Voters toss 2 incumbents off Charlotte City Council
Democrats Tiawana Brown and Marjorie Molina lose to challengers in primary election
The following article appeared in the Sept. 10, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Political newcomers Joi Mayo and J.D. Mazuera Arias knock off incumbents Tiawana Brown (westside) and Marjorie Molina (eastside); other incumbents win easily
New faces: Joi Mayo (left) talks with supporter Terrin Pigatt at an election-night party Tuesday at Brewers at 4001 Yancey in LoSo; J.D. Mazuera Arias (right) at an eastside candidate forum last month. Mayo and Mazuera Arias defeated incumbent Charlotte City Council members in Tuesday’s primary election — a rare feat.
by Tony Mecia and Rachel Black
In the last 20 years, just two Charlotte City Council members have lost bids for re-election to district council seats.
On Tuesday, voters sent two home on the same night, in low-turnout Democratic primary races on Charlotte’s eastside and westside.
In District 3, which spans west Charlotte and Steele Creek, incumbent Tiawana Brown — who was indicted in May on federal fraud charges — was beaten handily by newcomer Joi Mayo, a former middle school math teacher who founded a community development nonprofit.
In District 5, in east Charlotte, incumbent Marjorie Molina lost by 37 votes in unofficial results to challenger Juan Diego “J.D.” Mazuera Arias, out of nearly 6,000 votes cast. The race is close enough to allow Molina to request a recount, and there are still provisional votes to be counted, but political pros told The Ledger it is unlikely either of those would change the result.
Although it is rare in Charlotte politics to knock off incumbents, Tuesday’s results don’t seem to indicate an anti-incumbent mood. Seven other incumbents, including Mayor Vi Lyles, won easily and will be heavy favorites in November’s general election.
Instead, there were unusual circumstances in the challengers’ wins in the eastside and westside seats.
Tuesday’s results will likely have little effect on the power dynamics of the council, with a bloc aligned with Lyles expected to continue to have a narrow majority on contentious issues.
Westside story: an incumbent dogged by an indictment
Brown, the founder of a nonprofit that aims to keep women out of prison, was first elected in 2023.
She was indicted in May on fraud charges, stemming from accusations that she improperly received federal Covid relief loans and used them on a lavish 50th birthday party, among other personal uses. She said she was innocent and looked forward to her day in court. Her opponents didn’t raise the issue on the campaign trail, and Brown said her constituents knew her record as the “people’s champ” and didn’t care about her legal issues.
Privately, some Charlotte power brokers feared that a Brown victory on Tuesday would prompt several additional days of negative national news stories portraying Charlotte as a center of law-breaking, following heavy criticism this week of Charlotte leaders in national media and social media over last month’s stabbing death on the Blue Line light rail.
At the Victory Christian Center Campus III on Old Pineville Road, Gia Figallo, 26, said she voted for Mayo because Mayo has a lot of values that align with hers, such as affordable housing. As a young person, she said she is worried about being able to afford housing.
She said she doesn’t mind that Mayo said she is “neutral” on the transit tax plan on November’s ballot because she is also neutral. Figallo said she worries that more rail will drive up housing costs.
Figallo said she didn’t know Brown was facing fraud charges.
Laquisha Washington, a single mom of a 14-year-old daughter, said she voted for Mayo because “I think we need a fresh set of eyes.”
At an election-night party at Brewers at 4001 Yancey in the LoSo area, Mayo said her victory shows that “residents in District 3 are interested in change. They’re interested in someone who shows up, who doesn’t have to be asked to show up, and is intentional about creating real leadership but also empowering residents.” She said she wants to improve communication with residents.
She will be heavily favored to beat Republican James H. Bowers in November’s general election.
Eastside: Aggressive campaign by challenger
Mazuera Arias, age 26, was a first-time candidate and waged an aggressive campaign against Molina, who is nearing the end of her second term on the council.
Mazuera Arias, who formerly worked on immigration issues for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had the backing of the Service Employees Union International (SEIU), which lately has been advocating on behalf of contract workers at Charlotte’s airport. It flooded the district with relentlessly negative mailers that accused Molina of being “M.I.A.” and siding with “corporate profit” — accusations that at times stretched the truth. Molina, writing on social media, called the mailers “clear and provable defamation.”
