Jennifer Watson Roberts was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She graduated from East Mecklenburg High School in 1978, and went on to graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill on a Morehead Scholarship.
After her undergraduate degree, Roberts went on to earn two Masters Degrees in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University and from the University of Toronto.
She worked as a diplomat for four years with the US Department of State, serving in the Dominican Republic as a consular officer and then as a political officer on the Mexico Desk before returning to Charlotte.
During her years in Charlotte, Roberts has been Director of the Mayor’s International Cabinet, a lending officer in International Corporate Banking at First Union, and executive director of the Charlotte World Affairs Council.
Roberts has served on numerous boards and advisory groups in the region, including ArtsTeach, the Centralina Council of Governments, the Charlotte Chamber, the Girls Scouts Hornets Nest Council, Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, and the Women’s Commission. She is a recipient of the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead award.
Roberts is a volunteer on children’s issues, alleviating poverty and homelessness, and environmental protection. She is visible in the Charlotte community, known for attending many events and public gatherings.
In 2012, Roberts ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent North Carolina's 9th congressional district. Roberts won the nomination on the Democratic ticket after running unopposed in the primary. Roberts was looking to replace incumbent Rep. Sue Myrick (R), who retired in 2012. Roberts was defeated by Republican candidate Robert Pittenger on November 6, 2012. Despite her loss, the race was the most competitive that the 9th district had seen in nearly 60 years. The 9th had been one of the first districts in North Carolina to turn Republican; it and its predecessors have been in GOP hands since 1953.
The 2015 Charlotte mayoral election took place on November 3, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Mayoral elections in Charlotte are biennial, with the winner being sworn-in in December. Primary elections were held on September 15, 2015, with primary runoffs held on October 6, as no candidate cleared the 40% threshold. Roberts defeated incumbent Dan Clodfelter in the primary and faced Republican Edwin Peacock III in the general election. Roberts defeated Peacock with just over 52% of the vote. She took office in December 2015.
Charlotte
Charlotte, is the largest city in the state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County and the second largest city in the southeastern United States, just behind Jacksonville, Florida. Charlotte is the third fastest growing major city in the United States. In 2014, the estimated population of Charlotte according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 809,958, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area ranks 22nd largest in the US and had a 2014 population of 2,380,3 The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2014 U.S. Census population estimate of 2,537,990. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans". It is listed as a "gamma-plus" global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America and the east coast operations of Wells Fargo, which along with other financial institutions makes it the second largest banking center in the United States. Among Charlotte's many notable attractions, some of the most popular include the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League (USL), two NASCAR Sprint Cup races and the NASCAR All-Star Race, the Wells Fargo Championship, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Carowinds amusement park, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a major international hub, and was ranked the 23rd busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in 2013.
Nicknamed the Queen City, like its county a few years earlier, Charlotte was named in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who had become the Queen of Great Britain just seven years before the town's incorporation. A second nickname derives from the American Revolutionary War, when British commander General Cornwallis occupied the city but was driven out by hostile residents, prompting him to write that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion", leading to the nickname The Hornet's Nest.
Charlotte has a humid subtropical climate. Charlotte is located several miles east of the Catawba River and southeast of Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina. Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake are two smaller man-made lakes located near the city.
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