Anthony Foxx

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Anthony Foxx
54th Mayor of Charlotte
Incumbent
Assumed office
2009
Preceded by Pat McCrory
Member of the Charlotte City Council At Large
In office
2005–2009
Personal details
Born April 30, 1971 (1971-04-30) (age 40)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Samara (née Ryder)
Residence Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater Davidson College
New York University
Profession Attorney

Anthony R. Foxx (born April 30, 1971) 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% [1] of the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter. He won a second term on November 8, 2011, winning more than two-thirds of the vote against Republican Scott Stone. [2] He is a member of the Democratic Party.[3]

Originally elected at the age of 38, Foxx is the youngest mayor of Charlotte,[4][5] and is the first Democrat to hold the office since Harvey Gantt left office in 1987.[6] He is Charlotte's second African American mayor, as well as its first newly-elected mayor since 1995, when Pat McCrory began the first of his record seven terms in office.

Contents

Early life

Foxx was born on April 30, 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina.[7] He was raised by his mother, Laura Foxx, and his grandparents, James and Mary Foxx,[8] and graduated from West Charlotte High School.[3][9] He graduated from Davidson College, where he was the first African American student body president,[10] with a degree in history in 1993[11] and earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1996.[9][11]

Career

After law school, Foxx returned to Charlotte to work for a short time at the Smith, Helms, Mullis, and Moore law firm, and left to become a clerk for Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Later he worked for the United States Department of Justice and the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.[9] In 2004, he was the campaign manager for Representative Mel Watt.[10]

In 2001, he returned to Charlotte to work as a business litigator for Hunton & Williams.[9] While a member of the city council, he retained his position as a litigator at Hunton & Williams, switching to part-time status.[12] In 2009, he left Hunton & Williams to join DesignLine Corporation, a hybrid electric bus manufacturer, as its Deputy General.

Political career

Foxx was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005 to an at-large seat, and was re-elected in 2007. He won election as Charlotte's mayor in 2009. Early in his political career, Foxx gained a reputation as a quick study of local policy and led a number of City Council initiatives, including the development of policies to enhance job creation into the urban core of Charlotte, environmental efforts that led to a single stream recycling program and greenhouse gas reduction policies and acceleration of the region's transit plan. Foxx has also shown a strong penchent for personal responsibility, refusing a City Council pay increase in 2008.

Beginning his tenure as mayor while facing a nearly 13% area unemployment rate, Foxx has announced the creation of more than 4,000 new jobs, has worked to reinforce Charlotte's role as a critical energy industry hub, hosted a series of town hall meetings with unemployed workers, pushed for changes to the city's small business loan program to create new jobs, saw the completion of a new runway at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and led a delegation of Charlotte business leaders to meet with senior White House officials to press for several economic recovery spending measures. Three weeks later, President Barack Obama traveled to Charlotte to visit the new Duke Energy Headquarters and to highlight the first positive monthly job growth figures in 18 months.

Personal life

Foxx is married to the former Samara Ryder,[10][13] also an attorney; they have two children.[13]

References

  1. ^ State Board of Elections - Nov. 3 Mecklenburg election results
  2. ^ http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/Mecklenburg/33095/49871/en/summary.html
  3. ^ a b Morrill, Jim; Lyttle, Steve (2009-11-03). "Foxx elected Charlotte's mayor". Charlotte Observer. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/1035240.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03. [dead link]
  4. ^ Spanberg, Erik (2009-11-06). "Pat McCrory: Seven terms and not (quite) done yet". Charlotte Business Journal. http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/11/09/story4.html. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 
  5. ^ "Charlotte Mayor-Elect Anthony Foxx Sits Down For Exclusive Interview With Channel 9". WSOC-TV. 2009-11-05. http://www.wsoctv.com/politics/21528474/detail.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
  6. ^ Morrill, Jim (2008-10-28). "Anthony Foxx Announces He's Candidate for Mayor - The Democrat and Charlotte City Council Member is First to Declare in 2009 Race". Charlotte Observer. 
  7. ^ http://blackpoliticalbuzz.blogspot.com/2009/10/charlottes-next-mayor-experienced-small.html
  8. ^ "Where Politics is a Family Affair". The Charlotte Observer. 2007-02-06. p. 1B. 
  9. ^ a b c d Harrison, Steve (2009-10-18). "Anthony Foxx, Democrat - Describes Himself as Mediator, Ready to Speak Out on Issues". Charlotte Observer. p. 1A. 
  10. ^ a b c Rubin, Richard (2005-09-29). "Grandfather's Lessons Pay Off for City Council Contender - Grandson of Stalwart of Democratic Party Leads Primary At-Large Ticket". The Charlotte Observer. p. 1B. 
  11. ^ a b "Hunton & Williams | Bios | Anthony R. Foxx". Hunton & Williams. http://www.hunton.com/bios/bio.aspx?id=15769&tab=0013. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
  12. ^ Valle, Kirsten (2009-11-06). "Foxx's mayor role raises firm's profile". The Charlotte Observer. p. 10A. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/1040040.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
  13. ^ a b "Anthony Foxx for Charlotte Mayor". http://www.anthonyfoxx.com/learn/meetanthony/. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Pat McCrory (R)
Mayor of Charlotte
2009 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent

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