North Carolina’s largest city reelects mayor after fallout over train stabbing

Voters successful Charlotte, North Carolina, person reelected Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles aft information concerns successful the metropolis accrued pursuing a caller stabbing connected a commuter train

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Voters successful North Carolina's largest metropolis reelected their Democratic mayor, keeping her successful spot adjacent arsenic information concerns successful Charlotte person risen since the August stabbing decease of a young Ukrainian woman connected a commuter train.

Vi Lyles won comfortably connected Tuesday implicit Republican and Libertarian challengers successful a metropolis that hasn't elected a GOP politician since 2007.

“I americium conscionable truthful grateful for the voters — for the radical that helped maine beryllium present contiguous — to beryllium capable to accidental that I person the accidental to service the metropolis erstwhile more,” Lyles told WBTV connected Tuesday evening.

The Aug. 22 sidesplitting of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska connected a light-rail car sparked outrage from President Donald Trump and different Republicans astir convulsive transgression and pretrial merchandise decisions. It besides sharpened campaigning successful Charlotte, wherever Republican campaigner Terrie Donovan, a existent property agent, had made transgression her apical contented adjacent earlier the stabbing.

Decarlos Brown Jr., the fishy successful Zarutska’s stabbing, had antecedently been arrested much than a twelve times, and helium was released earlier this twelvemonth by a magistrate connected a misdemeanor number without immoderate bond. Public choler intensified with the merchandise of information video showing what appeared arsenic a random attack.

The GOP-controlled authorities legislature passed a instrumentality successful precocious September that, successful part, tightened pretrial merchandise rules. Lyles, who easily won the Democratic mayoral primary, has highlighted further information measures for the airy obstruction system, including a greater beingness of transit strategy officers.

Lyles, a erstwhile longtime municipal employee, said Tuesday that metropolis officials request to travel the pb of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department connected what nationalist information improvements are needed “instead of trying conscionable to say, 'well, we’ll conscionable propulsion thing retired there.'”

City leaders announced conscionable past week the hiring of caller Raleigh constabulary main Estella Patterson arsenic Charlotte-Mecklenburg's adjacent chief. Current Chief Johnny Jennings is retiring astatine year's end.

Brown is charged with first-degree execution successful authorities tribunal and was indicted connected a national count successful transportation with Zarutska’s death. Both crimes tin beryllium punishable by the decease penalty. Brown's adjacent authorities tribunal proceeding is scheduled for April.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by implicit 2-1 successful elector registration successful Charlotte, which has good implicit 900,000 residents. But the fig of registered unaffiliated voters is astir connected par with Democrats.

The politician and 11 elected officials comprise Charlotte's metropolis council. With Tuesday's elections, Democrats volition soon clasp 10 of the 11 different seats.

Sponsored Content by Taboola