September 1, 2025
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Ed Driggs, District 7: Record, Roles, and Where He Stands on Growth and Transit

Ed Driggs — Candidate Profile (District 7, Republican)

Who He Is

Ed Driggs has represented District 7 since 2013 and is one of the council’s most experienced members, with a resume in corporate finance and long service on key committees. In public briefings the Mercury has covered, Driggs is described as a pragmatic conservative: fiscally tight, focused on basic services, and willing to spend when he believes the long-term economic case is solid.

The Seat and the Stakes

District 7 covers the city’s southeastern arc, including Ballantyne. As of the latest election guide on our site, Driggs is the lone candidate on the ballot in 2025 for this district, so voters are judging a record rather than choosing among rivals.

Committee Lanes and What They Mean

  • Transportation, Planning and Environment: Driggs has chaired the council’s transportation/planning lane and has been a regular hand in the long debates about roads, transit, and land use. The portfolio touches everything from turn-lane additions to how Charlotte updates its development rules.
  • Budget and Effectiveness / Economic Development work: His committee experience includes budget oversight and development work, where he tends to emphasize cost discipline and predictable process for builders and business owners.

Core Themes in His Platform

  • Fiscal restraint with targeted capital: Driggs argues for careful budgeting and reserves, paired with investments that clear congestion and support job centers.
  • Growth management: He favors “predictable” rules that add housing near jobs while protecting neighborhood basics like school and road capacity. Expect a focus on process and timelines as much as on headlines.
  • Mobility before slogans: His transportation stance blends support for road fixes with a case for transit where the numbers pencil out.

Record, Signals, and Notable Votes

  • Transit and land use: In recent cycles, Driggs has been a central negotiator on the city’s mobility package and Unified Development rules, pushing for outcomes residents can understand and builders can execute.
  • Stadium and big-ticket items: He has supported high-profile projects when he sees a return to the local economy and the city’s long-term competitive position. Supporters call it pragmatism; critics call it risk.

How Supporters and Skeptics Frame Him

  • The case for Driggs: Institutional memory, budget fluency, consistent constituent service in the south-Charlotte corridors, and credibility with state-level counterparts that Charlotte often needs to move big plans.
  • The case against: A cautious style that can frustrate advocates for faster change, and an instinct to protect process that sometimes looks like foot-dragging.

What to Watch When He’s Re-elected

  1. Delivery on corridors: Turn-lane, signal, and safety projects that have lingered in District 7.
  2. Refinements to the development code: How Charlotte balances housing supply with infrastructure pacing.
  3. Transit funding choices: Which projects actually get sequenced and how city and county coordination plays out in the year ahead.

Service Sidebars

How to Vote

Find early-voting sites, hours, and ID rules at the county’s official pages. Then read our full election hub.

Source Notes

About the Author

Jack Beckett writes with a pen in one hand and a mug of coffee that moonlights as a paperweight in the other. You can browse all our coverage at The Charlotte Mercury, jump straight into Pillar Content across our beats, and graze the sections: News, Business, Housing, and Politics. For election junkies, our special 2025 package is here: “Poll Dance 2025; Join the Dance” at Election 2025. The fine print lives at Privacy Policy, About Us, Terms of Service, Media, and Contact Us. Want to cheer, grumble, or fact-check in real time? Message me on Twix.

Creative Commons License

© 2025 The Charlotte Mercury / Strolling Ballantyne
This article, “Ed Driggs, District 7: Record, Roles, and Where He Stands on Growth and Transit,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

“Ed Driggs, District 7: Record, Roles, and Where He Stands on Growth and Transit”
by Jack Beckett, The Charlotte Mercury (CC BY-ND 4.0)