A former Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board candidate who drew statewide attention over ties to the Republican Party will speak at next week’s Republican National Convention.
Annette Albright, who ran for the CMS board multiple times, is one of more than 20 “everyday Americans” scheduled to address the GOP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the party nominates former President Donald Trump, according to an announcement from the Trump campaign. TOP VIDEOS
The schedule describes Albright as “a lifelong Democrat” who “even ran for local office as a Democrat.” “After seeing a decline in her community and realizing how Democrats have failed Black Americans, she will proudly be voting for President Donald J. Trump for the first time this year,” it says.
During her 2023 campaign for an at-large seat on the CMS board — a nonpartisan election — Albright and two other candidates were accused by a progressive group of having ties to the Republican Party of Mecklenburg County.
Carolina Forward claimed the party was “trying to ‘pull a Cotham’ again” — a reference to the state legislator who flipped parties from Democrat to Republican — by secretly supporting a “CMS Unity” ticket that included Albright.
The MeckGOP denied those claims. A Charlotte Observer report found Albright was registered to vote as unaffiliated, but campaign finance filings showed all three candidates shared a P.O. box and treasurer with some Republican politicians and political action committees.
The Mecklenburg Democratic Party promoted three other candidates in the election. Albright finished sixth out of 14 candidates and didn’t win a seat.
