Rembert says she'll run for county board [Mecklenburg, NC]

The Charlotte Observer ^ | Jan. 16, 2004 | Richard Rubin

[JohnnyZ]

Former school board chair Wilhelmenia Rembert will run for Mecklenburg County commissioner this year, she told the Observer Thursday night.

Rembert's entry into the 2004 at-large race comes less than three months after her school board re-election bid fell 402 votes short.

If she wins in November, the county's balance of power could shift. Republicans now have a 5-4 advantage.

With the six districts split evenly between the parties, Democrats will likely need to win two of the three at-large seats to regain control.

Rembert, a registered Democrat, said the county's issues fit her interests.

"It really would offer me an opportunity to get back to my background, my education, my passion: health and human services, education, the arts, the library, all of those things," she said.

Rembert, 52, was appointed to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board in 1998, then won a four-year term in 1999. She became chairperson in 2002.

Democratic county commissioner Parks Helms was among those who encouraged Rembert to run.

"She is bright and articulate and she will make a good candidate," said Helms, who will likely seek a seventh term. "I'm glad she's running."

Rembert, an associate vice president at Winthrop University, enters a crowded and still uncertain field.

On the Republican side, current commissioners Chairman Tom Cox has announced that he will not seek re-election. Incumbent Dan Ramirez, real estate broker Andy Dulin and fiscal conservative Lewis Guignard are all planning to run at-large. District 5 representative Ruth Samuelson is considering an at-large bid.

Helms said Democrats are still recruiting at-large candidates.

He mentioned former commissioner Maggi Markey and Jennifer Watson Roberts, former executive director of the Charlotte World Affairs Council.

Rembert, who is black, faces a challenging race. In the last two at-large elections for county commissioner, black Democrats Jim Richardson and Darrel Williams lost because they lacked support in the suburbs.

Williams, an architect who spent eight years as a district representative, said Rembert needs a focused campaign strategy and a platform that goes beyond education.

Rembert's low-key style, her hard-to-read campaign signs and criticism of her leadership over a tumultuous school board hurt her during last fall's elections.

Rembert said Thursday night that she plans to meet more voters face-to-face, giving them a chance to know more about her than what they read.

She also mentioned that at various points in her career, she worked in mental health, social services and the library system.

That varied background, she said, prepares her for county commissioner.

Michael D. Evans, the Democratic party chairman, said Rembert would benefit from straight-ticket voting; that wasn't a factor in the nonpartisan school board race.

He said good candidates learn from their mistakes.

"She also needs to be more visible in areas of the county where people don't know her as well, particularly the north and probably the southern towns," Evans said.

Official filing for office will begin Feb. 9, unless the state redistricting lawsuit prompts a delay of the scheduled May primary.

[JohnnyZ]

Rembert just got herself booted off the school board. She has no chance at the county commission. The real questions are: will Ruth run at-large? Will Guignard, who ran as a libertarian in 2002, be embraced by Republicans? and can Republicans take all three at-large seats?

[JohnnyZ]

ping

[TaxRelief]

Sometimes politicians think they lost because they ran a bad campaign. They would never believe that they have proven to the world that they are incapable of handling the job.