Dan Clodfelter selected as mayor of Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - The Charlotte City Council has selected North Carolina Senator Dan Clodfelter as the next mayor of Charlotte. He will complete the unexpired term of former mayor Patrick Cannon, which runs until December 2015.

Clodfelter seemed eager to discuss Cannon's public corruption charges during his initial meeting with reporters.

"I think it's a good thing that this hurts so bad. I think it's a good thing that we were shocked by it. If we were taking this for granted (or) if we were acting like this is the kind of way business was done then I'd be worried about the community," he said.

Clodfelter, an eight-term State Senator and attorney, was a Charlotte City Council member from 1987 to 1993, and has served in the General Assembly since 1999.

Before that, Clodfelter served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission.

Born in Thomasville, NC, Clodfelter attended Davidson College, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

He graduated from Davidson in 1972 and received a second Bachelor's Degree from Corpus Christi College in Oxford, England in 1974. He then earned his J. D. degree at Yale University in 1977.

The new appointment comes less than a month after former mayor Patrick Cannon resigned on March 26, after being arrested on federal corruption charges.

"I would like to congratulate Dan on being selected as mayor of Charlotte," Governor Pat McCrory said in a statement released after the decision was made.

The Governor added, "Charlotte is a city that I served and love. I look forward to working with Dan, who I served with on city council. It's time to restore the public's trust by serving the city with the highest of ethical standards."

Clodfelter said at Monday's meeting that he will resign from his Senate position Tuesday before being sworn in as mayor of Charlotte at noon on Wednesday.

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