Lassiter to run for city council seat (Charlotte)

The Charlotte Observer ^ | 04/08/2003 | MICHELLE CROUCH

[JohnnyZ]

After a decade on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board, John Lassiter announced Monday he is running for an at-large Charlotte City Council seat.

Lassiter, a Republican, said supporters have encouraged him to run for council for years and it's finally time.

"We've reached a point that I think we're in a much better place in our public schools than when I joined the board in 1992," Lassiter said. "I still have an interest in serving the community, and I believe there are a lot of issues facing the city that I can be of some value in addressing."

He said he would like to see more public-private partnerships and collaboration between different public institutions. He would also like to analyze the city budget and make sure dollars are being well-spent.

Lassiter will try to win one of four at-large seats on the 11-member council. At-large Democrat Joe White announced last week he is stepping down to run for school board. The other incumbents, Democrat Patrick Cannon and Republicans Lynn Wheeler and Patrick Mumford, haven't announced their intentions but are expected to run. Filing for the election starts in July.

Lassiter, 48, said he decided to run at-large instead of for a district seat because he's interested in issues that affect the entire community.

"I live in southeast Charlotte. I work downtown. I spend a lot of time traveling to different parts of the city," he said. "You can't abandon one part of the community to advantage another. All of it needs to be healthy."

John Lassiter

Party: Republican.

Age: 48.

Occupation: Business owner, Carolina Legal Staffing.

Political offices held: At-large Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member, 1992-present

Education: Bachelor's degree in politics, Wake Forest University, 1976; Master's degree in public affairs, N.C. State, 1977; Law degree, Wake Forest, 1980.

Family: Wife, Beverly; sons Ben, 18, and Alex, 15.

[JohnnyZ]

Lassiter is okay, I think. I don't know much about him. The city council is controlled by Democrats, 7-4; we have an OUTSIDE chance at taking it over 6-5 in elections this fall, but we'd probably need to take 3 of 4 at-large seats.

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[Deport Billary]

sounds like a good man, though with the changing demographics it will be tough

[JohnnyZ]

though with the changing demographics it will be tough

I wonder about that. In 2001 2 Republicans, Lynn Wheeler (incumbent) and Pat Mumford (first election), were the highest vote-getters for the at-large seats. Democrats came in 3rd and 4th and then more Republicans. Lassiter is almost an incumbent from his years on the school board; he got the most votes of any at-large school board candidate in 2001, ahead of 2 Democrats, in a non-partisan race.

What changing demographics are you referring to? I haven't seen numbers; the only thing I've really heard about is influx of Hispanics and Yankees.