Molina wrote on social media last month that the mailers were “full of lies” and made her cry: “In all my years of public service, I have never faced such personal attacks,” she wrote.
The union said it had 35 paid canvassers going door-to-door for Mazuera Arias, WFAE reported. It said Tuesday that union members and supporters knocked on 14,000 doors in the district.
The two also sparred over support of the transit plan — she supports it, he opposes it — and he accused her of being unresponsive to constituents, which she said was false.
At Eastway Middle School on Tuesday, a voter who asked not to use his name said he voted for Mazuera Arias because it was time for someone new.
“Our city council is pretty dysfunctional and needs to change,” he said. “When they have a $300,000 payout for the police chief after they’ve fired the city attorney for reasons they won’t share, they need to go. Transparency is huge.”
In an interview with The Ledger on Tuesday night, Mazuera Arias said his victory “says that east Charlotte was at a crossroads and that it was ready for change. I think you had a lot of the district feeling overlooked and left out.” He said he would work for all of east Charlotte: those who agreed with him and those who didn’t.
He said a top priority is building trust with the community and being responsive to constituents: “We are putting community and people first over corporate and private interests.”
Mazuera Arias will have no opposition in November’s general election.
Other tidbits from Tuesday’s election:
At-large incumbent Democrats Dimple Ajmera, LaWana Slack-Mayfield, James “Smuggie” Mitchell Jr. and Victoria Watlington won easily. Ajmera received the most votes.
In District 6 in south Charlotte, in the only Republican race, Krista Bokhari easily won the primary for her husband’s old seat, defeating Sary Chakra by a margin of more than 3-to-1.
Voter turnout was about 8%, with more than 42,000 votes cast. About 24,000 voted in the primary two years ago.
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Tuesday’s election results
Mayor, Democratic primary
Vi Lyles (71%), Brendan K. Maginnis (12%), Jaraun (Gemini) Boyd (10%), Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel (4%), Delter Kenny Guin III (3%)
➡️ Lyles will face Republican Terrie D. Donovan and Libertarian Rob Yates in November.
Charlotte City Council at-large, Democratic primary (top 4 advance)
Dimple Ajmera (21%), LaWana Slack-Mayfield (17%), James “Smuggie” Mitchell Jr. (16%), Victoria Watlington (16%), Namrata Yadav (9%), Matt Britt (6%), Roderick Davis (5%), Will Holley (5%), J.G. Lockhart (4%), Emerson Stoldt (2%)
➡️ Ajmera, Slack-Mayfield, Mitchell and Watlington will face Republicans Misun Kim and Edwin B. Peacock III in November.
Charlotte City Council, District 1 (NoDa/Plaza Midwood/uptown), Democratic primary
Danté Anderson (69%), Charlene Henderson El (31%)
➡️ Anderson will have no opposition in November’s election.
Charlotte City Council, District 3 (west Charlotte/Steele Creek), Democratic primary
Joi Mayo (49%), Tiawana Deling Brown (25%), Warren F. Turner (22%), Montravias King (3%)
➡️ Mayo will face Republican James H. Bowers in November.
Charlotte City Council, District 4 (University City), Democratic primary
Renee Perkins Johnson (68%), Wil Russell (32%)
➡️ Johnson will have no opposition in November’s election.
Charlotte City Council, District 5 (east Charlotte), Democratic primary
Juan Diego “J.D.” Mazuera Arias (50.3%), Marjorie Molina (49.7%)
➡️ Mazuera Arias will have no opposition in November’s election.
Charlotte City Council, District 6 (south Charlotte/SouthPark), Republican primary
Krista Bokhari (76%), Sary Chakra (24%).
➡️ Bokhari will face Democrat Kimberly Owens in November.
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School board seats, transit tax referendum also headed to your ballot in November
In addition to the Charlotte City Council and mayor’s races, six of nine seats on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education will be on the ballot, as well as the tax referendum for transit/transportation. That election is Nov. 4.
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