CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Following a tense vote for Charlotte’s next mayor pro tem, WBTV obtained a copy of an email from outgoing mayor pro tem Braxton Winston, in which he details the role and his opinion on how the seat should be filled.
Winston had been an at-large councilmember for the past six years, serving his final term as the mayor pro tem. He did not run this past cycle after announcing his candidacy for North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in the 2024 election.
The council swore in its newest members on Monday night, and chose District 1 representative Dante Anderson as the new mayor pro tem. The choosing of Anderson was controversial in part because traditionally, the role has gone to the top vote-getter among at-large candidates. In this year’s election, that distinction went to Dr. Victoria Watlington.
After heated debate, the council voted to give the position to Anderson by a 7-4 vote.
In his email, Winston stated that the public “expects” for that tradition to be upheld, and that “the public views this as a democratically selected position by the people.” However, he added that he and others believe others factors should go into assigning the role of mayor pro tem.
“It is clear from conversations that I have had after each of the three elections that I have been part of, that members of council agree that the vote count should not be the sole determinant for the position,” Winston’s email read. “While I believe vote count could be part of who we choose as MPT, it should not be the sole determinant.”
He suggested that the top vote-getter be among the mayor pro tem candidates, but also that any other member of the city council should be considered.
“The problem this [current tradition] presents is that we haven’t defined what the public’s expectation should be for the MPT role,” Winston said in his email. “That has the potential to further public distrust in our processes and creates unnecessary interpersonal strife amongst newly elected councils that should be focused on setting up the next two years of work.”
As for expectations of the mayor pro tem, the only role clearly defined by the city charter is that whoever is in that role should stand in for the mayor should they be absent from an occasion.
Winston went on to outline what he believes the role should entail aside from filling in for the mayor. He stated that doing so furthers the public’s trust, clarifies expectations of external partners and facilitates policy work between the council and city staff.
“The primary responsibility of the MPT is to be an internal communicator amongst the council, mayor, and staff,” he said in writing. “This starts with being in regular communication with the other 10 members of council so you are able to understand both what the individual assessments of CMs are and where consensus amongst CMs exist. The MPT must then objectively represent those positions in conversations amongst the council, the mayor, manager, staff, as well as externally.”
In addition to serving as a communicator, Winston said he believes the mayor pro tem has a responsibility to build relationships with other leaders and councils across the state, as well as be aware of work being done within the Charlotte City Council and its committees and subcommittees.
“The MPT can and should play a great role in relationship building on behalf of the council with leaders in Raleigh, across the state, and in the greater Charlotte region,” he said. “Showing up to people’s offices, having lunches and coffees, getting to know what is going on in other communities is very helpful in getting council priorities done.”
After outlining what he believes the role is, Winston shared what he believes it is not.
“The MPT is not a political position that should be used to conflate the individual’s position with that of the Council, the City, or any combination of the two,” he said. “While the objective responsibilities of the MPT do not disallow the MPT from having strong individual positions separate from the council as a whole, it is important that the MPT is clearly able to differentiate and communicate the differences between both clearly.”
Winston ended his email by stating that he hopes to see the council formally clarify the expectations of the position within the next two years.
Related: Charlotte City Council elects Anderson mayor pro tem after tense debate
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