Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory came under fire Thursday from other Republican gubernatorial candidates who questioned his leadership and his record on taxes.

Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County attacked the mayor for creating "one of the largest tax burdens in the state." And former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr of Raleigh accused McCrory of being "a cheerleader," not a leader.

Their comments came during a sometimes spirited debate at Charlotte's WTVI that also included Salisbury attorney Bill Graham.

The candidates spent much of the hourlong debate answering questions about issues such as education, health care and transportation. But when the subject turned to taxes, Smith pounced.

McCrory, he said, presided over several tax hikes, including higher taxes on food and hotels.

The mayor said he'd kept the property tax low and other taxes were approved by voters in referendums.

"It's hypocritical to say (you) follow the will of the people when 57 percent voted against the arena and the city built it anyway," Smith shot back.

"Fred's exactly right on the arena," Orr added. "It all comes out of the public pocketbook."

In a 2001 nonbinding referendum, Charlotte voters rejected a package that included a new uptown arena and several cultural projects.

The $342 million package would have been paid for largely with a countywide hotel-motel tax. The defeat sped the departure of the NBA Charlotte Hornets.

In 2003, with the promise of a new team, the mayor and City Council approved a new $265 million arena. It was financed largely with taxes on hotel rooms and car rentals, as well as the sale of city-owned property.

The Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank, found that Charlotte ranked first among large N.C. cities for per capita revenue and property tax burden.

Margot Christensen, public affairs director for the N.C. League of Municipalities, said that's not necessarily an accurate reflection. "That doesn't reflect how much somebody individually pays," she said. "Because revenues come from many different sources, not just individuals."

Mecklenburg County does impose an extra half-cent sales tax for transit, a tax championed by McCrory. But voters twice approved that tax in a referendum.

And Charlotte's property tax rate of 45.9 cents per $100 valuation is less than Greensboro's 63.5 cents or Durham's 61.3 cents.

McCrory, who just won a seventh term, boasted that the city built the arena without a property tax hike, and that he has used his veto to squelch other tax hikes.

"I've got Pat's veto record here," Orr replied. "I see very little in terms of budget restraints over these 12 years."

McCrory stopped a tax increase with a veto in 2005. He vetoed a proposed tax hike in 2006, but Democrats overrode him. While McCrory touted his record as a leader, Orr credited Charlotte's success to its council-manager form of government.

"The mayor is the cheerleader," he said. "There's a difference between being a cheerleader and a leader."

"I must be far ahead in the polls," McCrory replied, "because of all the unwarranted and inaccurate attacks."

Decision 2008

Watch the debate

The debate, sponsored by WTVI's Carolina Business Review and the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, will air tonight at 9 p.m. on WTVI (Channel 42).

It will be rebroadcast Saturday at 2:30 a.m. and Sunday at noon.