Patrick McCrory
Encyclopedia
Patrick Lloyd "Pat" McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American
politician
and businessman. He was the 53rd Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina serving a record seven terms from 1995 to 2009. He is widely seen as a front-runner for the Republican nomination for Governor in the 2012 election
.
McCrory was the Republican
nominee for governor of North Carolina
in the 2008 general election
and was defeated by then-Lieutenant Governor
Beverly Perdue.
Both the city of Charlotte
and McCrory gained national prominence during his tenure as mayor. By the 1990's Charlotte emerged as a symbol of the New South
by becoming a hub of transportation, banking, manufacturing, energy and tourism. McCrory implemented transportation and land use plans that have been seen nationally as templates for other municipalities. He received a presidential appointment to serve on the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council
(HSAC) from 2003-2006. McCrory was elected for a seventh term
as mayor in 2007 but announced in late 2008 that he would not seek an eighth term. McCrory continues to give speeches and raise campaign funds on behalf of the North Carolina Republican Party
.
After the 2008 election, McCrory returned to the private sector, becoming a national advocate for the economic benefits of mass transit. Additionally, McCrory is a co-host for WCNC-TV
FlashPoint, a Charlotte-based Sunday morning talk show, and is a frequent guest host for News Talk 1110 WBT (AM)
radio.
, to Rollin "Mac" and Audrey McCrory. His father was an engineer and entrepreneur who once served on the city council
in Worthington, Ohio
. He is the youngest of four children, with two sisters and one brother.
Politics came early in McCrory's life. When his father had to miss a city council meeting, he often dispatched McCrory, then 8 or 9 years old, to sit in the audience and take notes.
When he was nine, he moved with his family to Jamestown, North Carolina
, a suburb of Greensboro
. There, he attended Jamestown Elementary, Millis Road Elementary and Jamestown Junior High.
At the age of 16, he became student body president
at Ragsdale High School
in Greensboro. He graduated in 1974.
While studying to become a teacher, McCrory fell into a very different career. During college, he spent the summers working construction
and reading meters for Duke Energy
, suffering two dog bites. McCrory graduated in 1978 from Catawba College
in Salisbury, North Carolina
, and he received a North Carolina teaching certificate that year. He decided against teaching and instead went to work full-time for Duke Energy. A management training program put him through a rotation of digging ditches and climbing electric poles as well as stints in office jobs. He rose through a variety of recruiting and training jobs to become a senior adviser with Duke Energy's Business and Economic Development Group. He and his wife, Ann Gordon McCrory, married in 1988.
In 2001, McCrory's alma mater, Catawba College, awarded him an honorary doctorate degree. He currently serves as a member of Catawba College's Board of Trustees.
In January 2008, he retired from Duke Energy after 29 years with the company, to run full-time for governor.
In January 2009, McCrory was named a Partner with Charlotte-based McCrory & Company, a sales consulting firm.
In January 2010, McCrory was named a Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Charlotte-based law firm Moore & Van Allen PLLC. According to Moore & Van Allen's January 2010 news release, McCrory will continue to participate as a partner with McCrory & Company.
City Councilman. Public safety was among the priority issues he focused on early in his political career. He was re-elected in 1991 and 1993, and served as Mayor Pro Tem from 1993–1995.
, who ran unsuccessfully for the 1996 Republican gubernatorial nomination. At the age of 39, he was the city's youngest mayor. McCrory was a very popular, affable mayor, despite the fact that he was a Republican in Charlotte, where Democrats and independents outnumber Republicans three to one.
Although the mayor has limited powers in Charlotte's council-manager form of government, McCrory made use of the mayoral bully pulpit
to push his ideas and used the veto
22 times.
In elections from 1995 to 2007, he never won less than 56 percent of the vote, and in 1997 he took 78 percent. In the 2007 mayoral election
, he defeated seven-term Democratic state Rep. Beverly Earle, 61 to 39 percent.
Due to the regional boom in population since 1995, as many as 200,000 residents of Charlotte in 2008 had never known another mayor.
, McCrory made efforts to secure $200 million in federal funds for the city's new Lynx Light Rail system. This plan help expand bus service in Charlotte and brought light rail
to the city. McCrory's biggest achievement as mayor was the light rail line.
