Anthony Foxx
54th Mayor of Charlotte
Incumbent
Assumed office 2009
Preceded by	Pat McCrory
Member of the Charlotte City Council At Large
In office 2005–2009
Personal details
Born	(1971-04-30) April 30, 1971 (age 41) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Samara (née Ryder)
Residence	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater	Davidson College New York University
Profession	Attorney

Anthony R. Foxx (born April 30, 1971) is an American politician. He is the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5% ^[1] of the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter. He won a second term on November 8, 2011, winning more than two-thirds of the vote against Republican Scott Stone. ^[2] He is a member of the Democratic Party.^[3]

Originally elected at the age of 38, Foxx is the youngest mayor of Charlotte,^[4][5] and is the first Democrat to hold the office since Harvey Gantt left office in 1987.^[6] He is Charlotte's second African American mayor, as well as its first newly-elected mayor since 1995, when Pat McCrory began the first of his record seven terms in office.

Early life[link]

Foxx was born on April 30, 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[7] He was raised by his mother, Laura Foxx, and his grandparents, James and Mary Foxx,^[8] and graduated from West Charlotte High School.^[3][9] He graduated from Davidson College, where he was the first African American student body president,^[10] with a degree in history in 1993^[11] and earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1996.^[9][11]

Career[link]

After law school, Foxx returned to Charlotte to work for a short time at the Smith, Helms, Mullis, and Moore law firm, and left to become a clerk for Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Later he worked for the United States Department of Justice and the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.^[9] In 2004, he was the campaign manager for Representative Mel Watt.^[10]

In 2001, he returned to Charlotte to work as a business litigator for Hunton & Williams.^[9] While a member of the city council, he retained his position as a litigator at Hunton & Williams, switching to part-time status.^[12] In 2009, he left Hunton & Williams to join DesignLine Corporation, a hybrid electric bus manufacturer, as its Deputy General.

Political career[link]

Foxx was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005 to an at-large seat, and was re-elected in 2007. He won election as Charlotte's mayor in 2009. Early in his political career, Foxx gained a reputation as a quick study of local policy and led a number of City Council initiatives, including the development of policies to enhance job creation into the urban core of Charlotte, environmental efforts that led to a single stream recycling program and greenhouse gas reduction policies and acceleration of the region's transit plan. Foxx has also shown a strong penchent for personal responsibility, refusing a City Council pay increase in 2008.

Beginning his tenure as mayor while facing a nearly 13% area unemployment rate, Foxx has announced the creation of more than 4,000 new jobs, has worked to reinforce Charlotte's role as a critical energy industry hub, hosted a series of town hall meetings with unemployed workers, pushed for changes to the city's small business loan program to create new jobs, saw the completion of a new runway at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and led a delegation of Charlotte business leaders to meet with senior White House officials to press for several economic recovery spending measures. Three weeks later, President Barack Obama traveled to Charlotte to visit the new Duke Energy Headquarters and to highlight the first positive monthly job growth figures in 18 months.

Personal life[link]

Foxx is married to the former Samara Ryder,^[10][13] also an attorney; they have two children.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

v t e Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in North Carolina State capital: Raleigh     Anthony Foxx (Charlotte) Nancy McFarlane (Raleigh) Robbie Perkins (Greensboro) Bill Bell (Durham) Allen Joines (Winston-Salem) Anthony G. Chavonne (Fayetteville) Harold Weinbrecht (Cary) Rebecca Smothers (High Point) Other states AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY