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Anthony Foxx and Sarah Palin
Ben Smith passes on a column by the Charlotte Observer's Mary Newsom on Charlotte's new Democratic mayor, Anthony Foxx:
Amid the bloviation-fest following Tuesday's election, Charlotte's mayoral election seems to have kept on flying under the national political radar. Odd.
Think about it: A young African-American Democrat, raised by a single mom and his grandparents, now a successful lawyer, aims for a seat that's been Republicans for years. He mobilizes young and African-American voters and wins in a strong showing. Sound familiar?
[...]
Democrat Anthony Foxx's win over Republican John Lassiter is not an insignificant anthill on the political landscape. The largest city in the nation's 10th largest state elected its first Democratic mayor in 22 years, an African-American in a majority-white Southern city, a progressive mass transit supporter and an environmentalist.
Charlotte is America's 18th-largest city, with a population of 687,456 in 2008. That means that Foxx now governs slightly more people than Sarah Palin, onetime candidate for vice president, did as governor of the state of Alaska. Charlotte has more people than Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Wyoming. If you take the population of the entire Charlotte metropolitan area, the contrast is even more striking. With around 1.7 million people, the Charlotte metro area has a population larger than 11 states and the District of Columbia. Each of those 11 states has two Senators. The political structure of this country is truly bizarre.
Yup, and the little I know
Yup, and the little I know about Charlotte area business, they are moving forward with the times, using excess electrical energy left over from abandoned textile mills to power data farms, and also trying to keep their banking industry alive and well and growing.
Maybe Alaska without Palin is doing this, too, I don't know. Maybe Alaska is looking to the future and adapting as best they can. I hope so. Because none of us has a choice anyway - the future will come upon us. Because Alaska is part of the US I want the best for them as I do for everyone.
Tripp
What's the difference?
Not even the Charlotte Observer could find a discernible difference between the policies of John Lassiter and Anthony Foxx. People in Charlotte really could care less who was elected because the position of Mayor of Charlotte is simply a figurehead without a whole lot of power...hell, it doesn't even come with a salary. Anthony Foxx will be a terrific mayor...as would have John Lassiter. I should know...i live in Charlotte. I voted for Lassiter...and I could honestly care less that he lost. Both candidates have a plate full of issues that will far outweigh any political leanings. Keep Bank of America headquartered here. Help provide incentives for alternative energy companies to have headquarters and regional locations here.
And the seat that "has been Republican for years"....that was Pat McCrory, won election 6 times over 14 years...mostly uncontested because the city was heading in a great direction.
It still is.
And I can assure you that as governor, Sarah Palin had a heck of a lot more big decisions and responsibilities than any mayor of Charlotte, NC ever will.
Of course, Joe Biden was Senator for far less people than live in Alaska...and no one discounted his abilities...so we need to stop determining effectiveness of leadership by how many people are being led and focus on the number of responsibilities and the scope of the position.
Mayor of any city...NYC and LA aside...will never be as big of a position as a governor or a Senator.
One might also argue that
One might also argue that '[the number of] people being led' should equal 'the number of responsibility and the scope of the position.'
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