In 1997, he lobbied the legislature and Mecklenburg County
voters for a half-cent local sales tax for public transportation.
In recent years, the tax has raised about $70 million annually in revenue, and cost a family earning $57,000 a year about $39.
In 2007, he helped defeat a referendum to repeal the tax, which helped pay for the light-rail line and pay for buses. In the November 2007 election, voters overwhelmingly supported keeping the current transportation plan intact by voting no to an appeal of a half-penny transit tax by a 70% to 30% margin. On Nov. 24, 2007, the Lynx Blue Line went into service along South Boulevard.
Convinced it would be a failure, many conservatives called it the "McCrory Line." Despite the criticism, the light-rail proved to be financially successful, and there are currently 15 stations in the system, which carries an average of 20,000 passengers per day (2009). Future expansion includes plans for light rail, commuter rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit along the five corridors in the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan adopted in 2006 by Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). Build-out of the entire system is presently estimated for completion by 2034. Future extensions are planned to UNC-Charlotte and to the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
.
Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales University
. He was also instrumental in the development of the new Charlotte Arena and the U.S. Whitewater Center. In 2005, Money Magazine listed Charlotte in its Top 3 Best Places to Live and Reader's Digest named it one of the 20 Cleanest Cities in America.
Charlotte's overall quality of life was impacted through McCrory's efforts to establish a Residential Tree Ordinance, which required developers to save 10% of the trees in every residential development, the establishment of a Sidewalk Policy that requires sidewalks in every new subdivision and provides funding for sidewalks in neighborhood without them. He also worked to integrate Bike lanes in the City's transportation policy; establishing 42 miles of bike lanes throughout the city.
on a local level.
The commission report identified many problems, but the members could not agree on needed solutions. As a result of the findings, McCrory demanded action from Congress.
's Faith-based Executive Session.
Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, McCrory has been heavily involved with Homeland Security
efforts. In 2003, President George W. Bush
appointed McCrory to the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council
alongside Mitt Romney
, Sonny Perdue
, and Lee H. Hamilton
.
, and Richmond, Virginia
to be home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame
. The hall, designed by world renowned architecture firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, held its grand opening on May 11, 2010. Former Mayor McCrory, and current Mayor Anthony Foxx
joined Charlotte-area dignitaries and representatives of NASCAR's past and present on a stage outside the Hall for the hour-long opening ceremony.
The Mayor founded the Mayor's Mentoring Alliance in 1995 and has personally served as a Mentor to two youths. In 2005, Charlotte was named in the 100 Best Communities for Youth by America's Promise. His Mayor's Mentoring Alliance has grown to include 40 youth-serving and mentoring organizations, including Time Warner Cable's "Time To Read" program. An additional partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department initiated "Gang of One," an after-school gang-prevention and intervention program that works to keep children from joining gangs or helps lead them away from gang life.
McCrory has been involved in many local charity boards. He served as the honorary chair for the Charlotte chapter of the Alzheimer Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.
poll had McCrory leading both major Democratic candidates, Bev Perdue
and Richard H. Moore
by three points each.
The Raleigh News & Observer reported on January 9, 2008 that McCrory had filed the necessary paperwork with the State Board of Elections to run for Governor. He announced that he was running in his hometown of Jamestown on January 15, 2008.
In the primary election on May 6, 2008, McCrory defeated four opponents, including State Senator Fred Smith
to win the Republican nomination for Governor.
In the general election, Democratic lieutenant governor Bev Perdue
raised $15 million and ran attack ads against McCrory, criticizing him on various issues.
McCrory later referred to these ads as "shameless, inaccurate, and negative".
Despite a "national Democratic tide" and Perdue's fundraising edge, McCrory led Perdue at first; Perdue slowly gained with help from Barack Obama
as the Democratic presidential candidate. Perdue and McCrory remained close, with the two often polling in a statistical tie in what was the closest race for governor in the nation. Perdue ran slightly behind her opponent in polls released the week before the election. Pundits speculated that Perdue was hurt by current Democratic Governor Mike Easley
's decreasing popularity and McCrory's efforts to tag her as part of corruption in Raleigh
-- consultants mentioned Perdue's "difficulty of being the candidate of continuity in a change election."
