Dulin: Foxx 'overly partisan' in convention comments

Republican city council member Andy Dulin hit Democratic Mayor Anthony Foxx today over comments Foxx made about the prospect of landing his party's national convention.

Charlotte is vying with Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis for the 2012 Democratic convention.

Today's Observer picked up Foxx's comments to the National Journal this week. In advocating for Charlotte, the mayor said bringing the convention to the South would give the party "an opportunity to take the fight right into the heart of where folks have always thought the Republican Party had an advantage."

"With this one quote, the Mayor has changed dramatically my trust of his true intentions," Dulin said in an email to the Observer.

"Is he selling Clt to fill hotel rooms and fill our restaurants and bring economic vitality to Clt, while advancing our entire city’s brand or is he playing along with dem politics to advance his stature with the Obama admin. Is he in this for all of Clt or is he really trying to bring 'the fight into the heart of where folks have always thought the Republican Party had an advantage.' Which is it. That’s a very legitimate question."

Dulin prefaced the comment by saying he has supported pursuit of the convention as "a bi-partisan effort to advance Clt as a city and not Clt as a battle ground for The Mayor’s political advancement."

Foxx said "absent context Andy raises a fair question."

"But with context I was making the point that the Democratic National Convention had not been in the South since 1988. I mentioned that was one of many reasons Charlotte would be a good choice."

While the convention would be an economic boost, he added, "I really doubt the economic benefit analysis, which all the cities can claim, will be the only consideration."