Wonder if the party wanted one?
Conservative activist Martin Davis, 49, announced his intention to run at last night’s Charlotte city council meeting. This is not exactly a surprise.
Several weeks ago Mecklenburg County GOP chairman Rob Bryan meet with city councilman and mayoral candidate John Lassiter. The topic, the need for Lassiter to draw distinctions between himself and fellow councilman Anthony Foxx, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor. Bryan was expressing widespread fear among local party members that Lassiter’s campaign would not excite the conservative base of the party, resulting in a repeat of Pat McCrory’s washout against Bev Perdue last fall. Without a clear conservative on the ballot, many Charlotte Republicans simply stayed home.
However, concern about Lassiter’s campaign turned to worry in GOP circles when the Republican joined Democrat Foxx in voting for a half-cent sale tax increase which would double transit funding to CATS. This provided a wedge for Davis, who had been contemplating a run for city council.
Now it is up to local conservatives to decide what happens next.
