ANERALLA

June 12. John Aneralla, a 2012 Republican candidate for the District 41 seat now held by Jeff Tarte in the North Carolina State Senate, says he will run for mayor of Huntersville. The Republican party stalwart is a former president of the Lake Norman Kiwanis Club in Cornelius and former chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party. He previously ran for District 40 in 2010, but was not elected.

He announced his opposition to the I-77 toll plan in 2010.

Aneralla said the main reasons he is running have to do with “the lack of leadership from the mayor’s office” around tolls on I-77, the business community and property taxes. “Two years ago they raised taxes, in spite of an increase in property valuations.

“I feel like I’m the underdog, but I will run a grass roots campaign,” Aneralla said.

Filing opens July 3. The current mayor of Huntersville, Jill Swain, is expected to file in July.

Aneralla’s official campaign announcement is expected early next week.

Aneralla campaigned as the “authentic conservative” against Tarte. He was endorsed by former Cornelius Mayor Wes Southern.A member of Davidson United Methodist Church, Aneralla has been in the financial services industry since 1986. In 2004, he established Bulldog Asset Management Inc., an investment advisory firm.Aneralla, his wife Nancy and their children have lived in Huntersville since 1997.