July 1, 2025

The public debate over whether residents should approve an additional penny on the sales tax began in earnest this morning. It will peak in the days before the likely November referendum on the question – and then go on for years to come, as happened when the first local additional sales tax for transit was approved in 1998.

Leading the discussion was Anthony Foxx, Charlotte’s mayor from 2009-2013 and as U.S. Secretary of Transportation 2013-2017. Adding much local information about transportation work already under way was Mayor Pro Tem Danté Anderson.

Foxx’s insights on the national transportation context deepened the discussion. He repeatedly referred to the uncertain future of all federal spending on social service as well as transportation programs.

But Foxx’s primary argument to his largely African-American audience was to see the referendum not just for today or tomorrow, but as a test of what kind of city voters want to live in, decades from now. While the slices of the video below may not play often between now and November, the messages they carry, both the supportive comments from current and former officeholders, and skeptical questions raised by members of the audience, may well shape the contours of the public conversation. For the record, Foxx said, “I am a Yes,” and will vote to approve the referendum.

House Bill 948 as approved was signed by Gov. Stein as the Forum was meeting. The primary sponsor was Mecklenburg Republican Tricia Cotham. Co-sponsors were Mecklenburg Democrats Mary Belk, Laura Budd, Becky Carney, Carla Cunningham, Aisha Dew, Julia Greenfield, Beth Helfrich, Jordan Lopez and Nasif Majeed; and Greensboro Democrat Pricey Harrison.

A report on the two-hour Forum in Axios Charlotte is here. Amanda Harry’s report in QCityMetro is here.