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Kamala Harris | Mary C. Curtis

Local News Roundup: Harris campaigns in Charlotte; Additional funds for Eastland Yards; Former NC Rep. Kelly Alexander dies

Charlotte City Council approves an additional $11 million in funding for the Eastland Yards project. We discuss what this means and get reaction from local residents and officials.

Fresh off her debate with former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is in North Carolina including a stop in Charlotte. This comes after Trump was in the Queen City last week.

We remember the life and career of former Charlotte-area state Rep. Kelly Alexander, who died last Friday at the age of 75.

And it’s been 23 years since 9/11, we hear remembrances from emergency responders and learn how they’re keeping the memory of that day alive with future generations.

We dive into those stories and more on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Ryan Pitkin, cofounder and editor of Queen City Nerve
Ely Portillo, senior editor at WFAE News
Ben Thompson, morning and midday anchor at WCNC Charlotte and host of WCNC’s “Flashpoint”

Local News Roundup: CMS vacancies as first day approaches; frustration over transit planning; Cooper to speak at DNC; Trump and Vance in NC

We’re just days from the start of classes for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, and the system still has hundreds of teacher vacancies. How does CMS plan to address them?

Matthews Mayor John Higdon is still voicing his frustration with the $25 billion mobility plan for the Charlotte region and its plan to provide Matthews with bus rapid-transit service. This comes in the same week that Cornelius commissioners voted to support the new transit sales tax. We’ll bring you up to date.

This week, Democrats from all over the country gathered in Chicago for the DNC, including many representatives from North Carolina. Gov. Cooper was among them. We’ll hear what role he played in support of the Harris/Walz ticket.

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were in Asheboro this week for Trump’s first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt earlier this summer.

And, Charlotte’s newest professional sports team sells out its home opener.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into these stories, and more, on the Charlotte Talks’ local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time.” Curtis is also a contributor to a new book “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Ely Portillo, executive editor at WFAE News

Looking to the future, with a nod to history at the DNC

It is fitting that President Joe Biden was the opening night star at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He is the party’s past and present; and the policies he touted in his presidency, the appointments he has made, have shaped the future of the country.

The man from Delaware got his moment in the sun after offering a path to his vice president, Kamala Harris, putting his stamp on the 2024 ticket after outsmarting pundits and poohbahs. Those fantasizing about mini-primaries and an open convention while publicly and not so gently nudging Biden’s exit, stage right, got it wrong, underestimating Scranton Joe and not for the first time.

The president got his chance to place front and center the accomplishments of his administration, which are plenty. He must have smiled when Republican nominee Donald Trump recently tried to steal the spotlight by taking credit for a Biden administration cap on insulin prices. So, he set his record straight.

Purple Ballot: NC perspectives on the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is underway in Chicago this week.

In the latest edition of our Purple Ballot series, co-host Jeff Tiberii sits down with a panel of reporters and political analysts to discuss the Democratic Party’s platform, key issues, and campaign strategies leading up to the election.

We’ll also follow the North Carolinians on tap to speak at this week’s convention, including Governor Roy Cooper.

Guests

Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC

Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Rollcall.com and host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”

Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst, John Locke Foundation

Abby Vesoulis, reporter, Mother Jones

Kamala Harris is the likely Democratic nominee —what does this mean for Black voters?

On the next Charlotte Talks, we discuss the sea-change in enthusiasm among Democrats since President Joe Biden announced his decision not to run.

The ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket has been remarkable in the speed with which the party threw its support to her. But what impact has this had on a key Democratic constituency — Black voters?

Polls in recent months showed that Biden was losing support among Black voters, leaving Democrats worried. Would Democrats lose Black voters to third candidates or Donald Trump?

But Harris may be the key to keeping the support of Black voters with the Democratic Party.

We’ll hear from a panel of Black voters to learn about their thoughts and perspectives on a Harris presidential ticket, and what it means for women and people of color.

GUESTS:

Bakari Sellers, former S.C. lawmaker, attorney and author
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Christine Edwards, founder and principal consultant of Civility Localized

The DEI Smear Against Kamala Harris: New candidate, same old playbook.

Calling Kamala Harris a “DEI hire” is both sexist and racist, and despite the GOP leadership’s pleading, it has quickly emerged as a favored line of attack from the right.

Guest: Dr. Brittney Cooper, professor of gender studies and Africana studies at Rutgers University

Local News Roundup: VP Harris visits Charlotte; Not enough NC school vouchers; Centene’s HQ gets a new owner

Vice President Kamala Harris visits Charlotte. We’ll have a wrap-up of her visit.

Good news (or bad news) in school vouchers: 13,500 students are granted North Carolina opportunity scholarships, but it’s not even close to the number of students who have applied. We look at the numbers.

