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Caravan to Raleigh -
Update
February 21, 2007
Dear Friends and
Supporters,
Our message was "Pay 4
Crime" and over 250
citizens took a full day
and six buses, straight
to Raleigh to convey
that message to our
State Legislators and
the Governor’s office.
This “Caravan to
Raleigh” was not just
those from Charlotte.
Meeting us in Raleigh
were Mayors, Police
Chiefs, Sheriffs, DA's
and citizens from other
cities throughout the
State including Winston
Salem, Greensboro,
Burlington, Boone,
Asheville, Gastonia,
Weddington, Greenville
and Concord.
The State Criminal
Justice System is not
supporting our police
efforts, is not just a
Charlotte problem but
throughout the
Our buses left The
Cricket Arena at 7:00
a.m. on Tuesday,
February 13th and was
composed of a
cross-section of
Charlotte citizens
(Republicans, Democrats,
black, white, rich,
poor, crime victims,
city council members,
neighborhood leaders and
business leaders) which
made history in lobbying
together for one
objective - making
Public Safety a Major
Priority in the State.
The good news from our
visit included:
-
We had a grassroots
lobbyists give a
dose of reality of
what is happening on
our streets,
businesses and
neighborhoods and
they were much more
effective in being
listened too by
state politicians
than anyone else
including Your
Mayor.
-
Senate pro tem
leader Mark Basnight
and the new Speaker
of the House Joe
Hackney met with us
to hear our issues
along with at least
seven members of our
own delegation
-
The Governor’s
Public Safety and
Budget Directors met
privately with 25 of
us, including seven
mayors, to hear our
concerns and told us
the Governor will
discuss this issue
during his State of
State address.
-
We were very
successful in giving
detailed facts and
statistics about the
grave situation of
criminals not being
being tried, or
serving time for
their crimes, even
after being arrested
over and over and
over again.
Now for the bad news:
-
Some members of our
own Mecklenburg
delegation expressed
dissatisfaction in
the newspaper and in
person, that we came
to Raleigh, and one
made rude comments
to several members
of our caravan.
-
The leaders of the
NC House and Senate
expressed surprise
when confronted with
statistics of
breakdown in State
Criminal Justice
System and seemed to
be unaware of the
seriousness of
issue. Several tried
to change the
subject to Education
which is indeed an
important issue. Our
group stated clearly
that we cannot
educate children if
they are not in a
safe environment in
our school or
neighborhoods.
-
The Governor could
not find time in his
schedule to meet
with the Mayors,
police chiefs, DA's,
crime victims, etc
from the largest
metrolina
populations in the
state.
-
The editorial staffs
of North Carolina’s
largest newspapers
including the
Charlotte Observer,
gave no comment,
much less support to
our efforts, thus
impacting political
backing in Raleigh.
(Maybe a more
politically correct
death penalty
moratorium caravan
would have gotten
them writing.)
The most positive thing,
however, is that a
consensus was reached on
the way home by almost
all the caravan
participants that this
is only the beginning in
getting our voices heard
in Raleigh.
We have much work to do
in education, lobbying,
identifying specific
pieces of legislation
and putting pressure on
policy makers and the
media to insure that a
DA, a judge, a drug
rehabilitation facility
and a jail is available
to back up every arrest
made by police
throughout North
Carolina.
Many thanks to all of
you that participated in
the Caravan.
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
Below are a few comments
made by some of those
who participated:
“We should all be
thanking you for
organizing this trip and
making it a great
success! I personally
cannot thank you enough!
I feel as if we were
heard yesterday and the
Caravan was the perfect
first step to draw
attention to the crime
problem in Charlotte and
across NC. Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you!”
Kelly O.
“Thank
you for all your effort.
This was one of the
best organized and
executed events of this
sort I have experienced.
With us.... the
public.... it is sort of
like herding cats....
You and all the staff
did a marvelous job
which not only ensured a
successful outcome but a
most enjoyable
experience.”
Dwight B.
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The New Year - A Look Ahead
Seasons Greetings! I
want to wish you a Merry
Christmas and hope that
your holiday is filled
with family and friends
– and the spirit of the
season. We are truly
fortunate to live in
such a beautiful
community and I continue
to be thankful,
particularly at this
time of year, for the
many blessings we have
in Charlotte.
As we look forward to
the New Year, I want to
make you aware of four
important areas on which
I will be focusing in
2007 -- the
economy, public safety,
transportation, and
education/mentoring.
The Economy
Eleven years ago,
one of my primary goals
as Mayor was to work to
ensure that
Charlotte’s economy was
diverse and not
dependent on any one job
sector, so that we could
weather any downturns
which might occur due to
the transformation of
our economy. Working
with business leaders,
small business persons
and entrepreneurs, we
have successfully
created a robust and
diverse economy which
has exceeded everyone’s
expectations making
Charlotte one of the
leading cities of the
New South. For instance,
our Banking, Utility and
Transportation sectors
have all expanded their
job base. This has
occurred during an
incredible period of
mergers and stiff
competition from other
cities and regions of
the country. Aggressive
recruiting of new
companies such as
General Dynamic and
Shutterfly will help
maintain our
manufacturing base.
Our Travel and Tourism
job sector has rebounded
from the post-9/11
travel slump; hotel
occupancy and room rates
are both up. The
Meineke Car Care Bowl,
the U.S. National
Whitewater Center and
other events and tourism
venues are helping to
build the Charlotte
travel market. More
hotels with a variety of
room rates are coming
online throughout the
region to meet the many
demands of the
convention industry.
We all can be very proud
of landing the NASCAR
Hall of Fame. As we
said throughout our
effort to land this
museum – NASCAR was born
in North Carolina and it
belongs here. The NASCAR
Hall of Fame
announcement already is
helping Charlotte
attract future
conventions.
