Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden won Tuesday’s election with 33.79% of the votes, beating three challengers.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden secured a third term Tuesday, narrowly defeating three challengers in a Democratic primary and pledging on Wednesday to shift focus toward mental health resources, staffing, and community engagement.
McFadden defeated Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Sgt. Ricky Robbins by roughly 3 percentage points in the four-way race. With no Republicans on the ballot, Tuesday’s primary result was effectively the general election.
Speaking Wednesday on WCNC Charlotte’s Live Impact News, McFadden credited his victory in part to diverse coalitions of supporters he said rallied to his side when it mattered most.
“The Latino community, the Hispanic community, the Nigerian community, the African community, the Pan-American community — they did not listen to the rhetoric,” McFadden said. “They came and supported me as their sheriff.”
McFadden also singled out Robbins for calling to congratulate him on election night, saying the gesture spoke volumes compared to his other opponents.
McFadden pushed back on Wednesday against what he characterized as a coordinated smear campaign, arguing that criticism of his tenure came from a small number of detractors, including former employees who, he said, never accepted losing influence over the agency.
“If you have been a member at the sheriff’s office and spent your time… be retired, go on about your business and let us continue to run the sheriff’s office,” he said.
Looking ahead, McFadden outlined priorities that included expanded mental health services for both staff and inmates, whom he refers to as “residents.” Additionally, he is looking at better housing solutions for people leaving incarceration, closer collaboration with CMPD and surrounding townships, and broader community unity.
“Who has the formula to bring them together and work together?” Madden said. “We always talk about it, we always mention it.”
On staffing, a persistent challenge raised throughout the campaign, McFadden said the office is making progress, noting several former employees are seeking to return. He pushed back on characterizations of the agency as uniquely understaffed. “Every agency across America has short staffed,” he said. “Don’t make us look as though we are different.”
McFadden addressed ongoing federal scrutiny directly, insisting his office is in good standing with federal authorities. He said his office reached an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in October and has continued operating under that framework.
He was sharply critical of a recent state oversight hearing in Raleigh, calling it a politically motivated attack disguised as a public safety inquiry. He said the hearing resulted in his office being asked to produce more than 3,500 emails from a single staffer spanning his entire tenure.
“This was not anything but to point at Garry McFadden, point at the sheriff, make a mockery out of him,” he said. “How that’s public safety, I don’t know.”
On the question of reopening a juvenile detention center, McFadden said the door remains open if the state can provide adequate funding, noting the county is not in a position to do so on its own.
McFadden also took aim at what he called unbalanced media coverage, saying positive developments at his office have been consistently overshadowed by negative reporting.
“If you run a story about deaths in the jail 20 times, run a story 20 times about no deaths in the jail during COVID,” he said, adding that hyperlinks embedded in news stories consistently direct readers toward negative coverage of his office.
He said he nonetheless intends to maintain an open relationship with local media.
McFadden is set to begin his third term in December.