On Monday night, City Council member Renee Johnson offered up an alternative way to pay for public transit plans (spoiler alert — she got the idea from Asheville).

CATS will hold Public Meetings about the Red Line Commuter Rail this month in Northern Mecklenburg and Iredell County, and a virtual meeting will take place next week. We’ll hear more.

The defunct Centene headquarters building in University City gets new life this week as Vanguard announces it will buy the building. We’ll give the details.

The Charlotte Knights begin their season with a six game home stretch against the Norfolk Tide.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says he’s got enough votes to be on North Carolina’s ballot in November. If he’s validated in NC, how will this impact the vote here?

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and more, on the Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup.

GUESTS:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter and host of “The Political Beat”
Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter
Alexandria Sands, reporter with Axios Charlotte

Local News Roundup: Triplexes up for discussion again at City Council; Hornets practice facility approved; Pineville’s controversial substation vote; March Madness in the Carolinas

At City Council Monday night, the city proposed a modification to development rules that would limit triplexes in residential areas to corner lots only. How does this depart from what was laid out in Charlotte’s 2040 plan?

City Council also voted 7-1 this week to move forward with plans for a stand-alone practice facility for the Charlotte Hornets. We’ll remind you of how this changed from the original plan, and fill you in on what will happen next.

Both the President and the Vice President were in North Carolina this week to talk about affordable healthcare. This already made multiple visits to the Tar Heel state for President Biden and Vice President Harris, which will undoubtedly be a major battleground state in this November’s election.

In Pineville, the town council approved a controversial substation this week, but it was a tight vote. We’ll talk about the very short special meeting that ended in a 3-2 vote. The leaders say the substation is crucial to keeping up with the growing demand for utilities. We’ll discuss.

The NCDOT gets positive feedback for its updated plan for a new Amtrak rail yard in South End. We’ll explain.

And March Madness continues for teams in North and South Carolina. We’ll break it down.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and more, on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Nick Ochsner, WBTV’s executive producer for Investigations & chief investigative reporter
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Ely Portillo, senior editor at WFAE News

Justice for Black voters? Or rap songs and sneakers?

Vice President Kamala Harris marked the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala., this past Sunday, joining in a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, re-creating the steps of the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and other leaders and citizens demanding the vote.

On March 7, 1965, that group was stopped by violence meted out by law enforcement, but their well-publicized bravery surely shamed the country and Congress into passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson that August.

Why then, did the vice president’s message speak so much of work to be done? As she said: “Today, in states across our nation, extremists pass laws to ban drop boxes, limit early voting, and restrict absentee ballots. … Across our nation, extremists attack the integrity of free and fair elections, causing a rise of threats and violence against poll workers.”

Since 1965, provisions of the Voting Rights Act have been chipped away, with a majority-Republican-appointed Supreme Court declaring racial discrimination over in the 2013 Shelby case, and GOP-majority states anxious to prove them wrong, falling over themselves to gerrymander and enact restrictive laws.

A recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that the racial turnout gap — the difference in the turnout rate between white and nonwhite voters — has consistently grown since 2012 and “is growing most quickly in parts of the country that were previously covered under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” which forced jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to “preclear” changes in voting policy with the courts or Justice Department.

In Alabama, it took lawsuits to gain an additional U.S. House district, in time for this week’s primary, and one that would give Black voters a fighting chance. This is in a state where African Americans make up 27 percent of the electorate but where just one majority-Black district is currently represented by Rep. Terri A. Sewell, a Black Democrat, in a seven-member delegation.

Sewell was with Harris on Sunday, though she didn’t have much company from Republican House colleagues. In the past, Democratic and Republican members of Congress put aside differences to honor the moral rightness of the marchers’ cause and walk side by side.

Not today.

All this doesn’t mean politicians of every affiliation don’t crave the support of minority voters. With reports and polling on the number of Black and Hispanic voters who seem to be turning away from President Joe Biden and giving former President Donald Trump, Republicans and third parties a second look, the race is on for any constituent who may make the difference in November.

But instead of courting minority voters with policies that would, say, grace them with a sip of water or a snack while waiting in long voting lines (looking at you, Georgia) or stopping poll observers from peeking over shoulders to catch nonexistent skullduggery (part of new rules in North Carolina), some are taking a different approach.

Why not roll out the “bling,” including incredibly tacky, $399 high-top golden sneakers?

Kamala Harris and President Biden Haven’t Discussed Re-Election

#KamalaHarris gave a recent interview to the #WallStreetJournal and discussed a number of things from immigration to reelection. Laverne McGee, Sisters Lead Sisters Vote President Holli Holliday and Mary C. Curtis break down some of her responses and more, on #PRIME.