CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte’s 56th mayor will take the oath of office Wednesday. It’s already been a busy 24 hours since City Council appointed long-time politician Dan Clodfelter to replace ex-Mayor Patrick Cannon. The swearing in happens at noon in the Council Chamber at the Government Center. That’s the next order of business, but first, Clodfelter had to resign from his North Carolina Senate seat. We have a copy of the letter he sent to Governor McCrory Tuesday.
He says, “For such a short letter, this has been a hard and a sad one to write. I had not expected to be writing it, certainly not now, and now in these circumstances.”
WCCB reporter Audrina Bigos caught up with Governor McCrory in Charlotte Tuesday. He says Clodfelter is the right man to restore trust and move the city forward.
“He’s now the public face of Charlotte,” said McCrory. “And that’s going to be an important role to sell and recruit Charlotte, and also to frankly do some repair work. The wounds are still there, but Dan and I, and others, will do everything we can to rebuild and even exceed the reputation that we’ve had the last several days.”
Clodfelter spent the last 15 years in the State Senate. He represented the 37th District, which includes parts of Mecklenburg County. Before that, he served on the Charlotte City Council, representing East Charlotte from 1987 to 1993. He has worked in private practice at Moore and Van Allen in Charlotte since 1978.
We will be there to talk to Clodfelter right after his swearing in. His first official meeting as mayor will be the city’s budget workshop at 3pm.
