Charles Francis on fast food, binge-watching and other burning questions

Mayoral candidate Charles Francis has spent a lot of time and money over the past few months making sure you know where he stands on hot-button issues like affordable housing, social services and taxes.

But we also wanted answers to less-pressing questions. We sat down with him and incumbent Mayor Nancy McFarlane ahead of the Nov. 7 runoff election.

Here are Francis’ answers, condensed in some cases for brevity and clarity.

Q: What’s your favorite city besides Raleigh?

A: New York City. It’s one of the great cities of the world.

Q: Are you a dog person or a cat person?

A: Definitely a dog person. For 12 years, we had a Welsh Corgi named Bailey. One of the sad points of this campaign was when we had to put him down during the campaign one evening, but we still have our 3-year-old Golden Retriever, Princess Nallah.

Q: Cook Out or Bojangles’?

A: Definitely Bojangles’. I’m a fried chicken guy.

Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: Like all kids, I was really into sports. I played football and basketball. And I guess there was a period of time when I thought I was going to the NBA. And about in 10th grade, 11th grade, I stopped growing and decided I needed a plan B. I said why not be a lawyer, and that’s what I stuck with.

Q: What’s your most embarrassing or quirky hobby or pastime?

A: I’m not sure I’d say embarrassing, but I like to play squash.

Q: What’s the last thing you binge-watched?

A: The last thing I successfully binge-watched was the FX series “Atlanta,” and I can’t wait for the next season to come out. That was just a great show.

Q: What’s your favorite college basketball team?

A: No doubt: The Duke Blue Devils. But (my daughter) Logan is a cheerleader at Carolina. Logan asked me last year when Duke played Carolina, “Daddy, who are you rooting for?” I said, “I’m cheering for you.”

Q: What’s one thing you want people to know about you but haven’t had a chance to tell them?

A: That I have had friends and playmates and teammates and business partners and people I’ve done volunteer work with all over Raleigh from the time I was really small. They started busing for desegregation when I was in the third grade. I went from the Roberts Park neighborhood out to Effie Green (Elementary) in North Raleigh. In fifth grade I was student body president, then I walked to Ligon, and in ninth grade I was student body president. Then I was bused out to Sanderson (High School) in North Raleigh and in 12th grade, I was student body president again. I’ve had good friends all over Raleigh from the time I was a child, and I’ve continued that as a man.

Q: What’s the last book you read and actually enjoyed?

A: Ever since I was small, I have loved to read history and biographies. One of the best biographies I’ve ever read was Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. It is the book that the musical was based on. I read it a couple times before the musical was probably ever thought of. I never in a million years would have thought that a hip-hop musical could have been made out of the book. But that’s how genius works.

Q: Last question: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

A: You know, I’d never thought about that until you asked the question. But no, I wouldn’t consider a hot dog a sandwich. I consider a hot dog a hot dog. A hot dog is in its own category.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Charles Francis on fast food, binge-watching and other burning questions."