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Here it is in a nutshell. Foxx is Obama's first black nominee among the new Cabinet members appointed for the second term. The president faced criticism early in his second term for a lack of diversity among his nominees.
This part is a bunch of crap!
The official noted that Foxx has led efforts to improve his city's transit infrastructure to expand economic opportunity for businesses and workers. During Foxx's term as mayor, Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the official said.
The last time a person from NC held this job was Elizabeth Dole. Dole was Transportation Secretary under Reagan and Labor Secretary under George Bush Sr.
Correction, it seems that James Burnley IV of Greensboro was the most recent Trans. Sec. from NC. Still though, I stand by the point I was trying to make. Many of these people are not the best transportation candidates. Most seem to get this particular job with some type of political connection.
Local project connection...
What project could Foxx have an impact on in this area? Keep in mind that Transportation Secs. average less than 3 years at the job. In only 3 years, Foxx probably won't have time to help or destroy anything. He will earn nearly $200k per year though.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 04-28-2013 at 06:38 PM..
Ahh, the haterade continues! I guess only white conservatives should be the ones in charge of everything, only white folks fit yalls criteria of who is best to run our government, from mayor, to governor, to president!
This is the most insane thing I have read in a long time. There is nothing that qualifies Fox for this position. He couldn't even handle his own transportation issues in Charlotte. Does Obama plan to staff every position with incompetent, unsuccessful friends.
Experience means absolutely nothing in this administration. If it did we would not have a Community Organizer in the White House.
Sorry, my post about Jim Rogers had nothing to do with your post. I was simply pointing out how Obama's top choices have a DNC-city connection. It's all about politics. IMHO, Transportation Sec Foxx (maybe) and Governor McCrory can only help Charlotte's future goals. It's very difficult to grow a city when officials in high places don't (a) know your name, (b) don't know where you're located, and (c) don't understand your politics and business climate. Charlotte doesn't have that problem with Obama, McCrory, Foxx, and Rogers in high places.
OK, before the Foxx-haters sends this thread 20 pages deep; here's a little history. The last time a person from NC held this job was Elizabeth Dole. Dole was Transportation Secretary under Reagan and Labor Secretary under George Bush Sr. She really wasn't experienced at either role, but she was kinda cute and she was married to a man (Bob Dole) that many people thought would/should become president. In short, Foxx got his job the same way that others before him got it, so give the man a break. He is young, good looking, had a successful DNC (one that boosted Obama's approval rating BTW), and most importantly he's black.
One more thing, the Foxx haters wanted him out of Charlotte. Y'all are about to get your wish; happy now?
There could be more to this....
Steven Chu (the current Energy Secretary) announced his resignation a few months ago (around the same time that Duke Energy's CEO Jim Rogers called it quits). It wouldn't surprise me at all if Rogers ends up being the next Energy Secretary (assuming that one hasn't been picked yet). I seriously doubt that Duke Energy's $10 million "gift" to the DNC won't result in "somebody's" promotion. For the record, Rogers's name is already on a short list of candidates for the job. $10 million says that Rogers will be hired. LOL Meet the Folks on the Short List to Replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu - NationalJournal.com
True, it's all about politics. With this comes the duty of finding someone with little to no "dirt". Foxx is "clean" for the most part. He's also a family man with a good looking family. Also, Obama has been a fan of ambitious African American Charlotte mayors for quite sometime now.
Though Gantt lost that race to Helms, young Obama was watching. This city and this state's politics is not new to Obama so the Foxx pick is not a surprise. As for Energy Sec., Jim Rogers is not only qualified but his company wrote the Dems a blank check. IMO, Energy Sec. is Jim's job unless he simply says "no thanks Mr. President".
"Obama has been a fan of ambitious African American Charlotte mayors for quite sometime now."
Ummmm...excuse me, but that's sounds a bit racist to me. What's wrong with appointing an ambitious White American??? Obama is all about race and not much else. That's obvious.
Sorry, my post about Jim Rogers had nothing to do with your post. I was simply pointing out how Obama's top choices have a DNC-city connection. It's all about politics. IMHO, Transportation Sec Foxx (maybe) and Governor McCrory can only help Charlotte's future goals. It's very difficult to grow a city when officials in high places don't (a) know your name, (b) don't know where you're located, and (c) don't understand your politics and business climate. Charlotte doesn't have that problem with Obama, McCrory, Foxx, and Rogers in high places.
It's actually the job of the 13 congressmen/women who represent NC along with our two senators, Barr & Hagan, to make sure that NC is represented in Washington. The Charlotte Metro is actually fortunate in this regard because 3 of these 13, Hudson (R), Pittengr (R), Watt (D) include Mecklenburg as part of their district. The Metro also includes McHenry (R) and Mulvaney - SC (R).
Foxx is not an elected official in Washington and hence does not get to pick, choose nor fund transportation projects. That role belongs to congress. His job is to oversee, as manager, and implement what the president and congress decides.
Oh, and he is also there, if needed, as 14th in the line of succession to the presidency.
Here it is in a nutshell.
....Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the official said.
A few corrections:
Construction of that runway was started 2 years before Foxx became mayor.
The city got a $25M grant to build a 1.5 "demonstration" trolley line that will be using 3 historic trolleys that were acquired under McCrory. Foxx's plan to build the modern streetcar line failed due to the lack of due diligence, no funding, and a requirement of raising property taxes 10%. Now that he has gone off to improve his resume, I doubt this plan will ever see the light of day now.
The Lynx expansion is actually due to the efforts of the MTC, which includes Foxx plus the 6 other mayors in Mecklenburg along with the NCDOT and Mecklenburg county. Foxx hasn't actually been to many of the meetings and hasn't shown much interest in the operations of the MTC.
"Obama has been a fan of ambitious African American Charlotte mayors for quite sometime now."
Ummmm...excuse me, but that's sounds a bit racist to me. What's wrong with appointing an ambitious White American??? Obama is all about race and not much else. That's obvious.
Obama has been criticized recently for picking an extremely white cabinet. For the record, here is another pic of young Obama with his grandparents who raised him.
Obama comes from a rather diverse household (my household is the same way). In such households, issues (that society tends to struggle with) are dealt with differently. We don't see color as much, we just see family.
However, young Obama knew that the society outside of his family would see his color first. As a result, he got inspiration from black political figures like Harvey Gantt. This is NOT racism; it is however the direct result of racism that blacks had to tolerate from whites for nearly 400 years. My wife (who is white) understands this 100%; too bad not all folks in this great country (who shares her skin color and her blue eyes) can see things her way.
As for picking Foxx, a white president would have been forced to do the same if he/she were called out for not choosing more minorities. On the flip-side, Obama would have been forced to choose a white person if his cabinet were already 80% minorities. The bottomline is that Obama's cabinet lacked diversity and it's no surprise that a few picks would address that issue. To call this "racism" is extremely dense and myopic.
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this is great for Charlotte!
