Ready for a new challenge

George Battle III ready to make a run for Congressional seat

Though he wasn’t born here, George Battle III considers Charlotte to be home since he moved to the city at age 1.

Today, he’s a Democratic candidate for the 12th Congressional District seat that will become vacant if U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is confirmed by the Senate to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency. N.C. Sen. Malcolm Graham will also vie for Watt’s seat.

Photo by J. Harris Photography and Design George Battle III

Battle is the son of George Battle Jr., bishop of the Piedmont Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. A graduate of West Charlotte High School, Battle went to UNC-Chapel Hill on a full scholarship and earned a degree in political science.  

“After graduation I worked at what was then Duke Power Company. I enjoyed it, but after a year I decided to go to law school. I got a full scholarship at UNC School of Law.”

Battle married after his first year of law school. After earning his law degree, he went to work for Carolinas HealthCare.

“I worked there for 11 years doing various things, but primarily I was focused on health-care law and nonprofit law,” he explains.

Fascinated by health-care law, Battle gained valuable experience during his time at Carolinas HealthCare.

“Most of the law surrounding health care has nothing to do with malpractice,” Battle explains. “I gained insight into the complexity of things like Medicare and other health-care programs. It was really interesting to see how health-care laws made at the federal level affect people. I really came to understand the struggles that hospitals, health-care providers and patients go through as they operate under the strictures of our health-care laws.

“So many needs go unmet,” Battle says, “and there are so many folks who can’t afford health care. I saw … how people’s lives are impacted by health-care laws ... I helped doctors and administrators navigate the laws and provide services. All of that had a huge impact on me. … I learned that for the most part in those scenarios, there aren’t bad guys – there are just people struggling to figure out how to operate within the system and do the best they can.”

Phone call from friend is catalyst for career change

Serendipitously, when Battle found himself ready for new challenges, a friend told him about a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools vacancy.

“Around 2008 or so, I was really enjoying my work at Carolinas HealthCare, but I also felt like I was ready to guide a legal department. I wanted to help implement policy, work with top-level decision makers and guide the legal function. ...

“I didn’t have a target to go in-house with K-12 education, but the opportunity at CMS opened in 2010 and I had a good friend in education law who suggested I apply for the position of general counsel with the school system,” Battle recalls.  

He believes that although his experience in education law was limited, he was selected for the role of general counsel for CMS because he approaches everything he does with a simple and effective philosophy.

“It’s always about leadership and the qualities you bring to leadership. Those qualities determine whether you succeed or not in a given job. ...”

Fast-forward to this year. “I got a call from a friend in D.C., and they said Mel Watt was likely going to take on a role in Washington, and that his 12th District Congressional seat would be vacant. My friend said, ‘This is something you ought to consider,’” Battle says.

Before Battle and his wife, Renita, had their two children, they were involved in politics. “I really hadn’t thought about being involved again in politics for a long time. When my friend said I ought to consider running for Congress, my first response was no – that part of my life is done. But then I got a few more calls and thought about it a little more.

“I’ve talked to so many people and really taken a hard look at this opportunity. I have concluded … I have something to offer. I have experience in health care and education, and more personally, I cannot imagine my kids growing up in a world where I had an opportunity to shape things and I didn’t take it.”