In October 2008, McCrory received the endorsement of most major newspapers in the state, which typically endorse Democrats. McCrory's candidacy for governor was endorsed by the Raleigh News and Observer, the Charlotte Observer, the Greensboro News & Record
, the Winston-Salem Journal
, the Asheville Citizen-Times
, the Durham Herald-Sun, and the UNC-Chapel Hill Daily Tar Heel.
Perdue won with 2,146,083 (50.27%) votes, while McCrory carried 2,001,114 (46.88%) in what turned out to be the closest gubernatorial election in the United States in 2008.
If he had been elected, McCrory would have been the first mayor of Charlotte to win the state's highest office.
after 29 years of service in early 2008 to run for governor, McCrory decided to return to the private sector. He went on to work for both his brother's consulting firm, and also joined the law firm of Moore Van Allen. McCrory also began to pave the way for a possible 2012
gubernatorial campaign by remaining active in the North Carolina Republican Party
. He has spoken at numerous GOP county and district conventions, dinners, as well as the 2009, 2010 & 2011 State GOP conventions.
On August 5, 2009, McCrory headlined a massive rally in Uptown Charlotte organized to oppose (what would become) the Affordable Care Act -- President Barack Obama
's effort to reform America's private sector health care systems. Organizers said the statewide tour aimed to build opposition to the bill, and to encourage people to share concerns about it with their congressional representatives. In an August 2009 interview with WRAL-TV
in Raleigh, McCrory was asked if he would consider running for governor again, or maybe even running for Senate. He responded: "Yes. Running a state-wide race was a great experience...". He also acknowledged that he'd underestimated the role and impact of Barack Obama's presidential campaign
on his North Carolina governor's race -- particularly, that Mr. Obama's popularity in 2008 may have encouraged straight ticket voting. In the interview, he also criticized his opponent Bev Perdue
whom, he said, "has done an about face
on about everything she promised during our campaign."
In the 2009 Charlotte mayoral election
, McCrory all-but-officially gave his support to long-time friend, and incumbent at-large City Councilman, John Lassiter. However, Lassiter went on to lose the general election for Charlotte mayor that November by a razor-thin margin to fellow at-large Councilman Anthony Foxx
.
In 2010, McCrory penned several editorial
pieces in major North Carolina newspapers, focusing on state issues including North Carolina's Alcohol Beverage Control system, job creation, and energy exploration.
In May 2010, McCrory formally launched "New Leadership PAC", a political action committee
, through a video message that was posted on the organization's web site. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the video sounded like a campaign speech, complete with a request for donations and his 2008 campaign theme: "The difference is leadership." This led to further speculation by the Associated Press
that McCrory was indeed laying the groundwork for a 2012 re-run for governor. A month after his PAC's launch, McCrory addressed the 2010 NCGOP State Convention. His convention speech garnered statewide news attention when he spoke out in favor of Arizona's controversial 2008 immigration law. McCrory argued that illegal immigration has brought gang activity to the state, and was straining the resources of public schools and services.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and businessman. He was the 53rd Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina serving a record seven terms from 1995 to 2009. He is widely seen as a front-runner for the Republican nomination for Governor in the 2012 election
North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2012
The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, U.S. House elections, statewide judicial elections, Council of State elections and various local elections....
.
McCrory was the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for governor of North Carolina
Governor of North Carolina
The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...
in the 2008 general election
North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008
The North Carolina gubernatorial election of 2008 was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House elections, Council of State, and statewide judicial elections...
and was defeated by then-Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
The Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina is the second highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government...
Beverly Perdue.
Both the city of Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
and McCrory gained national prominence during his tenure as mayor. By the 1990's Charlotte emerged as a symbol of the New South
New South
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a phrase that has been used intermittently since the American Civil War to describe the American South, after 1877. The term "New South" is used in contrast to the Old South of the plantation system of the antebellum period.The term has been used...
by becoming a hub of transportation, banking, manufacturing, energy and tourism. McCrory implemented transportation and land use plans that have been seen nationally as templates for other municipalities. He received a presidential appointment to serve on the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council
Homeland Security Advisory Council
The Homeland Security Advisory Council is part of the Executive Office of the President. It was created by an Executive Order on March 19, 2002.-Council Members:* William H. Webster , Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP...
