NC Central Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club

The race in the 9th Congressional District is a close one. Your help in getting out the vote could make the difference! Watch, read and decide to help elect our Sierra Club endorsed candidate Jennifer Roberts!

Charlotte Observer Endorsement

Congress, District 9: Roberts

The winner of this contest will replace 9-term Republican U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, who unexpectedly announced this year she wouldn’t seek reelection. Her decision spawned a flood of candidates in the GOP primary, and a nasty fight for the Republican nomination.

The GOP primary was the most contentious of any area race, with most of the vitriol taking place between frontrunners Jim Pendergraph, a Mecklenburg County commissioner, and former state Sen. Robert Pittenger. This editorial board wound up retracting an endorsement of Pendergraph in the May primary after he misled the board on his stand on immigration and joined with fringe “birthers” to question President Obama’s citizenship. We endorsed neither Pendergraph nor Pittenger in the runoff in July either.

Now, Pittenger faces Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and Libertarian Curtis Campbell in the November general election. Normally, in this conservative district, we’d favor the Republican who might best represent the interests of the majority of the district’s voters. For that reason, we often recommended Myrick even though we didn’t share her views on many issues.

We can’t in good conscience recommend Pittenger. The real estate investor was largely responsible for the mudslinging snipe fest that the GOP primary became. More than that, troubling questions have been raised about whether he used his position as a lawmaker for personal gain. Pittenger never gave a sound explanation for why it was OK for him to vote for a bill in the state Senate that raised the value of land he owned. We’re concerned that as a congressman, he would work mostly for himself, not his constituents. We also worry that he’s too far right and unwilling to compromise – and those characteristics represent only the extreme of his party.

Jennifer Roberts offers voters a viable alternative. As a Mecklenburg commissioner and former chair of the board, she has proven to be a thoughtful public servant who is attentive to her constituents – no matter what their party affiliation. Even one of the most conservative commissioners, Bill James, said that though she is a liberal, she “is no ideologue, she can see both sides of an issue.”

Roberts sees herself as “pragmatic.” As a commissioner, she says she raised taxes twice, cut taxes twice and kept the rate the same four times. She also notes that she has voted with Republicans on the board when other Democrats would not: “I know I’ll be representing the whole district. I’m willing to compromise,” she said. In Congress, she wants to be someone who helps break the stalemate and works in a bipartisan way to get things done.

She sees flaws in the Affordable Care Act, calling it more health insurance reform than health care reform. She also has issues with the Obama administration’s approach to education reform, saying too much focus is on high-stakes testing. She’s developed a jobs plan she would push if elected that focuses on tax credits, renewable energy and exports.

Roberts’ commitment to public service is evident. We believe she would work on behalf of the whole district. We recommend Jennifer Roberts.