the citizens of North Carolina and their state government and at that that moment I understood what it was…the current leadership believes that they don’t serve us in public office, rather we are here to provide them with the tax money to do whatever they please.
 
I have always believed in the concept of public service.  I believe that government can make people’s lives better and I am totally committed to that concept of government service.   As governor, I will instill a culture of honest, open, ethical government.  
 
We need to focus state spending on our priorities – creating jobs, lowering taxes, and cleaning our environment.  We need to fund our criminal justice system and deal with the growing threat of gangs across the state.  We need to fix our roads and bridges and build new roads where the congestion and safety concerns are the greatest.  We need to educate and train our children so they can get the good, long-term jobs that will provide real economic security for our families.  We need to reduce taxes on both individuals and small businesses and create incentives for all our companies to provide new jobs, new investments, and health care for their employees and the employees families.
And we need to make sure that government serves the people and not the other way around.
 
In short, we need new leadership in North Carolina and a focus on the people and not the special interests.