Republican Tariq Bokhari plans to resign from the Charlotte City Council and will become the No. 2 transit official in President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation.
Bokhari will serve as deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, which, among other things, is responsible for awarding billions of dollars of grants for transit projects nationwide.
He confirmed the news to WFAE Tuesday.
His new position at the FTA comes at a critical time for the city of Charlotte.
The city wants to raise the sales tax by one percentage point to pay for a multibillion-dollar transportation plan. Sixty percent of the money raised by the tax would be used to pay for new rail lines and improved bus service.
Charlotte is counting on receiving federal grants to help pay for the projects, which include the Red Line commuter train to Lake Norman. The city also plans to build light rail from the airport to east Charlotte, extend the Gold Line streetcar and extend the Lynx Blue Line to Ballantyne.
To move the plan forward, Charlotte leaders are pushing for Republican lawmakers in Raleigh to approve a bill that would allow Mecklenburg voters to decide on whether to raise the sales tax. Three GOP senators filed a bill in February, but there has been no movement on the legislation. The session is expected to last through midsummer.
Charlotte politician steps up to national stage
Bokhari’s move to Washington has been a closely held secret.
Though he does not generally engage in partisan politics from the City Council dais, he is often a disruptor — brainstorming unusual ways to tackle problems and holding forth with a sometimes brash persona that can clash with Charlotte’s usual go-along, get-along municipal politics.
Four years ago, he urged city leaders to meet with representatives of Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to explore building tunnels under the city’s most crowded intersections. Nothing came of the idea.
He also proposed that the Charlotte Area Transit System install bulletproof shields to protect bus drivers after an operator was shot and killed in 2022. CATS said it would study the issue but then dropped it.
As Charlotte developed its transit plan, Bokhari has often urged the city to be forward-thinking. He often talks about the impact of self-driving cars as a form of transportation.
Bokhari was frustrated by how City Manager Marcus Jones created the transit plan — mostly in closed-door meetings with other managers. In September, he voted against a resolution to support the transportation plan, as well as a decision to buy Norfolk Southern freight railroad tracks for the Red Line.
He pushed for the transportation plan to include more road funding. That ultimately happened, with the proposed legislation requiring that 40% of all new tax revenue go towards roads.
While he was at times on the outside of Charlotte’s transportation plans, he now is a critical figure for the city’s transit future.
Former New York Republican Rep. Marcus Molinaro has been nominated to serve as administrator of the FTA, the agency's top position. His Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
He and Bokhari will be responsible for implementing DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s vision for the FTA.
In January, Duffy signed a memo stating that the FTA would take into account a community’s birth and marriage rates when awarding grant funding. He also said the agency would focus on funding projects that are cost-effective.
It’s unclear how that directive will impact Charlotte.
Charlotte's birth rate is higher than the national average, though its marriage rate is lower. Ridership on the Charlotte Area Transit System is roughly 65% of pre-pandemic levels.
Council vacancy
Bokhari’s impending resignation will create a vacancy in an election year. Charlotte’s municipal elections are scheduled for November, and he holds one of only two remaining Republican seats on the City Council. Council member Ed Driggs holds the other. The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners is held exclusively by Democrats.
It’s possible that Bokhari’s wife, Krista Bokhari, could be appointed to fill the seat until December. Under state law, the City Council must appoint someone from Bokhari’s political party to fill the seat.
Krista Bokhari ran unsuccessfully in November for a state House seat in south Charlotte.
