McElrath splits time between homes in two districts

District 2 school board member Richard McElrath said Thursday he moved out of his longtime home in that district during a period of family turmoil but has been spending nights there for the last couple of months,  since he decided to run for re-election.

McElrath

In a phone interview from his home on Lake Norman outside Huntersville,  McElrath said he still likes to spend days at that house, which is in District 1.  He keeps his dogs there and enjoys the quiet,  he said:  "I work better here."

But McElrath said he and his wife are now living in the District 2 house off Beatties Ford Road,  where he's registered to vote.

That qualifies him to continue representing District 2,  which covers west and southwest Charlotte,  says Mecklenburg County elections director Michael Dickerson  (see a map of school district zones here).  "Residency is where they plan to return when they leave,"  Dickerson said.  McElrath's situation  "sounds fine to me,"  he said.

Don Wright, general counsel for the N.C. Board of Elections, agrees  (read a 12-page report on N.C. voter residency requirements here).

McElrath's District 1 house

McElrath said he and his wife were among the original residents of the Garden Park subdivision in west Charlotte.  Mecklenburg County property tax records show the couple own that house,  a four-bedroom home built in 1968,  and a two-bedroom home outside Huntersville,  purchased in 2007 for $430,000.

When McElrath ran for school board in 2009, there were rumblings about his having a house outside the district.  McElrath said at the time he was fixing up the lake house as a weekend place.  No one has ever filed a challenge to McElrath's District 2 residency,  Dickerson said.

I visited both homes this week and asked McElrath about his living arrangements as part of the backgrounding we do on candidates for public office.  I found no one home at either location,  but saw McElrath campaign signs stashed outside  and two dogs in a fenced enclosure at the District 1 house.

Campaign signs at lake house

McElrath, who filed for re-election on the last possible day, said he was wavering as he tried to resolve a difficult family situation.  He said his daughter and granddaughter moved in with him and his wife at the Garden Park home,  but conflict with his daughter led him and his wife to move into the lake house.  McElrath said they eventually asked their daughter to move out.  "Now we're back in it,"  he said of the District 2 home.  "We've been there every day for the last couple of months."

Residency questions aren't uncommon in local races.  Charlotte City Councilman James Mitchell,  who was defeated in the Sept. 11 Democratic mayoral primary,  told the Observer shortly before the primary that he had moved out of the home in District 2,  which he represents,  and into a new house in the city's District 4.  No one has formally challenged his eligibility to serve out his District 2 term.

In 2003,  Vilma Leake faced a challenge from County Commissioner Bill James and other residents about her eligibility to represent District 2 on the school board.  Leake,  who is now the county commissioner for District 2,  owned a home in District 6 and rented an apartment in District 2 at the time. The Mecklenburg Board of Elections held a hearing and ruled in Leake's favor.

Byers-Bailey

Dickerson said McElrath's arrangements are unlikely to create problems:  "There are plenty of people I know who have a vacation home on Lake Norman and live here in Charlotte."

McElrath will face Thelma Byers-Bailey,  a first-time candidate and resident of Charlotte's Lincoln Heights neighborhood,  in the Nov. 5 election.

Little money in school board race so far

Eric Davis,  who's seeking re-election as the District 5 representative to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board,  has the fund-raising lead by a long shot in the early financial reports that were due Friday.  As of June 30,  Davis reported he had raised just under $7,700,  including $500 from former N.C. Board of Education Chairman Howard Haworth;  $500 from John Belk,  president of Belk Inc.;  $250 from current state Board of Education member John Tate;  and $500 each from Anna Nelson of the C.D. Spangler Foundation,  co-chair of Project LIFT,  and her husband Tom Nelson.

Davis

Davis'  mid-year tally falls far short of the $27,767 he had at the same point in 2009,  as he was gearing up his first political campaign.  He said Tuesday he now has $15,000 lined up.  "I intend to run as vigorous and successful a campaign as I did in 2009,"  he said.

But it's definitely a different scenario this time,  with five of six incumbents seeking re-election.  Four years ago five of six elected incumbents had either decided not to run or resigned to become county commissioners,  clearing the way for a five-member majority of newcomers to be elected.

Byers-Bailey

Thelma Byers-Bailey,  seeking the D2 seat,  is the only other candidate who filed a report disclosing fund-raising before June 30.  She reports having $2,755 as of that date,  including $675 from herself and smaller contributions from a number of donors.

Davis' D5 challenger,  Edward Donaldson,  is one of two candidates who filed statements saying they don't intend to raise or spend more than $1,000,  which frees them from having to file additional reports. The other is Doug Wrona,  one of three D6 candidates.

None of the other incumbents  --  Rhonda Lennon in D1,  Richard McElrath in D2, unchallenged Joyce Waddell in D3 and Tom Tate in D4 -- has filed a midyear finance report,  an indicator that they hadn't started their fund-raising by June 30.  McElrath and Tate haven't even filed organization papers to create a campaign committee.

Likewise,  candidates Queen Elizabeth Thompson in D4 and Bolyn McClung in D6 have yet to file organizing reports.  Paul Bailey,  the third D6 candidate,  reports giving his campaign a $500 start-up loan.  Christine Mast in D1 reports having $160,  including $100 from herself.

Longtime Elections Director Michael Dickerson says it's not unusual to see a slow start to school board campaigns.  The nonpartisan race has no primary before the Nov. 5 election,  and tends to be overshadowed by city races until the Sept. 10 primary is over.

Two newcomers in CMS board race

Byers-Bailey

Thelma Byers-Bailey filed for the District 2 seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board today, bringing the total to four incumbents and two newcomers.  It's only Day 2 of filing,  which runs through July 19.

Byers-Bailey,  a lawyer,  CMS grandparent and daughter of the educator whose name graces Walter G. Byers School,  is the first candidate to file for the westside District 2 seat.  Incumbent Richard McElrath hasn't said whether he'll seek a second term.

Bailey

Paul Bailey, mayor pro tem of Matthews,  filed Friday to run for the south suburban District 6 seat.  Amelia Stinson-Wesley, appointed to that seat two years ago when Tim Morgan won an at-large seat,  also hasn't revealed her plans.  Like Morgan,  Bailey is active in Boy Scouts.  He has spent 16 years on the Matthews Town Council  (he doesn't have a campaign web site yet,  but his bio is on the town site).

As expected,  the incumbents have filed for re-election in the other four districts:  Rhonda Lennon in District 1, Joyce Waddell in District 3,  Tom Tate in District 4 and Eric Davis in District 5.  Keep up with filings at the Mecklenburg Board of Elections web site.  See a map of voting districts here.