Former Charlotte mayor: Work as region or lose to us

By: Staff Reports | Times-Dispatch
Published: November 20, 2008

The former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., minced no words today about why the local governments of the Richmond area need to work together.

If they don’t, he said, Richmond will lose the battle for jobs, investment — even college sporting events — to competitors such as Charlotte.

“We are competing with you for things that are good for our community,” Richard Vinroot said today at a breakfast meeting of Hope in the Cities at the Richmond Marriott Hotel.

Regions that aren’t unified compete at a disadvantage with Charlotte, he said. “That is not a mistake we are going to make — we have bought in on the regional concept.”

First elected in 1991, Vinroot helped bring about the renaissance of Charlotte by insisting on regional cooperation with the localities around the city, including those in neighboring South Carolina.

He said he was inspired by Andrew Young, a civil rights leader who was then stepping down as mayor of Atlanta. “He said, ‘Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are mayor of Charlotte, when what you really are is mayor in a region that will sink or swim together.’"

Vinroot received a standing ovation from an estimated 600 people at the breakfast meeting, which was followed by a community dialogue and panel discussion focused on trust among regional leaders and residents.

“Relationships are fundamental for doing anything good in your community,” he said.

Vinroot served three terms as Charlotte’s mayor, as well as three terms on its City Council.

After today’s meeting, he defended Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Chief Rodney Monroe, who has come under fire for a degree he received improperly from Virginia Commonwealth University last year while serving as police chief in Richmond.

Investigations by VCU and a state watchdog agency concluded that he did not fulfill all university requirements for the degree through no fault of his own. "I don’t blame him one bit,” Vinroot said.

Vinroot said Monroe has done a good job since becoming Charlotte police chief in June. “I regret that the controversy has distracted our community,” he said. “We like him, too.”

— Michael Martz