I dedicate a significant
amount of my time each
year to help recruit
potential new
employers. I also meet
with our existing
companies to help retain
those businesses. We can
recruit new business
while maintaining our
current employer base by
cutting taxes and
improving the efficiency
of our local
government. I look
forward to working with
our City Council to
protect the Taxpayer and
to further develop best
practices for Charlotte
city government. I also
hope that I can find
common ground with
County leaders, the
North Carolina General
Assembly and Governor
Easley to find a way to
cut taxes while
improving the delivery
of services throughout
our region. If we can’t
reduce the burden on
taxpayers and make local
and state government
more efficient, I fear
that we will see more
companies and jobs
relocate to other
regions and states.
I was very disappointed
this year when the City
Council overrode my veto
on the property tax
increase. This was the
first time during my
tenure on City Council
and as Mayor, that the
property tax rate has
been increased.
I did not just say no to
a property tax increase,
but along with the
Republican members of
City Council, I
recommended an
alternative budget,
which still hired more
police and built new
roads – while holding
the line on taxes. We
also cut spending in
lower priority areas. I
believe we must work
within our existing
property tax revenues
next year, just as we
must do within our own
personal household
budgets, and not
recommend any tax
increase. It takes
leadership and tough
decision making which I
remain committed to
providing.
The housing and
commercial development
sectors have seen
tremendous growth and
energy in the past
decade. Charlotte
remains one of the few
bright spots in the
nation for the housing
and commercial
development industries.
My goal as Mayor has
been to adjust our
zoning and land-use
plans to insure we have
choices in where to
live, work, play, and
raise a family. This
focus also includes
protecting the quality
of life and environment
which attracted many of
us to Charlotte.
High-rise housing in
Center City and along
the transportation
corridors are attracting
young people and empty
nesters. We are also
working to protect
single family housing in
the more traditional
neighborhoods.
I am very pleased with
new, innovative
developments and
mixed-use design
throughout Charlotte,
which is creating
villages of shopping and
residential living
throughout the City.
Major challenges for
next year will include
providing affordable
housing options and
addressing the aging
commercial and
residential areas which
were developed in the
70's and are declining
or becoming
vacant. Plans are
being developed to help
secure private and
public reinvestment for
our declining areas,
similar to the
successful efforts in
NODA, South End, and
Plaza-Midwood. Blight
and decay in any area of
this City are
unacceptable.
Public Safety:
In 1993, crime in
Charlotte was at an
all-time high with 129
homicides, despite a
much smaller city
population. Charlotte
crime dwindled during
the late 1990’s and
through 2004 with the
help of 330 more police
officers, a new teen
curfew, targeting drug
areas and engaging
citizens. Since 2005,
we have hired an
additional 70 police
officers and this year
we initiated a very
aggressive street
intervention unit which
has resulted in a 9%
increase in arrests.
Despite our strong
efforts, we are fighting
three basic trends:
1) Increase
in gangs -- to
combat this we started a
gang task force three
years ago to track,
infiltrate, and arrest
gang leaders. We
started the Gang of
One program to
motivate young kids to
get out of gangs and
seek other positive
choices.
2) Increase
in illegal immigrants
committing violent
crimes and becoming
targeted victims of
crime – I strongly
support the Sheriff’s
efforts to prosecute,
detain, identify, and
deport criminals that
are arrested by
Charlotte Police
officers.
3) Low
rate of prosecutions
– only 2% of people
arrested by the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police are prosecuted or
ultimately receive jail
time. Thus, we continue
to arrest the same
people over and over
again. This February, I
will lead a Caravan
to Raleigh to
pressure our state
government to provide
the necessary funding of
our judicial system to
ensure that criminals
are prosecuted and put
behind bars. Governor
Easley and our
legislature have
neglected our criminal
justice system far too
long. They must take
care of the State’s
number one
responsibility -- the
safety of its citizens!
Transportation:
Charlotte will
continue to be a growing
City for the foreseeable
future and we must
prepare our
transportation
infrastructure for the
next 25 years. To do
this, voters have
supported our efforts
and passed a $100
million road bond
package in 2004 and
another $85 million in
road bonds in November
2006. These funds will
increase road capacity
for the growing number
of cars and increase the
maintenance of city
roads. We need your
help in convincing the
Governor and the State
legislature to widen the
south leg of I-485,
while accelerating
construction of the
outer beltline; fix
lights on all highways,
and to do a better job
of pick up the
increasing trash along
our state highways.
We have overhauled and
expanded the City’s bus
system, buying new
buses, adding new routes
and building bus
shelters. These efforts
have resulted in a 62%
increase in bus rider
ship since 1998.
A city of Charlotte’s
size and anticipated
growth must have other
transportation
alternatives if we are
going to maintain a
healthy quality of life
and strong economic
engine. We look forward
to Light rail operating
soon along the south
corridor. We must all
work together to ensure
that our Light Rail
system is built safely
and efficiently while
ensuring that taxpayer
dollars are being spent
in the most effective
manner as possible.
Recent exciting
transportation news is
that we received new
federal funding this
week to move forward
with our plans to build
a third parallel runway
at the Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport.
This is the realization
of one of my goals that
began ten years ago when
the City Council voted
10 - 1 to approve a
funding plan for a new
runway. This expansion
is the first runway
expansion in 30 years
and will increase runway
capacity by 46%. It is
imperative that we
continue to invest in
our airport for the
future to ensure that
Charlotte remains a
strong base for the
airline industry. This
increased capacity will
enhance our ability to
recruit more Fortune 500
companies, while
providing improved
service for our existing
workforce which travel
each day.
Education/Mentoring:
Although the City
and the Mayor do not
have any legal authority
or responsibility for
Education, the success
or troubles of CMS
impacts us all. I was
pleased to be a part of
the interview process
for the new CMS
Superintendent and I
believe Peter Gorman is
an excellent
choice. Dr. Gorman and
I are working on several
public safety measures
to keep our schools safe
and we continue to look
for additional areas
where we can partner to
work on behalf of the
entire community.
