Vi Lyles wins big in primary. She’s poised to be one of Charlotte’s longest-serving mayors
Mayor Vi Lyles on Tuesday won big in her Democratic primary and inched one step closer to becoming one of Charlotte’s longest-serving mayors.
En route to a decisive victory, Lyles received 85.3% of the vote to challenger Lucille Puckett’s 14.6%. Lyles is now the heavy favorite to win in the general election on Nov. 7 — when she’ll face Republican Misun Kim and Libertarian Rob Yates.
Pat McCrory, Charlotte’s longest-serving mayor who held the office from 1995-2009, was the last GOP candidate to hold the position.
If Lyles wins in November, secures her fourth term and completes it, she’ll join Stan Brookshire and John Belk, who both served eight years in office, as the second-longest-serving mayors.
Lyles, who was unaware of the achievement, told The Charlotte Observer Tuesday she’s more focused on serving the citizens of Charlotte.
“It’s not about the tenure, it’s about getting the work done,” Lyles said. “It’s about doing the right thing for the residents in this city all together.”
Brookshire served from 1961-1969, when schools, housing and public accommodations were desegregated peacefully. Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood also was bulldozed during so-called “urban renewal.” During that time, plans emerged for what’s now known as Interstate 277.
John Belk, the son of Belk department store founder William Henry Belk, served after Brookshire — from 1969-1977. Among other things, Belk led Charlotte as it built the first convention center, expanded runways at the then-Douglas Municipal Airport and implemented court-ordered busing to achieve racial balance in schools.
To honor their legacies, segments of I-277, which forms a partial loop around uptown, were renamed to John Belk Freeway and Brookshire Freeway.
Lyles’ tenure
Much of the work Lyles has done since her first term in 2017 center around affordable housing, business development, urban design, transportation and infrastructure, according to the city’s website. The mayor said she isn’t fixated on having buildings and streets named in her honor in a similar manner as Belk or Brookshire.
“I want people to think about me as someone who had a good idea, worked to make it possible, had a plan and a strategy, and got it done,” Lyles said. “Anyone that knows me well knows that I really put everything on the table. And by doing that, I feel like I’ve done the best that I could possibly do.”
