Davidson and Mill Hill commissioners make history in 2021 Election, ready to tackle rapid area growth and housing

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – Those who work in town government in Mecklenburg County will freely say that a large part of the work is just getting stuff done.

The positions people are, officially, largely non-partisan. But in two spots, Davidson and Mint Hill, something has happened that hasn’t happened: in one case – a while – in another case – ever.

“I think with COVID, everyone reevaluated their ‘next’, and for me, it was looking at ways to expand how I serve my community,” Mint Hill Commissioner-elect Twanna Henderson said.

Henderson is one of the new commissioner-elects for Mint Hill. The Town said she’s the first person of color, ever, to win this seat.

“I really sought to have conversations with people to show who I was as an individual,” Henderson said.

She is not alone in her historic win. Tracy Mattison Brandon is one of a handful of people of color to have ever been elected to a commissioner seat in Davidson.

“I think people recognize what I have done in my community and the potential of what I can do,” Brandson said.

Both will tell you it’s a big deal but they will also tell you that race had nothing to do with their wins.

For both, they say, it was campaigning that led them, one by one, to bring people over.

Now that they have, there’s a focus on the work.

In Davidson, the big issue will be affordable housing.

“There are things that are causing them to maintain their home, that’s something I see every day,” Brandson said.

While in Mint Hill, housing of a different sort is cropping up.

“Mint Hill is growing because we’ve got the most land of any other municipalities in our area, so smart growth is very important,” Henderson explained.

The growth is there, but how to manage it will be a task for the commissioners – and how to deal with a growing Charlotte and also a growing suburban population.