Candidate filing opens for 2025. Who's running for Charlotte, CMS, Mecklenburg seats
The filing window officially opened at 8 a.m. Monday for candidates looking to run for municipal office in Charlotte and Mecklenburg towns or for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education later this year. The filing period runs for about two weeks.
Some, including Montravias King, were at the Board of Elections first thing to make their candidacy official. King is running as a Democrat in west Charlotte's City Council District 3. Although he's expected to face indicted incumbent Tiawana Brown, King told reporters he doesn't intend to focus his campaign on the allegations against her.
Candidates in other closely watched races filed Monday, too, including Kimberly Owens. A real estate attorney, Owens is running as a Democrat in south Charlotte's City Council District 6. Longtime Republican representative Tariq Bokhari, who won his last two elections by less than 500 votes, stepped down earlier this year for a job in the Trump administration.
'I want to bring a practical skill set to Charlotte,' Owens told reporters after taking pictures with local leaders including Huntersville Mayor Christy Clark, former state House candidate Nicole Sidman and LGBTQ rights advocate Cameron Pruette.
Incumbent Matthews Mayor John Higdon filed for reelection alongside multiple candidates for the town's Board of Commissioners. Despite his outspoken opposition to Charlotte's transportation plan, Higdon said he doesn't plan to focus on a related referendum in his campaign.
'I've been the fire brand for a year complaining about it and trying to get it killed in Raleigh. And, you know, my side lost. So it's time to move on, let the people decide,' he said, adding he expects many in Matthews to vote against the referendum but expects it to pass countywide.
By 2 p.m. Monday, 15 candidates filed, according to the Board of Elections' tracker.
In past years, as many as 25 to 30 candidates have filed in the first hours of the filing window, board spokeswoman Kristin Mavromatis said. But she expects to see a steady stream of candidates coming in throughout the filing period before a final surge in the hours before the deadline to enter a race.
Candidate filing closes at noon July 18. Primary elections are scheduled for Sept. 9, and the general election is Nov. 4.
Here's an updating list of who has filed:
Charlotte mayor
Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel (Democrat)
Charlotte City Council District 3
Montravias King (Democrat)
Charlotte City Council District 6
Kimberly Owens (Democrat)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education District 1
Bill Fountain
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education District 2
Shamaiye Haynes
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education District 6
Anna London
Cornelius mayor
Denis P. Bilodeau
Davidson mayor
Rusty Knox (Incumbent)
Davidson Board of Commissioners
Connie Wessner
Matthews mayor
John Higdon (Incumbent)
Matthews Board of Commissioners
Susan Chambers
Brian Hacker
John Tonello
John Urban (Incumbent)
Mint Hill Board of Commissioners
Twanna Henderson (Incumbent)
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