(HSAC) from 2003-2006. McCrory was elected for a seventh term
Charlotte mayoral election, 2007
The biennial Charlotte mayoral election was held on November 6, 2007. Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, was re-elected to a seventh term.-Hot button issues:*Light rail: It is becoming a source of great controversy....
as mayor in 2007 but announced in late 2008 that he would not seek an eighth term. McCrory continues to give speeches and raise campaign funds on behalf of the North Carolina Republican Party
North Carolina Republican Party
The North Carolina Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Robin Hayes was elected Chairman of the party on January 15, 2011, to serve the five months left in the unexpired term of Tom Fetzer....
.
After the 2008 election, McCrory returned to the private sector, becoming a national advocate for the economic benefits of mass transit. Additionally, McCrory is a co-host for WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
FlashPoint, a Charlotte-based Sunday morning talk show, and is a frequent guest host for News Talk 1110 WBT (AM)
WBT (AM)
WBT is a radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, broadcasting on the AM dial at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina. It is owned by Greater...
radio.
Early life, education and business career
McCrory was born on October 17, 1956 in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, to Rollin "Mac" and Audrey McCrory. His father was an engineer and entrepreneur who once served on the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in Worthington, Ohio
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
. He is the youngest of four children, with two sisters and one brother.
Politics came early in McCrory's life. When his father had to miss a city council meeting, he often dispatched McCrory, then 8 or 9 years old, to sit in the audience and take notes.
When he was nine, he moved with his family to Jamestown, North Carolina
Jamestown, North Carolina
Jamestown is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and is a suburb of the nearby cities of Greensboro and High Point. The population was 3,088 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jamestown is located at ....
, a suburb of Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
. There, he attended Jamestown Elementary, Millis Road Elementary and Jamestown Junior High.
At the age of 16, he became student body president
Student body president
The President of the Student Government is the highest ranking officer of a student government or student union association on the high school, college, or university level...
at Ragsdale High School
Ragsdale High School
Lucy Ragsdale High School, commonly known as Ragsdale High, is a public high school in Jamestown, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, Ragsdale is one of 26 high schools in Guilford County Schools...
in Greensboro. He graduated in 1974.
While studying to become a teacher, McCrory fell into a very different career. During college, he spent the summers working construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and reading meters for Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
, suffering two dog bites. McCrory graduated in 1978 from Catawba College
Catawba College
Catawba College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its current home of Salisbury...
in Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...
, and he received a North Carolina teaching certificate that year. He decided against teaching and instead went to work full-time for Duke Energy. A management training program put him through a rotation of digging ditches and climbing electric poles as well as stints in office jobs. He rose through a variety of recruiting and training jobs to become a senior adviser with Duke Energy's Business and Economic Development Group. He and his wife, Ann Gordon McCrory, married in 1988.
In 2001, McCrory's alma mater, Catawba College, awarded him an honorary doctorate degree. He currently serves as a member of Catawba College's Board of Trustees.
In January 2008, he retired from Duke Energy after 29 years with the company, to run full-time for governor.
In January 2009, McCrory was named a Partner with Charlotte-based McCrory & Company, a sales consulting firm.
In January 2010, McCrory was named a Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Charlotte-based law firm Moore & Van Allen PLLC. According to Moore & Van Allen's January 2010 news release, McCrory will continue to participate as a partner with McCrory & Company.
City Council
McCrory began his political career in Charlotte in 1989 when he was elected as an At-LargeAt-Large
At-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
City Councilman. Public safety was among the priority issues he focused on early in his political career. He was re-elected in 1991 and 1993, and served as Mayor Pro Tem from 1993–1995.
Mayoralty
In 1995, he was elected the city's mayor, succeeding Richard VinrootRichard Vinroot
Richard A. Vinroot is a Republican political figure and attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina. He served as the 52nd Mayor of the City of Charlotte from 1991–1995, and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of North Carolina in 1996, 2000, and 2004.-Early life:The son of a Swedish immigrant, Richard...
