In the Charlotte mayor's race, city councilman David Howard finished a close third in the Democratic primary, missing a runoff by just a few hundred votes. Now, Howard is endorsing the second-place finisher, current Mayor Dan Clodfelter.
Howard said Monday he had candid conversations with first-place finisher Jennifer Roberts and Clodfelter before making his decision.
"His knowledge and ideas more closely align with my vision for turning our colleges and universities into research and development facilities and my belief that we need a world-class transportation system to become a truly international city," Howard says.
Howard has been a big proponent of the new streetcar, which Clodfelter and Roberts both support. Beyond that, Howard noted his west Charlotte roots and said Clodfelter has "real, achievable plans" to bring jobs to every part of the city.
Early voting in the Democratic runoff continues today through Saturday. Clodfelter and Roberts will be part of a debate on WFAE's Charlotte Talks on Wednesday.
The eventual Democratic nominee will face Republican candidate Edwin Peacock in the general election.
