Inside $3M sales tax campaign already enlisting Charlotte's big businesses

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3 days ago

Inside $3M sales tax campaign already enlisting Charlotte's big businesses
Mecklenburg County will be blitzed until early November with a flurry of campaign messages as community factions try to persuade voters for or against a proposal to overhaul the region's transportation system through a tax hike.
County commissioners voted 8-1 Wednesday night to put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to approve or reject a one-cent sales tax increase. The billions generated from the tax increase would fund road, bus and rail projects, including the long-awaited Red Line commuter rail.
More than 60 people signed up to speak ahead of the vote, the majority in favor of the referendum and both sides sporting signs, T-shirts and buttons indicating their position. Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell was the lone vote against Wednesday's measure.
With the county commission's vote official, the campaigns for and against the referendum will officially begin.
Supporters, led by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, plan to pump millions of dollars into a campaign in favor of the referendum. Opponents, meanwhile, are devising their own strategies to break through the pro-referendum campaign and reach voters before Election Day.
Transportation referendum makes November ballot
The passage of legislation dubbed The P.A.V.E. Act earlier this summer opened the door for the referendum.
The bill gave Mecklenburg County the authority to put the referendum on the ballot and lays out how the new revenue can be spent: a cap of 40% of the money to rail projects, 40% to road projects and 20% to bus improvements. It also establishes a new transit authority to govern the region's public transportation system.
The Charlotte Area Transit System projects the tax increase would generate $19.4 billion over 30 years.
Local leaders have failed to gain traction with legislators in Raleigh for years, with GOP-dominated state leaders more interested in funding for roads than rail projects. Even after Charlotte-area officials put forward a revamped plan that was introduced in the General Assembly and secured the purchase of critical tracks for the Red Line, supporters cautioned further movement wasn't guaranteed.
But the version of the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham ultimately sailed through the state House and Senate in the final weeks of the summer session.
Charlotte Regional Business Alliance leads pro-referendum campaign
The CLT Alliance plans to raise $3 million to fund a multiplatform campaign in favor of the referendum. The campaign will involve social media, TV advertising, mailers and more.
Alliance CEO Robert McCutcheon told the Observer the campaign will officially kick off in the next couple weeks.
'The next step for the Alliance, but also the overall community, is to educate voters on what's in front of them in November,' he said.
The campaign will also try to motivate voters to overcome typically low turnout in municipal elections.
'That's definitely a challenge,' McCutcheon said. 'We want to do a lot of work just to tell people that the election is coming and give them the information to make sure they know how they can get ballots and get the information about the referendum.'
Even before Wednesday's vote, the pro-referendum coalition touted unity in the business and nonprofit community. A Monday news release listed organizations including Atrium Advocate Health, Bank of America, Canopy Realtor Association, Crisis Assistance Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Novant Health, Truist Bank and the Urban League of Central Carolinas as supporting the plan.
Nonprofit focused on education, coalition-building
Community organizations will play their own role in the pro-referendum coalition.
Sustain Charlotte, the environmentally focused nonprofit aimed at 'advocating for smart land use and transportation solutions,' has also been a vocal supporter.
Eric Zaverl, an urban design specialist with the group, said the plan isn't perfect, but it represents what's possible given 'the political realities that we face here in North Carolina.'
'We, unfortunately, cannot wait for the perfect situation to come along, because Charlotte can't put the pause on growth,' he said.
Zaverl said Sustain Charlotte sees its role in the pro-referendum campaign as educating the public about what's under consideration and 'trying to get the word out and build a coalition' by connecting with other community groups.
'We want to focus on everyday people's lives,' Zaverl said.
Referendum opponents prepare to counter 'behemoth'
Those who oppose the referendum are also planning their own efforts to persuade voters before Election Day.
Action NC political director Robert Dawkins has been one of the plan's most vocal critics, questioning whether it properly prioritizes people who are dependent on public transit and the cost of a tax increase for middle- and lower-income communities.
'I'm going to keep beating the drum on why it's bad and it shouldn't be done, while simultaneously knowing that I'm fighting this behemoth,' Dawkins told the Observer.
With 'no money at all' versus the Alliance's $3 million plan, Dawkins is trying to get the word out through media and personal conversations.
'I've been trying to just beat the message up before they get started, so that people at least look at them with a side eye,' he said.
Former Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston, another outspoken critic of the transportation plan, called the $3 million figure 'an incredible amount of money.' He expects the campaign against the referendum to take a more 'grassroots' approach, relying on 'word of mouth conversations' to raise questions about what the pro-campaign is telling voters.
Social media can be a powerful tool, but 'it doesn't necessarily represent the audience as a whole,' Winston said, limiting its ability to be used to persuade voters.
'You have to be on TV. You have to be in people's mailboxes. You have to be knocking on the doors. You have to have social media,' he said.
Despite the disparity in funding, Dawkins is hopeful voters already feeling financial stress from rising property tax rates and increased cost of living will be at least willing to consider the questions he's raising about the transportation plan.
'I've learned enough over the years to know you can beat well-funded campaigns,' he said.
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