A key way to help CMS
and the new
Superintendent is to get
involved with a CMS
school. Another option
is to serve as a
positive role model and
be a mentor to a youth
in the community. I
created the Mayor’s
Mentoring Alliance in
1995 and still believe
the best way to invest
in our future is to
mentor our kids. Please
take some time – just an
hour a week - to serve
as a Mentor.
Conclusion:
We all are blessed
to live in such a
wonderful community.
With your prayers,
support and hard work,
we will continue to
improve our great city
in 2007. I continue to
appreciate the honor and
privilege you have given
me to help lead this
great city of
Charlotte.
Merry Christmas and
Happy New year! God
Bless.
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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Caravan to Raleigh
December 1, 2006
Dear Friends and
Supporters,
The following is a
speech I made on crime
to the Charlotte
Hospitality and Tourism
Alliance on Wednesday,
November 29, 2006:
Caravan to Raleigh –
Make Crime and Fixes to
the Criminal Justice
System a Priority
The hospitality and
tourism industry and
many businesses in
general have been
greatly impacted by
crime at hotel
properties and the malls
– namely car break-ins
and auto thefts.
Interestingly, many
don’t recognize that
crimes often have two
victims, those that are
directly impacted, such
as by a stolen car, but
also the property owner
where a crime was
committed, such as in a
hotel parking lot or at
a shopping mall or
grocery store.
I have heard the pleas
for help to get relief
from crime, particularly
from many hotel owners,
but certainly citizens
from every neighborhood
in the community. I want
to thank those who have
been working with the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Department to
find solutions and make
sure you are not making
yourself susceptible to
crimes, by poor
lighting, overgrown
bushes, or even leaving
laundry or storage doors
open. We are having
success with the
hospitality industry
working to establish the
Crime Free Hotel/Motel
Program by forming
partnerships between
police and the hotel
owners and industry to
provide email alerts and
crime prevention
information and training
hotel staff to be more
aware of what is going
on around the hotel and
what guests are doing.
Although Charlotte is a
patient community and
includes many good
people to work with,
Charlotte and cities
across the state need
help and support for our
police. Now is the time
to communicate to our
state leaders in the
General Assembly that we
need action on their
part to fix the State
Criminal Justice System.
I want to highlight that
I am looking for a
partnership with the
State.
The City of Charlotte
has been working
aggressively to address
crime issues over the
past decade and we have
stepped up both our
prevention and
enforcement efforts over
the past four years.
While crime is bad, we
must also keep it in
perspective that we are
not facing the 100-plus
murder rate that we did
when I was first elected
11 years ago. Although
the serious crimes,
including murder, have
decreased, the personal
crimes of home invasions
and car thefts have been
increasing.
To address public safety
concerns and the
increasing demand for
homeland security
services, the City has
hired 344 new police
officers over the past
decade and during my
tenure as Mayor. Of
those new officers, 73
have been hired since
2005. In addition to
hiring more officers,
we’ve also been working
smarter with such
initiatives as:
• The Police
Department’s
International Relations
Unit, created in 2000,
to address the unique
needs of the City’s
growing International
population.
• The Gang
Intelligence Unit,
created in 2003, to
address the 100 known
gangs and more than
1,800 known gang members
in our City.
• The Robbery
Curfew, to keep those
arrested for robbery in
home detention during
nighttime hours as they
await their trial.
• The restructuring
of the police districts,
and the creation of a
13th patrol district, to
put police resources
where the crime spots
are and increase
response times
throughout the City.
• The Street Crimes
Task Force, formed in
February 2006, have had
tremendous success in
just their first nine
months:
-
Recovering 44 stolen
vehicles
- Seizing
285 weapons
- Seizing
8,200 grams of cocaine
worth $3.3 million
-
Arresting 30 auto theft
suspects
-
Arresting 151 robbery
suspects
Overall in 2006, the
number of police
citations increased 9%
and the total number of
arrests were up 8%.
These results
demonstrate the Police
are doing their job, but
their efforts are not
being supported
throughout the rest of
the criminal justice
system. We still do not
have enough District
Attorneys to prosecute
all these arrests.
Repeat offenders
continue to clog the
system and repeat
offenders, those that
are arrested 20, 30, and
even 40 times, shows
that our criminal
justice system is not in
fact providing justice.
We do not have enough
jail space to hold our
prisoners. And we don’t
have enough court time
or judges to handle all
the cases that need to
be prosecuted. We need
more judges, but the
State court system needs
to look at the overall
court system and how
judges’ time is being
used. Just like the
Police are restructuring
our patrol districts and
reallocating resources,
our state court system
needs to undertake the
same effort.
Given this situation, I
am asking Charlotteans
and leaders from across
the state to join me in
a Caravan to Raleigh,
when the state
legislature convenes in
Raleigh at the end of
January.
We simply have got to
get the message out that
crime issues and fixing
the criminal justice
system has to be a
priority in the 2007
legislative session.
This Caravan to Raleigh
will be largely
Charlotte, but I will
call on Mayors, police
chiefs, business groups,
and neighborhood leaders
across the state – and
certainly the
hospitality industry, to
join me in Raleigh to
show that we want to be
partners in making
changes to the criminal
justice system.
But the time is urgent.
It is easy to say we
won’t tolerate crime,
but we have to back it
up. I have met too many
victims of crime from
the most petty to the
most heinous and all are
unacceptable – and we
simply must act – and
act in unison with our
state legislative
partners. The state of
the criminal justice
system in Charlotte and
North Carolina is not
healthy and clearly
isn’t delivering
justice.
We must demand better.
• Guns are still the
weapons of choice
• Juveniles get off
too easy when they
commit car thefts
• Criminals are
arrested multiple times
or only serve reduced
jail time to be turned
back out onto our
streets
• Our county jail
space is overcrowded
• And our District
Attorney can only handle
about four homicide
cases a year, due to the
complexity of the cases
and staff time it takes
to prosecute
Given this situation, I
want to lobby the State
legislature to begin the
process to fix the
criminal justice system
and implement six key
pieces of legislation.
