Reneé Perkins Johnson

Charlotte Council Approves Both Faith in Housing Rezonings.

Council Member LaWana Mayfield, the architect of Charlotte's Faith in Housing initiative, voted against a Faith in Housing petition Monday night. Both rezonings passed. The second carried on the bare minimum: six yes votes, no mayor in the chair.

A 2.5-Million-Square-Foot Data Center Is Going Up off University City Boulevard.

The Charlotte City Council deadlocked 5-5 Monday night on whether to even schedule a public hearing on a temporary moratorium for new data center approvals. Mayor Vi Lyles broke the tie, voting no. Meanwhile a 2.5-million-square-foot, 300-megawatt data center campus is going up at 10800 University City Boulevard — and under Charlotte's current zoning, the council had no role in approving it.

Charlotte's 1% Transit Tax: What It Does, What It Costs, Who Runs It, and Where City Council Candidates Stand

The 1% transit sales tax would fund roads, rail, and buses through a new regional authority with strict gates on the Red Line. Here's how it works, who controls it and where candidates stand.

What The Mayor Pro Tem Vote Reveals About Charlotte's New City Council

On swearing-in night, a failed motion for one Mayor Pro Tem and a 9–3 vote for another gave Charlotte its first look at how this new City Council may sort itself into factions.

Mecklenburg County 2025 Election Results: Transit Tax Passes, Democrats Sweep Charlotte City Council and School Board

Mecklenburg County voters approved a landmark transit tax, re‑elected Mayor Vi Lyles, and delivered a clean sweep for Democrats on the council and school board in Charlotte's 2025 municipal election.

District 3 flips to Joi Mayo, District 5 likely recount, and a campaign reshaped by Iryna Zarutska killing

Joi Mayo ousts Tiawana Brown in District 3, District 5 heads toward a recount, and safety on Charlotte Blue Line becomes a central test for November.

Charlotte's 2024 Housing Bond Is $5.6 Million Over. Staff Wants to Cover It From Supportive Housing, Shelter, and Innovation.

The rental housing production category of Charlotte's 2024 affordable housing bond is now $5.6 million over its allocation goal. To cover the gap, city housing staff are recommending council pull $1 million each from supportive housing and shelter capacity, and $3.6 million from the Innovation Pilot Fund. LaWana Mayfield warned this would happen on April 27.

Charlotte Council Passed an I-77 Resolution Monday Night. Then Came the Vote That Actually Mattered.

Brendan Maginnis Offers to Serve as Interim Mayor

Brendan K. Maginnis, the runner-up in Charlotte's September 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, has volunteered for the interim mayor appointment — from Copenhagen, where his family moved in January, and with a demographic-counter argument the Mercury did not solicit. By his count — initially approximately 46, revised to 44 in a follow-up email — none of those Democratic elected officials representing Charlotte at various levels are white males. The pitch collides with Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Corine Mack's public call for the council to elevate the Mayor Pro Tem rather than install a placeholder.