, who ran unsuccessfully for the 1996 Republican gubernatorial nomination. At the age of 39, he was the city's youngest mayor. McCrory was a very popular, affable mayor, despite the fact that he was a Republican in Charlotte, where Democrats and independents outnumber Republicans three to one.
Although the mayor has limited powers in Charlotte's council-manager form of government, McCrory made use of the mayoral bully pulpit
Bully pulpit
A bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter...
to push his ideas and used the veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
22 times.
In elections from 1995 to 2007, he never won less than 56 percent of the vote, and in 1997 he took 78 percent. In the 2007 mayoral election
Charlotte mayoral election, 2007
The biennial Charlotte mayoral election was held on November 6, 2007. Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, was re-elected to a seventh term.-Hot button issues:*Light rail: It is becoming a source of great controversy....
, he defeated seven-term Democratic state Rep. Beverly Earle, 61 to 39 percent.
Due to the regional boom in population since 1995, as many as 200,000 residents of Charlotte in 2008 had never known another mayor.
Transportation
McCrory helped develop Charlotte's 25-year transportation and land use plan. By working closely with the help of U.S. Senator Jesse HelmsJesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, McCrory made efforts to secure $200 million in federal funds for the city's new Lynx Light Rail system. This plan help expand bus service in Charlotte and brought light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
to the city. McCrory's biggest achievement as mayor was the light rail line.
In 1997, he lobbied the legislature and Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
-Air:The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.- Intercity rail :With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta...
voters for a half-cent local sales tax for public transportation.
In recent years, the tax has raised about $70 million annually in revenue, and cost a family earning $57,000 a year about $39.
In 2007, he helped defeat a referendum to repeal the tax, which helped pay for the light-rail line and pay for buses. In the November 2007 election, voters overwhelmingly supported keeping the current transportation plan intact by voting no to an appeal of a half-penny transit tax by a 70% to 30% margin. On Nov. 24, 2007, the Lynx Blue Line went into service along South Boulevard.
Convinced it would be a failure, many conservatives called it the "McCrory Line." Despite the criticism, the light-rail proved to be financially successful, and there are currently 15 stations in the system, which carries an average of 20,000 passengers per day (2009). Future expansion includes plans for light rail, commuter rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit along the five corridors in the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan adopted in 2006 by Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). Build-out of the entire system is presently estimated for completion by 2034. Future extensions are planned to UNC-Charlotte and to the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...
.
Economy
From 1995-2009 (McCrory's tenure), Charlotte's population grew by 20%, and the population of Uptown Charlotte increased to over 20,000 people. McCrory led the effort to recruit such companies as TIAA-CREF, General DynamicsGeneral Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, is home to JWU's first and largest of four currently operating campuses. Founded as a business school in 1914, by...
. He was also instrumental in the development of the new Charlotte Arena and the U.S. Whitewater Center. In 2005, Money Magazine listed Charlotte in its Top 3 Best Places to Live and Reader's Digest named it one of the 20 Cleanest Cities in America.
Charlotte's overall quality of life was impacted through McCrory's efforts to establish a Residential Tree Ordinance, which required developers to save 10% of the trees in every residential development, the establishment of a Sidewalk Policy that requires sidewalks in every new subdivision and provides funding for sidewalks in neighborhood without them. He also worked to integrate Bike lanes in the City's transportation policy; establishing 42 miles of bike lanes throughout the city.
Mayor's Immigration Study Commission
In 2006 McCrory formed an Immigration task force, the first of its kind. The commission released a report on the impact of legal and illegal immigrationIllegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
on a local level.
The commission report identified many problems, but the members could not agree on needed solutions. As a result of the findings, McCrory demanded action from Congress.
National involvement & Homeland Security
McCrory is involved in many national organizations, including service as: Past-president of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO) organization; chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Committee for Housing and Community Development; the past six-term Chair of the USCM Environmental Committee; and founder and inaugural Chairman of the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition. McCrory was also the only elected official to serve on the national board of the Afterschool Alliance and was a featured Mayor in Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Faith-based Executive Session.
Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, McCrory has been heavily involved with Homeland Security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
efforts. In 2003, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed McCrory to the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council
Homeland Security Advisory Council
The Homeland Security Advisory Council is part of the Executive Office of the President. It was created by an Executive Order on March 19, 2002.-Council Members:* William H. Webster , Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP...
alongside Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
, and Lee H. Hamilton
Lee H. Hamilton
Lee Herbert Hamilton is a former member of the United States House of Representatives and currently a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council. A member of the Democratic Party, Hamilton represented the 9th congressional district of Indiana from 1965 to 1999...
.
NASCAR Hall of Fame
Mayor McCrory spearheaded the effort with local business leaders, local officials and NASCAR teams to bring the Hall to Charlotte. On March 6, 2006 Charlotte beat out Atlanta, Daytona Beach, Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to be home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body. NASCAR committed itself to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte,...
. The hall, designed by world renowned architecture firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, held its grand opening on May 11, 2010. Former Mayor McCrory, and current Mayor Anthony Foxx
Anthony Foxx
Anthony R. Foxx is an American politician. He is the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5% of the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter...
joined Charlotte-area dignitaries and representatives of NASCAR's past and present on a stage outside the Hall for the hour-long opening ceremony.
Awards and local involvement
In 2003, McCrory was the recipient of the national Home-ownership Hero Award recognizing his work in leading Charlotte to have one of the highest home-ownership rates in the country.The Mayor founded the Mayor's Mentoring Alliance in 1995 and has personally served as a Mentor to two youths. In 2005, Charlotte was named in the 100 Best Communities for Youth by America's Promise. His Mayor's Mentoring Alliance has grown to include 40 youth-serving and mentoring organizations, including Time Warner Cable's "Time To Read" program. An additional partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department initiated "Gang of One," an after-school gang-prevention and intervention program that works to keep children from joining gangs or helps lead them away from gang life.
McCrory has been involved in many local charity boards. He served as the honorary chair for the Charlotte chapter of the Alzheimer Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.
2008 gubernatorial campaign
McCrory reportedly commissioned a poll to test the waters for a run for Governor in November 2007, shortly after his seventh mayoral re-election victory, but well after other Republican gubernatorial candidates began campaigning. A 2007 Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
poll had McCrory leading both major Democratic candidates, Bev Perdue
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina....
and Richard H. Moore
Richard H. Moore
Richard Hancock Moore was the North Carolina State Treasurer from 2001–2009. He first elected to that post in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.-Career:...
by three points each.
The Raleigh News & Observer reported on January 9, 2008 that McCrory had filed the necessary paperwork with the State Board of Elections to run for Governor. He announced that he was running in his hometown of Jamestown on January 15, 2008.
In the primary election on May 6, 2008, McCrory defeated four opponents, including State Senator Fred Smith
Fred Smith (politician)
Fred Smith is a North Carolina politician who served in the North Carolina Senate and ran for Governor of North Carolina in 2008.-Early life and education:...
to win the Republican nomination for Governor.
In the general election, Democratic lieutenant governor Bev Perdue
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina....
raised $15 million and ran attack ads against McCrory, criticizing him on various issues.
McCrory later referred to these ads as "shameless, inaccurate, and negative".
Despite a "national Democratic tide" and Perdue's fundraising edge, McCrory led Perdue at first; Perdue slowly gained with help from Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as the Democratic presidential candidate. Perdue and McCrory remained close, with the two often polling in a statistical tie in what was the closest race for governor in the nation. Perdue ran slightly behind her opponent in polls released the week before the election. Pundits speculated that Perdue was hurt by current Democratic Governor Mike Easley
Mike Easley
Michael Francis "Mike" Easley is an American politician who served as the 72nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2009. He is member of the North Carolina Democratic Party and became the first North Carolina governor to admit to a felony in a deal that halted a lengthy...
's decreasing popularity and McCrory's efforts to tag her as part of corruption in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
-- consultants mentioned Perdue's "difficulty of being the candidate of continuity in a change election."
In October 2008, McCrory received the endorsement of most major newspapers in the state, which typically endorse Democrats. McCrory's candidacy for governor was endorsed by the Raleigh News and Observer, the Charlotte Observer, the Greensboro News & Record
Greensboro News & Record
The News & Record is the largest newspaper serving Guilford County and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, NC, and produces local sections for Greensboro and Rockingham County, NC. As of April, 2011, it had an average weekday circulation of 60,993 and an average Sunday circulation...