My efforts will be in
three categories:
1) Deal with the
career criminal
2) Address youth
offenders and gangs
early
3) End domestic
violence
The six specific
legislative proposals
include:
1) Support local
police with more jails,
district attorneys, and
court time to deliver
justice to the
criminals.
2) Support region-
wide efforts to crack
down on gangs and
implement legislations
to take away gang
assets.
3) Allow law
enforcement to work with
schools to share
information about people
under the age of 16 who
have committed felonies.
4) Allow business
owners to be a part of
the trial/prosecution,
when crimes are
committed on their
property, such as in
hotel rooms or mall
parking lots, and the
victims are not able to
travel to testify
against the criminal. We
need to realize that
criminals often
victimize two people –
the direct victim and
the peripheral victim,
such as business owners.
5) Implement a
state-wide effort, with
funding, to encourage
local law enforcement to
work with Federal
officials to address
serious crimes and
felons who are also
illegal aliens.
6) Pass legislation
that calls for DUI
offenders to have
breathalyzer car
starters
I believe there is
significant support for
these six proposals and
I look forward to
partnering with members
of the General Assembly
to implement these
policies. It is through
focused attention and
action that we will be
able to address the
shortcomings in the
criminal justice system
and reduce the number of
citizens who become
victims.
If any part of the
criminal justice system
is broken, then the
whole system collapses.
As of now, most of the
parts are broken. We, as
a team with the State
leaders, must begin the
rebuilding process or
our Society will fall.
The Caravan to
Raleigh is the first
building block and I
ask you to join me in
this effort.
Details about the
Caravan will be in a
future e-mail message,
so please look for that.
Thank you.
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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|
A Call to Action
September 1, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters:
The following is a speech I gave today to
Charlotte Latin's Convocation, I thought you
would be interested in the message I am
sending to our nation's future leaders.
-------------------------------------
When the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor
was communicated over the radio, my father’s
generation remembered for the rest of their
lives exactly where they were when they
heard the news. As Franklin Roosevelt stated
in his speech to the nation and Congress on
December 7, 1941 -“A Day that Will Live in
Infamy.”
On November 22, 1963, I was in Mrs. Bell's
2nd grade class at Evening Street Elementary
School, when suddenly an announcement came
over the intercom by the principle, Mr.
Puterball. He stated that President Kennedy
had been assassinated and that school was
now dismissed.
This was a moment that I remember vividly to
this day, along with the rest of the baby
boomer generation. For this generation,
other tragic and major events followed,
including the assassinations of Martin
Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy; and the
moon landing.
On September 11, 2001, I was in my car on
the way to a charity event, when my wife
called me on the cell phone and told me
another plane had hit the World Trade
Center. “It looks like we are under attack,
you had better get to the Mayor’s Office.”
Within minutes, I was on the phone with US
Airways to find out if any of the planes had
originated in Charlotte and also on the
phone with the Duke Power President who
assured me that our nuclear power plants
were safe.
Every one of you in this audience also
remembers where you were when watching the
horror on TV, and you will remember that
moment for the rest of your lives.
My father’s generation responded with
immediate action. Many men joined the
service that day, while women volunteered to
work in the factories, hospitals and as
nurses on the battle fronts throughout the
world. That generation, because of their
action, is now called The Greatest
Generation.
My generation, after the assassinations in
1963 and 1968 had a very mixed response.
Many grieved, some went on with their normal
lives. Some joined the Peace Corps, or
worked on Civil Rights, some rioted. Others
were drafted to go to Vietnam. Others tuned
out through drugs and a new music called
“Rock and Roll”. My generation is still
called the Baby Boom Generation.
Your generation has yet to achieve a
permanent label due to your actions or
inactions as a result of 9/11 and world
terrorism, so far, a mixed or no reaction up
to this point.
• War in Afghanistan and Iraq on back pages
of newspapers
• No major protests on our streets
• Heavy recruitment and even bonuses to get
people to join the service
• No disruption of everyday life, except for
fluctuations in gas prices and people having
to take off their shoes or discard
toothpaste before getting on a plane
• Spending billions of dollars in Homeland
Security efforts and war in two countries
• Volunteer U.S. soldiers making an ultimate
sacrifice
So, what can your generation do to take
action and make a difference?
1. Stop reliance of energy sources
outside the U.S. through both conservation
and the exploration and innovation of
alternative energy sources.
First, let’s talk about conservation. Does
every senior at this school really need an
SUV to drive to and from school everyday by
themselves? The answer is no. Share rides,
ride a bike, walk, or try supporting and
using the public transportation system.
How many seniors plan to enter engineering
or technical majors which can then help
design fuel efficient engines; more
efficient electric cars; design
cost-effective new nuclear power plants;
design houses with wind and solar power? The
Greatest Generation more than any other,
entered these fields of innovation and
technical engineering. This generation must
step up to the plate.
2. This generation must also help stem
the flow of money going to terrorist
organizations.
One of the major financing engines is the
drug trade. When your so-called friends ask
you to try some ecstasy, snort some cocaine,
or take a puff on a joint, not only are they
acting stupid and breaking the law, but they
are also helping fund criminals and
potential terrorists who are not only
killing people across the world, but right
here, possibly in Charlotte. I believe those
who use illegal drugs have blood on their
hands in this war on terror.
3. Service to Country and Community
I hope your generation does consider
military service to fight for all our
freedoms and safety. We must not allow the
service to be made up primarily of those who
cannot afford an education or get a job.
If not the military, volunteer to help with
hurricane relief projects, rebuilding
neighborhoods and parks in Charlotte,
mentoring at-risk youth and maybe even take
steps to run for political office. High
schools' curriculum should require public
service after school, and on weekends, and
even during the summer.
