McCrory, 51, grew up in Jamestown, where he graduated from Ragsdale High School. He is the longest-serving mayor in Charlotte history, having won seven terms. In a setting where city elections are partisan, McCrory also has worked effectively over those years with a majority-Democratic council. He pushed a sales tax for mass transit that voters overwhelmingly approved and championed the city's fledgling light-rail line.

Beyond Charlotte's city limits, McCrory was the founding member and is a driving force behind the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition, which brings mayors together to discuss common issues, including the growing threat of youth gangs.

McCrory calls for a 50-year state transportation plan and rightly contends that state transportation projects should be based on need, not politics. He favors lower corporate and income taxes over incentives as better ways to recruit industry. . .

 . . . But McCrory stands alone as the best choice in the Republican primary.

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