Working with, not for, Charlotte's developers

Let's get this straight: Both Anthony Foxx and John Lassiter have received campaign contributions from real estate developers. Any serious candidate for office inevitably does.

But let's get this straight, too: Lassiter has received way more in this mayoral campaign than Anthony. And -- the key point -- Lassiter's voting record on the City Council shows he's far more inclined to vote in accordance with their wishes than Anthony.

Toward the end of last night's WCNC-TV/The Charlotte Observer debate, the last one before Election Day, Anthony asked Lassiter flat out: Why do you seem convinced that Charlotte's future lies more with developers than with neighborhoods and communities?

Lassiter's answer revealed plenty about himself, and about who'd have his ear in the mayor's office. "So much of what we need to have happen," he said, "lies with the development community."

Well, there you go. If you had any doubts before, he just dispelled them. Later -- just for emphasis? -- he added this gem: "I want to make sure that I'm working for the same people who invest in me and this community."

Anthony takes a more balanced view of the relationship between city officials and developers. "You've never seen my vote guided by the real estate development community," he said. "I will work with, not for, the real estate development community."

Lassiter got huffy. We enjoy it when Lassiter gets huffy. It makes him fall on his face.

First, he pointed out that Anthony has received more than $7,000 from developer Stoney Sellars. Jim Morrill in the Observer (with an assist from database whiz Ted Mellnik) did a nice job of putting that in context, rendering Lassiter's point essentially meaningless:

An Observer analysis showed that Sellers (sic) has given Foxx at least $7,215. He gave Lassiter $1,000.

The analysis also showed Lassiter has raised at least $104,000 from individual donors who listed occupations in the building, development and real estate industries. That's 20 percent of the money he raised through Oct. 19. The Foxx campaign claims the figure is higher.

Foxx got $28,000, or 5 percent of the money he raised, from individual donors in those industries.

A little later, Lassiter broke out the cheap shot of the night, maybe of the campaign.

Anthony supports "truth in zoning," in which council members voting on rezoning cases publicly disclose campaign contributions they've received from the developers involved. Sounds reasonable enough. But the suggestion clearly irked your Republican candidate for mayor. He observed that Anthony leases his Elizabeth campaign headquarters from neighborhood developer Clay Grubb, and that no one has benefited more from the streetcar tracks running down Elizabeth Avenue than Grubb.

Oh, boy. First, to insinuate there's some kind of quid pro quo arrangement going on between Grubb and Anthony is silly, and more than a little offensive. Does that explain why Anthony voted to override a mayoral veto -- one Lassiter supported -- to kick-start the full, 10-mile streetcar line, running from Beatties Ford Road to Eastland Mall? To help his "buddy" in Elizabeth?

Second, turn your attention back to Nov. 12, 2007, when the City Council voted on whether to spend $5.4 million to build the tracks on Elizabeth Avenue. Guess who not only voted to spend the money, but who made the motion? John Lassiter.