We are in a war. We cannot escape it in our
neighborhoods or schools in Charlotte. The
recent arrests in Great Britain show
terrorists are patient, well-funded, cruel
and innovative. They will stop at nothing to
destroy our way of life. They call this the
“Forever War.”
Future terrorists may not be planning the
next attack in Great Britain, but right
here. Our threat may be “homegrown
terrorists,” recruited in schools and most
likely in prisons. They will strike when we
least expect it, and it will be toward
visual and soft targets. They can change the
world for the worst.
Your generation can do the opposite. Make a
difference - Have a Voice - Learn - Be
smarter than them. You can do nothing and be
labeled like the Baby Boom Generation or
Generation X.
How about the alternative, be the next
Greatest Generation, the generation which
saved democracy and freedom - the
Generation that won the war against
terrorism.
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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Transportation Needs for
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
July 22, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
The following is a letter I sent to the
Mecklenburg delegation on July 20, 2006.
Mecklenburg County desperately needs road
money and I urge everyone reading this to
please contact their state elected official
and ask them for their immediate attention
to this issue.
-------------------------------------
Dear Mecklenburg delegation,
We need your help on two important road
issues of deep concern in the Charlotte
region.
The first issue is the recent Senate and
House legislation regarding the use of
secondary road money for dirt roads. This
has long been an issue where State money is
not being used to address our pressing road
needs, and now the residents of the
Charlotte region may end up, once again,
losing road money based on the recent Senate
version of the secondary road legislation.
There simply is no justifiable way to
communicate to the citizens of Charlotte and
Mecklenburg County that the State’s road
funding policy is not based primarily on
where the congestion needs are or for the
roads that have the highest volume of cars.
This situation, coupled with the fact that
taxpayers of Charlotte-Mecklenburg have paid
nearly $100 million in road improvements for
State roads over the past decade, continues
to promote frustration.
Discouraged citizens have contacted me to
highlight that two-lane country roads now
handle thousands of cars daily with no plans
for widening, yet both the Senate and House
are entertaining a discussion to pave dirt
roads with a few houses being the
destination. I appreciate the work of
Speaker Jim Black and the members of the
House of Representatives for successfully
stopping (at this time) the Senate’s attempt
to shift road funding to other projects
across the state. I understand HB 1825 is in
conference committee right now and needs
your immediate attention.
The fact that our legislators are even
considering withholding money from areas of
the State with the most congestion, air
quality non-attainment conditions, and most
vehicle miles traveled per person, is
incomprehensible. While I am chiefly
interested in Charlotte’s road
infrastructure, the State’s approach to road
building is taking a toll on all of our
metropolitan areas. The 16-county Charlotte
region (including Lincoln, Union, Gaston,
and Cabarrus Counties, among others)
continues to suffer because of poor road
planning and funding, which in due time will
have a negative impact on our ability to
create and retain jobs and build a community
that adds to the economic health of the
region and state.
The second issue is the further delay of
I-485 outer beltway. I, like other citizens,
received this bad news in the newspaper.
Charlotte remains the largest major
metropolitan area in the United States
without a completed outer belt highway. In
addition, the first leg was built with only
two lanes in each direction causing
bottlenecks for miles during rush hour in
Pineville.
The fact that there is now talk that the
I-485 outerbelt will further be delayed is
troubling, especially since there was
recently so much talk about a surplus of
funds in the State treasury. We now
understand that approximately $147 Million
of that surplus has been allocated to
advance loops around Greensboro and
Wilmington. As you know, Charlotte's loop
was the first to get underway. At this rate,
our regional outer beltway will be the last
to be completed.
Over the past three years, slight changes to
the equity formula have been made to the
detriment of our region and additional
cities have been added to the limited loop
funding formula. These changes, which
resulted in Charlotte’s road construction
projects being delayed, yet again, shows
that we need fundamental change to our road
funding policies.
We want to continue to work with you to
address road and transit issues for the long
session. As the founder and a member of the
NC Metropolitan Coalition of Mayors, the
Coalition would welcome the opportunity to
partner with the State on this important
issue.
This issue is too important for the citizens
of Charlotte and the entire State to be
decided in last minute legislative bills.
Thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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Charlotte Does Not Need A
Property Tax Increase
June 16, 2006
Dear Friends
and Supporters,
A key role of local government is to deliver
municipal services with a balanced budget. The
fact that I had to veto the Democrat-proposed
budget, that includes a 9% tax increase,
highlights my concerns for the taxpayers of the
City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The
City of Charlotte clearly has needs, but what we
don’t have is a revenue problem. Because of our
strong local and national economy, the City’s
revenue in both property tax and sales tax is
projected to grow 3.3% or $13.7 million over the
next year.
A growth in revenue and a desire to prioritize
our spending can lead to a sound budget with no
tax increase – such a budget was presented by
the Republican City Council members to the whole
City Council on June 12. The Republican budget
proposal, without a tax increase, addresses the
needs and priorities of the City, by adding 35
police officers to the 48 that were added last
year. It directs $80 million for roads,
neighborhoods and housing, while also providing
for a salary increase for all City employees.
How people can rationalize supporting pay
increases and say they are addressing middle
class needs, while at the same time increasing
the property tax rate 9% negates any claim to be
helping our citizens.
The question citizens should be asking is how is
it that the State of North Carolina is enjoying
a $1 billion surplus and Mecklenburg County is
able to implement a small property tax decrease,
yet the Democrat members of City Council want to
raise the City’s property tax rate by 9%.
Clearly, the City has needs which are
exacerbated by an outrageous State tax structure
that gives more sales tax money to the
jurisdictions that have higher property tax
rates, and the City continues to shoulder some
of the State’s funding responsibilities for the
District Attorney’s Office to ensure our
Criminal Justice system functions. Despite this
situation, Charlotte still has more revenue
coming in next year over this year and we can
still address the needs of our citizens without
a property tax increase.
