I just applied for the vacant Charlotte City Council seat

There's a window of opportunity to actually get a few important things done

This isn’t a typical Longleaf Politics newsletter, but I wanted to share something with you.

A few days ago, I applied to fill the vacant seat on Charlotte City Council — the one left open after my friend Tariq Bokhari stepped down to take a big-time role at the Federal Transit Administration.

That means the rest of the council gets to make a short-term appointment for someone to fill the seat. The term only runs through December, when a new council is elected and sworn in.

Let me say this upfront: I’m not running for the seat. I will not be on the ballot. That’s not what this is about.

There’s a decent chance that Tariq’s wife Krista Bokhari could be appointed to this seat, and I’d support that wholeheartedly. She’d be great. But I also know there’s a real interest on the council in appointing someone who isn’t running this year. Someone who can step in, help move a few key priorities forward, and then quietly step aside.

That’s where I come in.

The council needs to appoint a Republican (…