Jennifer Roberts is an American politician, businesswoman and former diplomat who served as the 58th mayor of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. She was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

on November 3, 2015 having previously served four terms on the Mecklenburg County

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

. In 2012, she was the Democratic nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

North Carolina's 9th congressional district The 9th congressional district of North Carolina is a congressional district in south-central North Carolina. The district's current boundaries were redrawn in February 2016 after a U.S. District Court overturned the existing boundaries because ...

Biography

Roberts graduated from

East Mecklenburg High School East Mecklenburg High School is a public secondary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and one of 21 high schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. The principal of the school is Richard "Rick" Parker. East Mecklenburg ...

in 1978, and went on to attend the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

on a

Morehead Scholarship The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (originally the Morehead Scholarship) was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States. It was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 and was named for its benefact ...

. Roberts earned two master's degrees in international affairs from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

and from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. She worked as a diplomat for four years with the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, serving in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

as a consular officer and then as a political officer on the Mexico desk before returning to Charlotte. During her years in Charlotte, Roberts has been director of the Mayor’s International Cabinet, a lending officer in international corporate banking at

First Union First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, inv ...

, and executive director of the Charlotte World Affairs Council. She is the first person to be elected to serve as both Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Commission and later as Mayor of Charlotte. While Chair of the Mecklenburg County Commission (2006-2011), Roberts was instrumental in creating a public/private partnership to build a new shelter in Charlotte for survivors of domestic violence. During her tenure as Mayor of Charlotte she spearheaded the creation of Charlotte NEXT, an initiative dedicated to improving after school programs for at-risk teens. During her tenure as Mayor, the City of Charlotte set a goal of funding 5,000 affordable housing units over 3 years and is currently (2018) on track to exceed that goal. Roberts has been a life-long advocate for clean air and water and for environmental justice. While Chair of the Mecklenburg County Commission, she championed a Park and Rec Master Plan, supported energy reduction and conservation in County operations, and headed a Clean Air Works initiative to reduce carbon emissions in area businesses and the County’s carbon footprint. As mayor, she signed the Mayor’s Climate Pledge and introduced a Clean Energy Resolution for the City of Charlotte. Roberts is a recipient of the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead award, the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Public Policy Leader of the Year award, and Equality North Carolina’s Ally of the Year award. She and her husband Manley live in Charlotte. They have two children. Roberts has served on the boards of ArtsTeach, the Centralina Council of Governments, the Charlotte Chamber, the Girls Scouts Hornets Nest Council, Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, and the Women’s Commission. She currently works as a business consultant and serves on numerous community boards and commissions, including the Corporate Climate Alliance, NC Climate Solutions Coalition, Meck Ed and Mecklenburg Ministries. Roberts is a volunteer on children’s issues, alleviating poverty and homelessness, and environmental protection.

2012 Congressional campaign

In 2012, Roberts ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent

. Roberts won the nomination on the Democratic ticket after running unopposed in the primary. Roberts was looking to replace incumbent Republican

Sue Myrick Sue Myrick (née Wilkins; born August 1, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Caroli ...

, who retired in 2012. Roberts was defeated by former state senator

Robert Pittenger The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

on November 6, 2012. Despite her loss, the race was the most competitive that the 9th district had seen in over a quarter-century. The 9th had been one of the first districts in North Carolina to turn Republican; it and its predecessors have been in GOP hands since 1953.

Charlotte mayoral election, 2015

The 2015 biennial Charlotte mayoral election took place on November 3, 2015. Primary elections were held on September 15, 2015, with primary runoffs held on October 6, as no candidate cleared the 40% threshold. Roberts defeated incumbent

Dan Clodfelter Daniel G. Clodfelter (born June 2, 1950) is an American politician and attorney from North Carolina. He served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the State's thirty-seventh Senate district, which includes ...

in the primary and faced Republican

Edwin Peacock III Edwin Bruton Peacock III (born March 6, 1970) is the President oThe Pomfret Financial Company, Inc. Education He received his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a Certificate of Global Studies from the University of Georgia. He is a gr ...

in the general election. Roberts defeated Peacock with just over 52% of the vote. She took office in December 2015.

Charlotte mayoral election, 2017

Roberts lost in the September 12, 2017 Democratic primary to

Vi Lyles Viola Alexander Lyles (born September 28, 1952) is an American politician serving as the 59th mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Lyles was a member of the Charlotte City Council before taking office ...

. Lyles went on to win the general election against Republican Kenny Smith.

References

External links

Official website

America’s 11 Most Interesting Mayors
from ''Politico'' magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Jennifer 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women diplomats American diplomats Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Living people Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina North Carolina Democrats Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni University of Toronto alumni Women mayors of places in North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people)