PHOTO | TROY HULL

Colette Forrest, outgoing chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, plans to go back to consulting and spending more time with her son, Robert. Forrest led a transformation of the BPC into community-focused advocacy and a major role in progressive gains on Charlotte City Council and approval of Charlotte-Mecklenburg school bonds.

Colette Forrest comes from a family of fighters.

Her grandmother, Lillian Washington, registered voters in Charleston, South Carolina at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Her mother, Mary Forrest, advocated for workers rights. Collette didn’t have to go far to locate her activist roots or link disruption and theology.

“It’s not odd to me that politics and religion are the two topics that most rile people up,” she said, “because they’re actually mirror images of each other when you really study the Bible and study the life of Jesus Christ. Whenever you try to be a change agent, as much as people say they want change, they want their change as long as it benefits them.”

Forrest, The Post’s Newsmaker of the Year, made the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus relevant beyond all expectation by fusing political action and community education into a winning progressive agenda. The BPC, long known for its candidate endorsements, became a player in Charlotte politics with Forrest as chair and agitator-in-chief. Her campaign included three objectives: enlarge its footprint in the community, boost membership and improve its financial health through fundraising and fiscal responsibility.

Forrest said every goal was met, which is why she’s retiring halfway into a two-year term in order to spend more time with her son, Robert.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better exit,” she said. “We had such a phenomenal year. I did everything I set out to do, and then some. I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do in this space, and now it’s time to move on.”

Said Davidson College political science professor Susan Roberts: “She’ll be a tough act to follow. You don’t want to be the one to take the caucus backward after what she’s done to move it forward in so many respects, especially in terms of technology and community engagement.”

Forrest, a longtime political operative with Democratic and Republican campaigns who was elected chair in February, immediately focused the conference on community input to make politics work for African American interests. The results were a clean sweep: every BPC-endorsed Charlotte City Council candidate was elected, including Vi Lyles as the first black woman to win the mayor’s office. A $900 million school bond was also passed. A coalition of younger adults and people of color – rallied in part by the caucus – paved the way.

“She had some pretty good electoral success,” said Arthur Griffin, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board chair and caucus member. “As a leader in the caucus, she certainly didn’t do it by herself, but being in a leadership position, with respect to the candidates the caucus selected to endorse, did pretty good.”

A marketing and event-planning consultant and registered independent, Forrest, 50, recused herself from outside political activity, which is prohibited by caucus rules. She hasn’t decided her next move, but it’ll “probably” include a return to the political realm.

“I’m going to breathe fresh air,” she said, laughing. “The way I’m wired, you know I’m going to multitask, so you’ll probably see me very soon at a campaign before you.”

That, Forrest insists, doesn’t mean making the leap from political operative to running for office. She prefers working in the background for people and issues she believes in, regardless of affiliation.

“From what I’ve gathered, [Forrest] isn’t the type to put herself out front as a candidate,” Roberts said. “She’s been very effective as a consultant and operative, and I’d imagine that’s where she’s more comfortable.”

Forrest is also at ease with confrontation. As BPC chair, she called out Republican lawmakers for proposing a remap of judicial districts that would’ve forced African Americans to run against each other or retire. City Council at-large representative Julie Eiselt recoiled at the suggestion a caucus endorsement meant campaigning for other candidates. The caucus confirmed its support for Eiselt without reservation.

Forrest also shamed incumbent mayor Jennifer Roberts for not participating in a forum before the Democratic primary and intimated in-house battles over the BPC’s focus and direction.

“The caucus is composed of unique individuals with interesting personalities and agendas,” Forrest said.

The BPC took up community-based initiatives to connect voters with political and social issues, including a town hall meeting with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to discuss relationships between law enforcement and civilians. It also sponsored workshops for people interested in running for political office as well as candidate forums. The goal was to support an agenda, not a political party.

“She brought a lot of energy to the post – there’s no question about that,” Griffin said. “She achieved some of her goals, most specifically raising the profile of the Black Political Caucus in the greater Charlotte community. That was a significant feat for her.”

Said Forrest: “That was my platform. We were going out into the community and provide information to the community.”

The conference’s newfound clout comes down to numbers. Two-thirds of registered Democrats are African American and in order to win in citywide races, candidates need their backing – and advocacy – to succeed.

"Colette was the perfect person at the perfect time," said Roberts, the Davidson professor. “Although she had lots of help, you would’ve been hard-pressed to find anyone else who would’ve put themselves on the line like that.”

The political class is taking note of the caucus’ more aggressive approach to politics under Forrest. Its initiative to groom candidates, use of metrics to score candidate endorsements and confronting elected officials in the interest of African Americans are among her achievements.

“If you ask me what I want my legacy to be, it’s that an African American organization was seen past the color boundary – that whites respected the Black Political Caucus,” she said. “That Hispanics, that Asians, that Republicans, that Democrats [respect]. I wanted to build an organization that my ancestors could be proud of, that the community could be proud of.”

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