Aug. 19, 2025

The late Sarah Stevenson had a favorite admonition. Sometimes, it would be delivered amid joy, sometimes amid disappointment. She knew, of course, that people disagree, sometimes heatedly. But she was a person of deep faith. She had also engaged hundreds of people as she mediated community differences during her 97 years. Mrs. Stevenson would say to Forum participants that, for the community to improve, people must learn to love one another.

This morning’s Forum might well have left Sarah Stevenson very disappointed.

Prospective voters in District 4 can learn much by listening carefully to this candidate forum involving Democratic primary contenders Renee´ Perkins Johnson and Wil Russell. No Republican contender filed for the November general election. Voters in the rest of Charlotte could get better acquainted with the incumbent, Johnson, and the challenger, Russell – for one of them will likely serve two years on Charlotte City Council.

One journalist’s assessment of the candidates’ back-and-forth this morning is in the Charlotte Observer here.