I use the veto power of the Mayor in only
extreme instances when I feel the citizens are
not being protected, and a budget that calls for
a 9% property tax increase is one of those
instances. My veto can be overridden by the
Democratic majority, but I am hopeful that
through my efforts that the alternative budget
presented, with no property tax increase, will
be the choice a majority of the Council members
will support.
"Please contact your City Council members by
Monday, June 19 at 3 p.m. and encourage them to
support a City budget that does not include a
property tax increase."
Sincerely, Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.comReturn
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Durham-Duke
Case Misrepresents Criminal Justice Resources
May 4, 2006
Dear Friends
and Supporters,
During the
past month - local, state and national media have given
an incredible amount of coverage to the controversial Durham/Duke
criminal rape case. The coverage has included many press
conferences, speeches, and comments by the Durham District
Attorney.
Media has
also concentrated on DNA test results for over 40 people
and those test results were reviewed by the State Lab in
less than a week. These actions by the DA and the State
Lab totally misrepresent how the criminal justice system
actually works in North Carolina.
In Charlotte,
and most other large cities in NC, DA's do not have the
time or resources to give speeches and press conferences.
They are too busy with a back log of literally thousands
of cases.
In fact,
in Charlotte, our DA has only resources enough to try 2%
of all cases. All other cases are either pleaded down or
thrown out all together.
In Fayetteville,
the police chief told North Carolina Mayors that all of
last year not one investigator for home break-ins was asked
to testify in a court case. What that means, of course,
was that there was not one case out of hundreds in which
prosecution occurred.
The Raleigh
police chief told us that it is not more police that she
needs, it is more prosecutors, courts and jails. In Charlotte,
like Raleigh, our police resources are primarily being used
to arrest the same people over and over again. In Charlotte,
we recently arrested the same person over 15 times. Finally,
during prosecution, it was found that this one individual
was responsible for over 6% of the home break-ins in Charlotte.
I can also give you similar examples of felonies including
assault, car hijacking, armed robberies, rape and murder.
And what
about the State Crime Lab? There is over a six-month back-log
in getting DNA samples for felony cases throughout North
Carolina.
A well-kept
secret, not being covered by the media, is that the State
and the Attorney General gave special permission for the
Durham case to be put on the fast track. No word on how
many cases were put on hold while many of those charged
wait in county jails - victim’s anger rises - witnesses
move, and our police re-arrest many of those out on our
street on very low bails.
In Charlotte,
we decided we could no longer wait for the State lab results.
We built our own lab at a cost to the city taxpayers of
almost $1,000,000 (one million dollars) a year, that means
that city taxpayers are paying twice. This is not fair,
but we have no choice. Of course, the State gives us no
refund for using our own lab which in turn saves the State
money.
In late April,
I went to Raleigh with our Police Chief and many other mayors
and police chiefs from across the state to meet with the
Chief Justice of the North Carolina State Supreme Court
and the State Attorney General. The Chief Justice told us
that the system is broken and that the NC General Assembly
is actually reducing the budget for the criminal justice
system!
The Attorney
General gave a very good speech about what he is doing about
meth labs, but did not address our local issues. There is
no doubt in our minds that many of those in the criminal
justice system from DA's to Judges are not going to speak
out for fear of political retribution from the General Assembly.
Many told
us, off-the-record, that there is political pay-back for
a court redistricting case that the leadership of the general
assembly did not like and as a result, funds were reduced....politics
at the expense of victims! Where is the media coverage of
this??
One last
thing...the Mayors are not keeping quiet. We are making
specific recommendations which include:
1) Direct
all court fees to the Courts. Currently the court fees are
transferred to the state’s general budget and redirected
to fill other budget gaps determined by the Governor and
the General Assembly.
2) Raise
court fees and let local courts keep money collected without
being redirected to State budget.
3) Get DA's
out of the prosecution of minor traffic tickets and transfer
responsibility to local magistrates.
4) Give DA’s
more time to prosecute criminal cases by transferring minor
bureaucratic traffic violation release forms to the police
department.
5) Give local
courts authority to make minor budget transfers without
General Assembly permission. Currently a Judge cannot transfer
money for a computer to a budget to buy a copy machine...
unbelievable...
6) Raise
salary of DA's. They currently start at $32,000 to $36,000
a year with law degree. DA attrition is much higher than
other public service jobs including police.
We need your
help!! Call your State Legislators and demand action - don't
let the Durham case misrepresent the real facts.
Many thanks
for all your feedback on the "Showing Respect" note I sent
you - we may have helped start a positive dialogue.
It is an
honor to be Mayor of this great city.
Sincerely,
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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Disrespectful
Times – We Can Do Better
April 7, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
During my first day in fifth
grade in Jamestown, NC, I did not say "yes Maam" in response
to a question from my teacher Mrs. Lockman. You have to
understand, I had just moved from Ohio, where, as kids we
often just said "Yea" or "nah". As a result, my mouth was
washed out with soap for not showing respect for my teacher.
Although in hindsight, the punishment may have been a bit
much, a lesson stayed with me forever - show respect. It
is something that I believe is missing in our society today
- respect for parents, respect for older people, respect
for police, respect for religion and God, and yes, even
respect for political office holders from a city council
member to the President. As our society continues to communicate
in a disrespectful way to these positions of authority,
we will continue to see a gradual decline in order, productive
dialogue, safety, education, and morals. I want to assure
you I mean respect and not agreement.
The reason this subject is
on my mind today is because of three events which occurred
this week in Charlotte. Each event shows a gradual trend
of showing disrespect. One event is quite minor, involving
a radio personality commenting about the Charlotte Mayor;
one event was an embarrassment involving a city council
member and the President of the United States and the last
event was a near tragedy involving a criminal and a heroic
police officer. (for matter of time and space, I am leaving
out an example between a Georgia Congresswoman and a Capital
Security Guard).
TALK RADIO
The first event occurred while
driving home from a wonderful dinner with the new Chancellor
of UNCC. As usual, I turned on the radio and suddenly I
heard a commercial promoting the afternoon drive show of
WBT radio show where the host calls himself "Mr. Right."
