Handouts for YouthCivics session about Mecklenburg County

1. Youth Civics - Spring 2011
Mecklenburg County
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 -- Government Center
Tonight
6:00PM Sign in, Welcome & YC overview
Mecklenburg County overview
Visit the County Commission Meeting
Return to room and discuss
8:00PM End
Presenters
• Joel Riddle, Mecklenburg County joel.riddle@mecklenburgcountync.gov
• Amy Farrell, Kids Voting amy@kidsvoting.org
Questions to answer
• What does the county government do?
• What are some county services, policies and issues that matter to me?
• Could I work in county government someday? What kind of education would I need?
• What does the county commission do? How about the county manager?
• Who represents me on the county commission?
• How does the county decide which services it funds?
• Where do I keep track of county news, policies and decisions?
• How can I get involved?
Things to watch at the meeting
• How many people are there? Who is there? Are there different kinds of people with
different reasons for being there?
• What is your county rep doing during the meeting? What are others doing?
• What kinds of things are being discussed?
• How do people communicate? What makes a person a good communicator?
• How do the officials lead? What makes a person an effective leader?
• Is media in the audience? What are they doing? Who is covering county news?
• If you were speaking at the meeting, what would you want to talk about?
• Is the meeting what you expected? Why or why not?

2. meet the board http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOCC/MeetTheBoard/Pages/ho...
Mecklenburg County > BOCC > Meet The Board
Board of County Commissioners
The nine-member Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is the governing body of
Mecklenburg County. Partisan elections are held in November of even-numbered years.
Six members are elected from single-member districts, and three at-large members are
elected by a county-wide vote. Commissioners elect a chairman and vice-chairman during
their first meeting each December. Approximate locations listed here
View district map:
http://maps.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/website/emapper/pdfmap.php?ipath=image/county.gif
Jennifer Roberts Represents entire county
Chairman
704-336-2574
jennifer.roberts@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Jim Pendergraph Represents entire county
Vice Chairman
704-336-2472
jim.pendergraph@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Harold Cogdell Jr. Represents entire county
At Large
704-336-3866
harold.cogdell@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Karen Bentley Represents North Mecklenburg County
District 1
704-432-3997
karen.bentley@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Vilma Leake Represents West and SW Charlotte
District 2
704-336-2088
vilma.leake@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

3. meet the board http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOCC/MeetTheBoard/Pages/ho...
George Dunlap Represents NE Charlotte, parts of North and West Charlotte
District 3 parts of East Charlotte and Mecklenburg, downtown Charlotte
704-336-4419
george.dunlap@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Dumont Clark Represents East Charlotte, Independence Blvd
District 4 Albemarle Road, areas just south of downtown Charlotte
704-336-3473
dumontclarke@mvalaw.com
Neil Cooksey Represents South and Southeast Charlotte
District 5 Providence Road, north of Hwy 51, east of South Blvd, Southpark
704-336-5400
neil.cooksey@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov
Bill James Represents South and East Mecklenburg county
District 6 Matthews, Mint Hill, areas along and south of Hwy 51
704-336-2573
Wjames@carolina.rr.com