District
7
Ed Driggs
Council Member, District 7, Charlotte City Council
Also Charlotte delegate, Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization
- Party
- Republican
- Office phone
- 704-432-7077
Ed Driggs represents District 7 on the Charlotte City Council and serves on the Budget Committee. He is the longest-serving current council member in a district seat. His district covers the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte.
Driggs chaired the March 23, 2026, zoning meeting where the Crosland Southeast affordable housing project passed 6–4. He voted yes on the project. He has been active in MPTA board appointment discussions, transit safety after the Zarutska killing, shelter policy, and zoning disputes over density and growth across multiple meetings.
Driggs joined the council in 2013, after a corporate finance career. He has been characterized as a pragmatic conservative: fiscally disciplined, focused on basic services, and willing to back major capital investments when the long-term economic case is solid. Earlier in his tenure he chaired the Transportation, Planning and Environment Committee, the council lane that handles roads, transit, and development rules. He ran unopposed for re-election in November 2025.
Driggs is Charlotte’s delegate to the regional transportation planning board, where he casts the city’s 31 weighted votes, the largest single bloc. Through the summer of 2026 he told that board the city’s opposition to the I-77 South toll lanes was unchanged while talks continued on a path acceptable to opponents. He was the only member of the council committee he chairs who had not supported withdrawing from the project in May. On the youth curfew he asked whether enforcement would end in arrests of teenagers.
In our reporting · 20 stories
Charlotte Weighs Tougher Tow Rules but Can't Cap Fees
A tow from a private Charlotte lot would need the property owner's written OK for that car at any hour, not just 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and cars with people inside could not be towed, under city lawyers' proposals. State law keeps the city from capping what a tow costs.
Charlotte's Parking Minimums End Under State Law Jan. 1
Starting Jan. 1, Charlotte can no longer require new buildings to include any parking. City planners are rewriting the zoning code to match that state law and four others.
CATS Hand-Off Deals Go to Charlotte Council Dec. 14
Charlotte's council is to vote Dec. 14 on three agreements the regional transit authority needs before it takes control of CATS operations Jan. 1. Also: nonprofit funding, crime, Gateway Station, wages.
Phillips Place Cinemas Site Could Hold 275 Apartments
The vacant Phillips Place Cinemas site in SouthPark would become up to 275 apartments in a building as tall as 120 feet, none set aside as affordable. A Planning Commission committee is scheduled to review the rezoning Nov. 4. Council has not set a decision date.
CMPD Gets Undercover Cars in 7-3 Charlotte Council Vote
A week after CMPD named seven officers in a racially charged text-message case, Charlotte City Council approved new undercover cars for the department, 7-3, setting aside a motion to delay.
Hajoca Building in South End Becomes a Charlotte Landmark
A 1922 South End warehouse planned as a boutique hotel is now a Charlotte historic landmark. One council member objected to deferring its taxes while amendments that could limit property taxes are on the ballot.
Charlotte Extends Data Center Pause to Oct. 18, 2027
Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to keep its pause on new data centers for almost another year. Two campuses already under construction, approved for up to 5.5 million square feet, are not covered.
Six-Week CLT Lease Review Dies as Harrington's Veto Stands
The lease would run through June 30, 2037, and an airline that signs it approves $1.72 billion in airport construction projects.
Harrington Calls Special Session on Lease Review He Vetoed
Mayor Rob Harrington has called a special council session Monday for one vote: the six-week airport lease review he vetoed Oct. 12. The charter puts it back on the agenda anyway; readopting it takes seven votes. The full 242-page lease is now public.
Charlotte Data Center Pause May Grow; Two Campuses Exempt
City staff asked Charlotte City Council on Monday to extend the pause on new data centers by almost a year. Two approved hyperscale campuses, allowed up to 5.5 million square feet together, are exempt and can keep building. A vote is expected Oct. 26.
Harrington Vetoes Council's Six-Week Airline Lease Review
Charlotte City Council voted Monday to take six weeks to review the airport's new airline lease and decide Nov. 23. Mayor Rob Harrington vetoed it on the spot. The lease would run 10½ years and carry an estimated $2.1 billion building program.
First Union Tower Wins Landmark Status and a Tax Break, 10-1
Charlotte made the vacant office tower at 301 S. Tryon a historic landmark, which lets its owners defer half the property tax on the designated portion while they convert it to homes and a hotel. The plan includes no affordable units.
Charlotte Approves 10 p.m. Curfew Pilot for Minors, 9-2
Starting Nov. 1, Charlotte residents under 18 must be off the streets by 10 p.m., with exceptions, under a pilot that runs through August 2027. The police chief promised no traffic stops on curfew suspicion alone, a policy CMPD has not yet written.
Charlotte's I-77 Bill Is $69,577,547.67
The state's claim against Charlotte for walking away from the I-77 South toll lanes is $69,577,547.67, and the money would come out of the fund the city has already programmed for its next affordable housing and public facilities bonds. Council votes Monday on whether to reinstate support, which would erase the bill. The city's own two figures for Charlotte's share have not been reconciled on the record.
I-77 Toll Lanes: Charlotte Unmoved, $60 Million Disputed
At its last meeting before the September 23 reinstatement vote, CRTPO heard that Charlotte's position on the I-77 South toll lanes is unchanged, that the alternatives analysis cannot finish in time, and that the $60 million repayment figure is disputed by the county's account of NCDOT's own spending.
Charlotte Debates What a Youth Curfew Pilot Would Test
Council approved neither a new curfew nor a pilot Monday. Charlotte's police chief asked to explore a test of the 9 p.m. rule, while members proposed different measures, limits, and timelines.
Charlotte Eyes DOJ Model Cities Deal; Some Terms Come Later
Charlotte has until September 1 to seek a share of nearly $300 million through DOJ’s Model Cities Initiative. Applying requires local signatures, federal collaboration and an immigration certification before certain award terms are available.
I-77 Study Would Take Months; Charlotte's Deadline Is Oct. 5
Charlotte has until October 5 to reverse itself on the I-77 South toll lanes or absorb a penalty the legislature wrote in July: a state bill the city attorney puts at $64 million, a freeze on its street maintenance money, and a block on every new state road project inside the city limits. Council members said they could not decide without an independent review. Staff told them Monday that one cannot be finished in time.
Revive the I-77 Toll Lanes or Repay $64M, State Budget Says
The regional board that killed the I-77 South toll lanes in May will vote September 23 on bringing them back, under a state budget that told the governments that opposed them to reinstate the project or repay $64 million. The count starts with Charlotte, which controls more of the board's vote than any other member and hasn't said which way it will go.
Charlotte Panel Advances 9 p.m. Curfew for Everyone Under 18
The City Council's Safety Committee voted unanimously to send the full council a single 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18, replacing the current age-tiered rules. The change still needs a full-council vote, expected in August. The members who advanced it spent the meeting warning that a curfew alone won't fix what draws teens into the streets.