Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James wants to continue in his role as the board's most conservative member, but Richard "Dick" Yoder says six years is long enough.

Yoder, James' opponent in the District 6 Republican primary, said James seems too concerned with personal vendettas and political argument and is not in touch with the voters he represents.

"I'm not going to nit-pick and get involved with everybody and fight with everybody and start wars with everybody," Yoder said.

James, a social conservative, has developed a reputation for firing off outraged e-mails on county issues and embracing debates on touchy topics such as the pledge of allegiance.

He says he's delivered projects to his district's small towns and represented the district's interests well during the past six years. He has voted against tax increases and helped bring new libraries to Matthews and Mint Hill, he said.

District 6 includes the small towns of Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville, as well as areas in south Charlotte. The district is 49 percent Republican, 27 percent Democrat and 21 percent unaffiliated. The winner of the Republican primary will face no Democratic opposition in November.

To combat James' incumbent advantage, Yoder has been dutifully attending meetings in the three towns to gather the support he says will help him beat James.

But James said that strategy won't work.

"He's just flat-out wrong if he thinks that somehow or another, I don't communicate with these guys," he said.

Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers and Matthews Mayor Lee Myers on Wednesday said they support James. The biggest issues in their towns, they said, are keeping taxes low and making tax dollars go as far as possible when it comes to schools.

"I don't agree with everything Bill James does or his methodology, but he's accessible, and I believe he has the best interests of the county at heart," Myers said.

Pineville Mayor George Fowler could not be reached Wednesday.

James questioned why Yoder is running. "I tend to think he's running because he wants something to do this summer," he said.

Yoder, who lives in southeast Charlotte, said he has plenty of other things to do -- such as enjoying his semi-retirement -- and that he's running to give voters in District 6 a choice.

Yoder favors a range of unorthodox ideas: banning campaign signs ("clutter") -- though he has put up 600 of his own this year -- and imposing a two-year moratorium on commercial and retail development in District 6.

He also said he didn't take any campaign donations because he doesn't "want to be obligated to anyone but the voters."

James, who is running for a fourth two-year term, said he will continue his practice of going over the budget line by line and fight for no tax increase over the next two years.

Stan Campbell, president of the moderate Alliance for a Better Charlotte, said James will be hard to unseat.

"You can't beat Bill unless you get somebody from Matthews or Mint Hill to run against him," said Campbell, who's no fan of James. "At this point, he represents their philosophy so well, why would they try to replace him?"

Richard "Dick" Yoder

Party: Republican.

Age: 69.

How to contact: Home (704) 846-6527 or work (704) 336-2573. E-mail at wjames@carolina.rr.com