Danté Anderson, Charlotte City Councilperson District 1

It’s been 2 years since Danté Anderson, City Councilperson for District 1, joined us for an episode of Getting Real with Rob. And although the sitting Council looks a little different, Danté still brings her signature gravitas to the podcast booth, just as she does to any interview. Appointed as the Chair to the newly independent Charlotte City Safety Committee, she clarified what she sees as an effort to connect all the relevant safety-minded entities within the City with Uptown residents and business owners, to ensure they support and uphold the work of our dedicated police force. “60% of our budget is dedicated to safety, covering police and fire protection,” she shares, and then transitions into a narrative around her intention to lean into agendas that support safe, affordable housing in Charlotte. She calls home ownership, “…the second most important step to increasing safety in our community…” The first being a sustainable plan to bring in good paying jobs and provide a way for people to get educated so they can access these jobs, better equipping them to buy a home. Councilperson Anderson brings a wealth of experience in the private sector to her work in the policy making realm. However, she remembers Charlotte before we became one of the fastest growing cities in the Nation. “I’m a native daughter of South Charlotte, raised during an era of the Queen City when Eastland Mall was a gem, Saturday afternoons at Queens Park were a treat and the possibilities were abundant.” She continues, “As a poor African American girl reared in public and low-income housing, I’ve experienced housing instability and food insecurity throughout my childhood. Yet, if one were to tell me the possibility of improving my desired outcomes barely existed based on my location in the city, I would have rebuked that notion. I was hopeful, encouraged to reach higher, and keenly believed possibility could become reality.” Her CMS education armed me with the appropriate knowledge and skillset to successfully navigate through a dual BS Degree in Electrical Engineering and Cinema Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Fine Arts in Cinema Studies from New York University’s The Tisch School and acquire an MBA from Harvard Business School. She desperately wanted the concept of achievement to resonate for all Charlotte residents, regardless of what side of the city they called home, and regardless of their location on the economic mobility ladder. “I firmly believe my professional skills & experience, insight, civic engagement, and tribal knowledge of being a native Queen City resident can uniquely help to advance City Council’s key focal objectives.”