Time for a fluid-level check on the Dilworth-Uptown bubble. Yep, sure enough, Anthony Foxx’s ascendancy to the mayorship is threatened by greedy developers and their shill, John Lassiter. Only Foxx stands ready to protect Charlotte’s quality of life from bulldozers.
Translated, Foxx is more likely to support maximum control of development by city staff. Lassiter will oppose city staff only to the extent developers balk at staff requirements. For both pols public subsidies of projects deemed worthy by staff are completely justified, although it is possible Foxx would be more willing to swallow any projection made by staff, consultants, and developers.
I get a couple takeaways from this. One, the official Uptown paper storyline should Foxx lose will be that developers, a small turnout, and insufficient early voting spots conspired to give Lassiter an illegitimate win. Two, Batten and crew have no conception of how unenthusiastic many local GOPers are about Lassiter’s campaign and the thought of him in office. Otherwise, Batten would not have penned a piece attempting to push Lassiter to the right on local development issues. Three, the myth of the independent voter and Pat McCrory’s approval rating as somehow key to Tuesday’s mayoral outcome. Had McCrory not lost the county to Bev Perdue I might see the logic in ascribing the be-all and end-all to where his supporters land.
In reality, the primary, deciding factor remains turning out your base to vote. Foxx may have assumed too much of a positive Obama effect would carry over and drive his turnout, although Democrat Party cash will work overtime to fix that. Lassiter, while not exactly running as a conservative, has campaigned as consistently and competently middle-of-the-road, without any howling gaffes along the way.
Now comes Taylor Batten to tell his readers that Anthony Foxx will rubber-stamp any wild scheme city gnomes cook up. A Mayor-elect Lassiter’s first task should be a thank-you note.