As usual, I heard criticism toward me and my environmental
policy of smart growth and Mass Transit. No problem - fair
game. But suddenly the commercial bite said "not only is
the Mayor a useless idiot, but a dangerous one too." I about
drove off the road and then the next day many calls came
to the Mayor’s office from citizens hearing the same promotional
tease repeated many times throughout the next day. Of course,
the worst call came from my sister Kay, who was ready to
punch out the guy who called her little brother and her
Mayor an "idiot" on the airwaves. In trying to calm her
down, I had to explain to her that what political discussion
has become, from the School Board to the talk radio and
talk TV, not debate or discussion, but name calling and
personal attacks. It’s all about disrespect which brings
publicity and money to those involved, but is hurting our
great democracy and the ability to recruit good people interested
in public service.
PRESIDENT’S VISIT
The second event occurred during President Bush’s visit
to Charlotte. I was honored that the White House called
me last week and asked for my help to generate an audience
that represented a cross- section of Charlotte, as the President
wanted to have a conversation with the citizens of Charlotte.
Republicans, Democrats, people from all cultures and backgrounds
were invited. I also made sure to invite all elected officials
in Charlotte Mecklenburg - School Board, County Commission,
and City Council and the region’s Mayors. After the President
gave a 45 minute speech with no notes, primarily on the
War on Terrorism and international challenges, including
Iraq, he took off his coat and said "let me take some questions."
Many hands were raised and staff was ready to give microphones
to those recognized by the President. All of a sudden, Mayor
Pro-Tem Susan Burgess stood up and started giving a speech,
without being first recognized and given a microphone. Totally,
oblivious of the many other citizens behind her, hands raised,
waiting to be recognized, following rules most learn in
elementary school. As she continued to speak and speak and
speak without asking a question while reminding the President
that she was Mayor Pro Tem and represented her City Council,
I bowed my head in shame and embarrassment. Not because
of the critical points she was making, but because of the
disrespect she showed toward the audience and because she
interrupted the President twice as he tried to politely
get her to ask a question out of respect for everyone’s
time. (Her speech was a complaint about both the deficit
and about cuts in the budget—go figure.) The President,
to his credit, listened with respect to Ms. Burgess and
critical speakers and then gave thoughtful answers to their
questions/comments.
POLICE SHOOTING
The third event was much more serious and important.
On Wednesday, April 5th, Police approached a house in north
Charlotte to serve an arrest warrant for a rape suspect
wanted in South Carolina. The suspect, Christopher Ellerbe,
then showed the ultimate disrespect and fired his gun at
Charlotte Police Officer Kayvan Hazrati. After shooting
our police officer in the temple, two of Charlotte’s finest
pulled him out of harms way and immediately put him in a
back of a police car and took him to the hospital. Seven
hours later and many efforts at a peaceful way to have the
suspect surrender, our police tear gassed the house to force
the suspect out. The suspect, again showing the ultimate
disrespect, came out of the house firing his gun and striking
another officer’s helmet. Showing respect for the law and
order even after knowing what this man had done, our police
took one shot striking the assailant in the leg which brought
him down to the ground. Officer Hazrati has successfully
gone through surgery, but still has a tough battle ahead
to full recovery. I ask that your prayers continue for him
to recover and also pray for the soul of a criminal who
has shown no respect for human life. We as a society must
change and I believe the first step is to reverse the trend
of both the minor and major displays of disrespect. Hopefully
we can all be more diligent to avoid taking the bait that
society is encouraging. Maybe we all need a fifth grade
teacher to wash our mouth out with soap. It continues to
be an honor to serve as the Mayor of Charlotte.
Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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Mayor's
Trip To Poland
March 28, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
This past week I was honored
to be invited to be part of a Trade and Diplomatic Delegation
of Mayors to visit Poland and meet with President Lech Kaczynski
and also Warsaw Mayor Miroslaw Kochalski. In addition, the
delegation met with former Mayor Victor Ashe of Knoxville
who is now Ambassador to Poland. Ambassador Ashe introduced
our delegation to the Poland Chamber of Commerce leaders
and to Country Ambassadors from Israel, China and Finland.
The delegation included Mayors from Charleston, Nashville,
Sugar Land, Texas and Long Beach, California. The trip was
sponsored by the US Conference of Mayors and American Airlines.
The trip lasted seven days
and visits were made to Warsaw and Krakow. The most moving
and emotional visit, however, was made to Auschwitz. A site
where over 1 million Jews and Poles were systematically
killed and exterminated by Nazi soldiers during WWII. Standing
on the rail road tracks where only 62 years ago families
were unloaded off of freight cars and immediately either
shot, gassed or put into slave labor still haunts me about
the evil that man and a nation is capable of doing.
Several other reminders to
me and lesson-learned from the trip included:
1. A free democracy after
years of invasions from other countries and dictatorships
can work, but it must be given time for adjustment to learn
and gain confidence from its people. (a lesson for Iraq)
2. A city can comeback after
being totally destroyed but it takes strong leadership,
time and the will of its citizens. After the Warsaw revolt,
an uprising by citizens against German troops, Hitler ordered
the city to be destroyed and burned to the ground. Hitler
accomplished his goal, however, the city has been totally
rebuilt and has a thriving economy and quality of life.
(a lesson for New Orleans)
3. The USA is respected oversees
especially by a country who understands and does not take
for granted FREEDOM. The U.S. is well respected in Poland
by young and old alike because of the dreams and aspirations
the U.S. provides to the people. (a lesson for our relationship
with France)
4. Capitalism does work. The
Polish economy is thriving. Young people are being educated
and are staying in the country and foreign investment is
everywhere. There is a strong work ethic and hope for future
generations after years of decay and non- productivity under
communist rule. (a lesson and reminder for all of us).
Well, now back home to the
reality of Charlotte's hopes and challenges. Next report
will be on the City's budget being developed for next fiscal
year, starting July 1.
