CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new Charlotte City Council was sworn in Monday, with a loaded agenda ahead of them.
There is one newcomer to the council: Tiawana Brown.
Brown won the District 3 seat, replacing Victoria Watlington, who will now serve in an at-large position on the council.
Watlington was hoping to become the next mayor pro tem, however, the council elected District 1 representative Dante Anderson instead.
Plus, the council said goodbye to former mayor pro tem Braxton Winston. Winston is aiming to be North Carolina’s next Commissioner of Labor in the 2024 election.
"I will miss the work of council but my service to Charlotte and our state is only beginning," Winston said Monday.
The city council is expecting to tackle some ongoing issues in Charlotte.
"Maybe violent crimes are slightly down in some cases but still unacceptable," Councilman Tariq Bokhari recently said on WCNC Charlotte's Flashpoint.
Bokhari, who retained his seat by roughly 300 votes, said he wants to focus on minimizing crime in Charlotte.
"These property crimes and all these other items are substantially up and they touch far more lives than anything else,” Bokhari said.
Police have reported that compared to last year, crime in 2023 is up 11%, property crime is up 14%, and auto thefts are up 125%.
It's an issue that Greg Jackson with the nonprofit Heal Charlotte has worked to address for years. He said he hopes the city council focuses on the root of the issue as the city deals with rising levels of crime.
“More focus on our intergovernmental committees," Jackson said. "I think the city council and the county can work together a lot more to bring a lot more wrap-around services, combine budgets.”
The housing crisis continues to be a big topic among city leaders as well.
Watlington said on WCNC Charlotte's Flashpoint that she wants to continue working to make housing affordable and accessible.
“Really advocating for preserving the core neighborhoods within our corridors of opportunity, and making sure that anti-displacement was a part of our 2040 goals," Watlington said.
Jessica Moreno with Action NC said she appreciates the work the council has done, but the city is far from finished.
City data has previously shown that 32,000 units are needed to address the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte.
Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday night she hopes to make significant progress on Charlotte's regional mobility plan as well. "In terms of Red Line, the negotiations and ability to acquire that line will give us the momentum that’s necessary to talk about how we grow," Lyles said.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.