Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx was among more than 200 Mecklenburg residents who cast ballots on Thursday, the first day of early voting.

In total, 205 people made their way to the Hal Marshall Center on N. College Street to cast an early vote, the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections reported.

Scott Stone, Foxx’s Republican opponent, was among the crowd, but he wasn't there to vote. He plans to cast his ballot on election day.

“My wife and I will vote together,” he said. “It’s more ceremonial than anything else.”

When Foxx arrived, he was greeted by a crowd of about three dozen cheering supporters, some holding his red and white campaign signs.

Foxx said he was thankful for the show of support. “Getting people out to vote is a part of what a campaign is all about,” he said.

Among his supporters was perhaps his biggest fan. Foxx’s 94-year-old grandmother, Mary K. Foxx, who sat in the building lobby as she waited to cast her ballot.

“You know I have to support my grandson,” she said. “I couldn’t miss this.”

She said it was uplifting to see so many other African Americans out participating in the election.

“It warmed my heart because many times, they have not voted,” she said. “They have not seen the need to vote. I am so glad that has come to pass. I thank God for that.”

When asked what made this particular election so important, community activist Sarah Stevenson said she was at a loss for words.

“I am almost 86 years old, and I have been involved in this community for such a long time that words really don’t express it,” she said. “I get emotional.”

School board member Joyce Waddell cast her ballot Thursday and said she believes early voting is something everyone should do. “The sooner you can do it, the better,” she said. “We don’t know what it’s going to be like on election day.”

Ericka Ellis-Stewart, who is one of 12 candidates running for three at-large seats on the school board, said she participated in early voting to send a message and to lead by example.

“I came out to vote today because I wanted to make sure that our voter turnout was high,” she said. “The 2.7 percent we had for the primaries was unacceptable. We have many major issues on the ballot this time around, particularly those that affect the children of our community.”

The children need us

Ellis-Stewart said the school board race is crucial for the community because there are so many critical issues on the table.

“The decisions that we will make on the next school board really will affect generations of children to come,” she said.

Mary McCray, who is also running for a seat on the school board, agreed.

“This is a very important election,” she said “We cannot sit back and think that just because it’s an off-year for a presidential election that it’s not important.”

McCray, a veteran educator with more than 30 years of experience, said she is concerned about the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

“Being the local president for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Association of Educators, I was front and center with a lot the polices,” she said. “I got to see up close and personal the direction this district was going, and it was not in the best direction of children.”

Moving forward?

Foxx, who is seeking a second term, said he’s excited about the direction the city is heading in.

“We are in the middle of a global recession,” he said. “Not withstanding all of that, the city of Charlotte is still moving forward. We’re still seeing net positive job growth. We’re still seeing progress.”

Despite his optimism, one of his supporters expressed concern that the city is actually regressing.

“In my opinion, we are moving in a negative direction throughout the state, throughout the nation and definitely here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” said Mary Gill. “We are moving in a direction that will place us where we were 100 years ago. We can’t afford to do that.”

Gill, a retired educator, said the regression is evident in the schools, which she believes are re-segregating.

“We must show the people that we are willing to make a positive difference in our community,” she said. “We must bring about a positive change not just on the school board but also on city council.”

Stone said the city is bound to ultimately move forward because its citizens will not have it any other way.

“That’s the can-do attitude of Charlotte,” he said. “The challenge that we’ve got is the job situation. The economy is not moving forward. In the last eight months, we’ve lost 5,000 jobs in Charlotte.”

Voter Diane Watkins said the economy was the most important issue to her in this election.

“Job growth is important for Charlotte because we have so many homeless people here that really need jobs,” she said. “There are a lot of people on unemployment. I’ve seen so many people out there that need to work and want to work but they can’t because there are no jobs.”

Beyond local politics

For other voters, it wasn’t just about the local economy or the school system.

“On a national level, we want to send a message that Democrats can win, and we want to make sure that gets done here in Mecklenburg County,” said Nathalie McElrath.

Stevenson, who was standing close by, echoed that sentiment. “It is so important because the Republicans are really after the Democrats this time,” she said. “We cannot let them win because of their agenda.”

Rodney Moore, who represents parts of Mecklenburg County in the N.C. General Assembly, said part of that agenda appears to be discouraging voters from getting out to the polls.

“Some of the legislation that I’ve seen come through the N.C. House, as far as the photo I.D. and some other voter suppression laws, lets me know that you’ve got to be engaged, and we have to come out in force,” he said. “We have to be a part of the process. It’s critical. Our right to vote is so precious that there are forces that are trying to marginalize that and take that away. We need to be diligent.”

Early voting in Mecklenburg County expands to libraries beginning Saturday, Oct. 29, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 8.

For more information, visit the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections website.
http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOE/Pages/default.aspx

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