, the Winston-Salem Journal
Winston-Salem Journal
The Winston-Salem Journal is a daily newspaper primarily serving the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and its county, Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also features coverage of Northwestern North Carolina and circulates as far west as Tennessee and north to Virginia.The paper is owned by...
, the Asheville Citizen-Times
Asheville Citizen-Times
The Asheville Citizen-Times is the major daily newspaper of Asheville, North Carolina. It was formed in 1991 as a result of a merger of the morning Asheville Citizen and the afternoon Asheville Times. It is owned by Gannett.-History:...
, the Durham Herald-Sun, and the UNC-Chapel Hill Daily Tar Heel.
Perdue won with 2,146,083 (50.27%) votes, while McCrory carried 2,001,114 (46.88%) in what turned out to be the closest gubernatorial election in the United States in 2008.
If he had been elected, McCrory would have been the first mayor of Charlotte to win the state's highest office.
Subsequent activities
Following the gubernatorial election, McCrory announced that he would not seek a record eighth term as Charlotte Mayor in 2009. Having retired from Duke EnergyDuke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
after 29 years of service in early 2008 to run for governor, McCrory decided to return to the private sector. He went on to work for both his brother's consulting firm, and also joined the law firm of Moore Van Allen. McCrory also began to pave the way for a possible 2012
North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2012
The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, U.S. House elections, statewide judicial elections, Council of State elections and various local elections....
gubernatorial campaign by remaining active in the North Carolina Republican Party
North Carolina Republican Party
The North Carolina Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Robin Hayes was elected Chairman of the party on January 15, 2011, to serve the five months left in the unexpired term of Tom Fetzer....
. He has spoken at numerous GOP county and district conventions, dinners, as well as the 2009, 2010 & 2011 State GOP conventions.
On August 5, 2009, McCrory headlined a massive rally in Uptown Charlotte organized to oppose (what would become) the Affordable Care Act -- President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's effort to reform America's private sector health care systems. Organizers said the statewide tour aimed to build opposition to the bill, and to encourage people to share concerns about it with their congressional representatives. In an August 2009 interview with WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle...
in Raleigh, McCrory was asked if he would consider running for governor again, or maybe even running for Senate. He responded: "Yes. Running a state-wide race was a great experience...". He also acknowledged that he'd underestimated the role and impact of Barack Obama's presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
on his North Carolina governor's race -- particularly, that Mr. Obama's popularity in 2008 may have encouraged straight ticket voting. In the interview, he also criticized his opponent Bev Perdue
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina....
whom, he said, "has done an about face
Flip-flop (politics)
A "flip-flop" , U-turn , or backflip is a sudden real or apparent change of policy or opinion by a public official, sometimes while trying to claim that both positions are consistent with each other...
on about everything she promised during our campaign."
In the 2009 Charlotte mayoral election
Charlotte mayoral election, 2009
The biennial Charlotte mayoral election was held on November 3, 2009. The seat was open due to the decision by Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, not to seek re-election...
, McCrory all-but-officially gave his support to long-time friend, and incumbent at-large City Councilman, John Lassiter. However, Lassiter went on to lose the general election for Charlotte mayor that November by a razor-thin margin to fellow at-large Councilman Anthony Foxx
Anthony Foxx
Anthony R. Foxx is an American politician. He is the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5% of the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter...
.
In 2010, McCrory penned several editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
pieces in major North Carolina newspapers, focusing on state issues including North Carolina's Alcohol Beverage Control system, job creation, and energy exploration.
In May 2010, McCrory formally launched "New Leadership PAC", a political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
, through a video message that was posted on the organization's web site. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the video sounded like a campaign speech, complete with a request for donations and his 2008 campaign theme: "The difference is leadership." This led to further speculation by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that McCrory was indeed laying the groundwork for a 2012 re-run for governor. A month after his PAC's launch, McCrory addressed the 2010 NCGOP State Convention. His convention speech garnered statewide news attention when he spoke out in favor of Arizona's controversial 2008 immigration law. McCrory argued that illegal immigration has brought gang activity to the state, and was straining the resources of public schools and services.