Pat
pat@patmccrory.com
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NASCAR
Hall Of Fame
March 9, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Another great month for Charlotte!
During the past nine months, I have been proud to be part
of a team effort to bring the NASCAR Hall of Fame to Charlotte.
Our competition was the cities of Atlanta, Daytona, Kansas
City and Richmond.
Before entering into our bid,
I wanted to ensure that four basic criteria would be followed:
1) No money from the city's
general funds, which pay for fire, police, roads and all
basic services, could be used as part of our proposal.
2) The private sector must
be included in the financial plan.
3) The proposal must be for
a function that is much more than a Hall of Fame. It must
be a facility that has long-term sustainability that is
visited by tourists from throughout the world and citizens
from Charlotte.
4) The negotiations must be
within the parameters set forth by the City Council and
presented to the public. Anything more, we must be able
to say no and walk away.
I am proud to say that all
four were met in our successful proposal.
This new building will be
built by monies raised by the private sector; a 2 percent
hotel/motel tax which the hospitality industry agreed to;
and a $20 million dollar low-interest secured loan and backed
by the sale of state land due to the reconfiguration of
an interchange for the Hall. In brief, the private sector
and those visitors using our hotels will be paying for this
great new addition to our city, region, and state economy.
The Charlotte City Council, after reviewing the contract
during the past two weeks, unanimously approved this package.
In addition, the Hall of Fame will be tied to a Convention
Center ball room expansion, and NASCAR has an option to
build a 10-story building on the site of the new Hall of
Fame which will be on the tax roles of the City of Charlotte
and Mecklenburg County.
I firmly believe the total
package will have a long- term positive impact on our travel
and tourism business by providing Charlotte with a destination
tourist attraction. The Hall of Fame will also further strengthen
Charlotte's deep ties to the NASCAR industry which creates
thousands of jobs in our city and region. For generations
to come, Charlotte will be to racing what Nashville is to
Country music and Hollywood is to the movies and the private
sector and those visitors using our hotels will be paying
for this great new addition to our economy.
On the next update....we will
give a detailed review of the crime situation in Charlotte
and who is committing crimes in Charlotte and why. Also,
good news, after many phone calls and letters to the State,
prisoners were seen picking up garbage on the side of State
roads in Charlotte this past week!
Until the next update, continued
thanks for giving me opportunity to be Mayor of our great
city.
I welcome your feedback.
Pat
pat@patmccrory.com
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A
Personal Message
February 10, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been just over three
months since so many of you helped me get re-elected to
my sixth term as Mayor. This is the first of many updates
that I hope to give you on the work, thoughts and challenges
that both myself and our city are facing. As a result of
these updates, I welcome your feedback and ideas to help
me in leadership.
I apologize for the long delay
in getting this to you as my schedule and work load, since
the election, has been much heavier than anticipated. In
addition, due to my Mom's health situation, my personnel
commitment to my family was a major priority.
Before giving a brief summary
on political issues, I would like to thank all of you for
your kind notes of prayer that helped me and my family deal
with my Mom's recent death after a long illness with Alzheimer's.
Although I know she is now at peace and in heaven with my
Dad, I had no idea how tough it was to lose a Mom and both
parents. Your notes and prayers, especially from those who
have gone through similar experiences, continue to help
me through my grief. and life goes on...the issues and challenges.
Public Safety
This last year 2005 was not a good
year in terms of Safety. Almost all of our statistics in
crime went up this year after ten years of drastic declines.
After doing a detailed assessment of our statistics, the
only consistent data trend was this: THE PEOPLE COMMITTING
THE CRIMES HAVE BEEN, IN MOST CASES, ARRESTED BEFORE BY
OUR POLICE. In fact, over 60% of our murder VICTIMS had
been arrested before.
As a result of this summary,
I invited police chiefs, DA's, and some judges from North
Carolina's larger cities to Charlotte to find out if this
is just a Charlotte problem or also a statewide problem.
The end result of our meeting is that this trend is occurring
throughout our state. Criminals in most cases are being
caught, but there is little or no prosecution.
The Fayetteville police chief
said that in his city, the detective in-charge was not asked
to testify in any of the home break-in trials. Only 3% of
those arrested in Charlotte are tried due to lack of State
funding in the Criminal Justice System. This is unacceptable
to our city, our police and most of all, to victims of crime.
As a result, our number ONE
priority will be a coordinated lobbying effort to get the
State to commit resources to this most serious problem.
I will need your help with the Governor and our State delegation.
The City is also, for the second straight year, going to
hire more police; however, rearresting the same people over
and over again is not the way to use our public safety resources.
As in business, one must deal with mistakes the first time.
Immigration/Homeland Security
I have set up an Immigration
Task Force to help determine local policy in four areas:
Public Safety; Education; Social Services/Medical; and Economic
Development. The task force is to first determine what the
impact of illegal and legal immigration is having in each
of these areas and then determine gaps in policy at the
local, state and federal levels to then make recommendations
to appropriate policy elected boards. I met with the nation's
Homeland Security Secretary two weeks ago in Washington
and he assured me that the department's and the President's
number one priority is border control. I am also very pleased
with our Sheriff and Congresswomen Sue Myrick's recent recommendation
to check legal immigration status of those in jail so proper
deportation action can be taken. This will be a big help
to the Charlotte Police.
Budget
The City Council had it annual
retreat last week and the one word that kept coming up was
- ADD, ADD, ADD - which also means tax increase. Although
we do need to add to areas of public safety and roads, I
think there are other areas that we must reduce spending.
I look forward to much more detailed info on this in the
near future.
There is so much more for
future updates including job recruitment and retention;
protecting the Catawba River, The NASCAR Hall of Fame, transit,
and actions to clean up litter and fix lights on our interstate
highways. Those updates will come soon.....until then....thanks
for your support and feedback.
Sincerely,
Mayor Pat McCrory
pat@patmccrory.com
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