Yikes! A conservative! Run!
Disappointing, although not surprising, stance being taken by the Charlotte Chamber. GOP candidate for mayor Martin Davis has not been invited to the Chamber’s September 3rd “Mayoral Candidates Town Hall.” Charlotte city councilmen John Lassiter, whom Davis faces in the September 15th GOP primary, and Democrat Anthony Foxx are the lone invitees at this point.
Considering that a candidate forum featuring all three candidates last weekend was judged a great success by those in attendance and was moderated by no lesser lights than Harvey Gantt and Richard Vinroot, it seems safe to say that Martin adds something to the proceedings.
There is also the odd wrinkle of the Chamber debate being moderated by WFAE news director Greg Collard. I know Collard thinks Martin’s candidacy and the GOP mayoral primary is important and newsworthy as I spent 45 minutes the other day talking to WFAE reporter Lisa Miller about that very thing. Collard confirmed that this was his view to me via email and correctly noted that he is not all responsible for whom the Chamber invites to its town hall event.
But that still leaves the Chamber oddly out of step with the rest of Charlotte’s political universe. The Chamber wants to pretend Davis does not exist. The rest of Charlotte is at least curious about him and his impact. Love him or hate him, Davis draws distinctions between himself and Foxx and Lassiter, sometimes leading a fuller, clearer picture of the candidates and the issues. You’d think the Chamber would want that out of their event.
Then again, if the goal is to advance a mono-bloc, uniparty agenda for the Uptown crowd — sorry, Marty. You are just not the right man for the job.
Bonus Observation: Were I running for mayor or city council, I would have long since had my press conference at the scene of the C.L. McClure-Marcus Fluker incident to urge that the DA not charge McClure with a crime. Just saying.
