David’s Biography

David L. Howard, a Democrat, is an At-Large Representative on Charlotte City Council. Howard was elected in 2009 and is serving his first term. He chairs the Transportation and Planning Committee and is a member of the Environment and Budget Committees.

David was recently appointed to National League of 2011 Community and Economic Development Policy and Advocacy Steering Committee. He also is the Council Representative for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Development Corporation and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO).  He was born in Charlotte and has been Vice President of Special Projects and Community Affairs of The Housing Partnership since 1997.

David recently completed a year-long national fellowship, along with San Antonio Councilwomen Ivy Taylor, as a part of the 2011 inaugural fellows class with the NBC LEO, a caucus of the National League of Cities.  David was also appointed in January 2011 to the Planning and Environment Legislative Action Committee for the North Carolina League of Municipalities.  He is also a board member for the Charlotte Mecklenburg African American Community Committee (CMAACC), which is affiliated with the Foundation of the Carolinas and Johnson C. Smith University.

Howard was a member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission for six years, serving as its chairman from July 2007 – June 2009.  He is the immediate past -chairman of the Planning Coordinating Committee, which consists of officials from all elected bodies in Mecklenburg County.

He has been appointed as an Urban Community Advisor for the National Urban Land Institute in Washington. He was selected as a 2009 American Memorial Fellow by The German Marshall Fund, which annually awards this honor to only 55 emerging leaders from across the U.S.

Council member Howard has been involved in the Charlotte community leadership for more than 20 years. He and two others co-founded the group Mothers of Murdered Offspring in 1993 receiving the Pride Award for Organization of the Year.

His other community organizations and board memberships have included: The ‘Committee of 21’ Road Funding Solutions Committee; Mecklenburg County Environmental Policy Coordination Committee; Urban Land Institute – Charlotte Council; Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO); YMCA – Steele Creek branch; Belmont Community Development Corporation; Housing Charlotte 2007 Planning Committee; and the Mecklenburg County Human Services Council.

Howard is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and holds a BA in Sociology and a certification as a Housing Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council. He is also a 1998 Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership.

He and his wife Mary Walker-Howard have three children and one grandson.