Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who is the city's second-longest serving mayor and easily won a fifth term in November, announced Thursday that she will resign from office and retire in June.
Her decision comes as questions have grown in the community and among colleagues about her health and her ability to continue to perform her duties. Lyles has only attended two City Council zoning meetings in the last 18 months, and some allies have questioned whether her age and the duties of the job have taken a toll.
WFAE asked Lyles, who is 73, on Monday at the Government Center whether she planned to finish her term. She declined to answer, saying, "We will see," and was escorted away from a reporter by her top assistant, Kay Cunningham, and then by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer.
"Serving as Charlotte’s mayor has been the honor of my life,” Mayor Lyles said in a statement. “I am proud of our record navigating various challenges, strengthening our economy, investing in our neighborhoods, and building a foundation for Charlotte’s continued success during a time of rapid growth. Now, it is time for the next phase of my life, to spend more time with my grandchildren and for someone new to lead us forward.”
Lyles was first elected mayor in 2017. Only former Mayor Pat McCrory has held the office for longer. She worked in the city’s budget office for her career, rising to the level of assistant city manager, before being elected to serve on Charlotte City Council in 2013, after her retirement. Her term in office has included tumultuous events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests; as well as policy achievements such as passing a new local sales tax to fund a multibillion-dollar transit plan and a big increase to the city's affordable housing subsidy.
The City Council will now have to pick an interim mayor. Under the council's rules, could be someone who is a member of council or an outsider. Although mayoral resignations are uncommon, they aren't unprecedented. After Patrick Cannon resigned in 2014 while facing indictment, council members appointed state Senator Dan Clodfelter to finish his term.
Lyles said she will not make an "immediate endorsement" for any successor.
"I am very proud of my record as mayor, but I also firmly believe that true leadership includes knowing when it is time to let the next generation of leaders take over," she said in Thursday's statement. "By leaving early, the voters will have more time to learn about their candidates. Our city is strong, our trajectory is positive, and now is the right moment for someone else to build on our progress from the past few years."
Stepping back from public duties
In the last year or so, Lyles not only began skipping zoning meetings, but has been speaking at fewer public events. Cunningham, her main assistant, has taken a greater role in communicating and negotiating with council members over complicated issues like the I-77 toll lanes.
Council members and allies in the community have privately wondered whether she is still up for the job.
There are times when Lyles speaks smoothly, while other times she has appeared confused.
When she opened a City Council meeting in late April, she told the audience: “Good afternoon everyone, good morning, and good afternoon, everyone thank you for being here. Good evening. I think it’s evening, but you can never tell in this weather.”
She has appeared confused about her role during recent meetings, and seemed to struggle at times counting votes on the dais. Council members have reminded her she needed to vote to break a tie, for example.
Despite her taking a less public role, Lyles remains immensely popular. She easily won reelection in November with more than 70% of the vote.
In that same election, Mecklenburg County voters approved a one-cent increase in the sales tax to pay for a multi-billion dollar transportation plan, which Lyles championed and worked for years to realize.
She has also successfully pushed to increase the amount of money spent on affordable housing. And earlier this decade, she launched the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative, a $250 million public-private partnership designed to bolster Johnson C. Smith University and to bolster low-income areas of the city, among other things.
