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Mackey also felt it was time for a change from the status quo where "elected officials have no contact and no connection with their constituency and the people."

Talking to Mackey, he makes it clear that his run for District 99 isn't about him. He says he doesn't have a particular issue that he's running on. He says he's there for the people.

"I've talked to the people in the district. I plan to go to Raleigh and represent their desires; not what I think is important but what they want. The only way I'll know what they want is to do what I've been doing and that's talking to them. A lot of people will ask me, 'What issues are important to you?' And it's not about the issues that are important to me. Those may be the same issues that are important to my constituency, but they may not be. If they say they are concerned about the environment and all of my votes are contrary to that, then I'm not representing them -- and I should be voted out."

Saunders, hoping not to be voted out, was quick to throw jabs at Mackey ... even though his record isn't squeaky clean either. According to an August survey of Mecklenburg County lawmakers by The Charlotte Observer, Saunders' campaign reports did not include $15,250 in donations that political action committees reported giving him.

Saunders told the Observer: "I have no desire to be a policeman, judge or sheriff. I am running for this office to represent the people of the district, not because I am mad that I cannot be sheriff. My opponent has been held in contempt of court because he would not represent one person in the courtroom. If he did not represent one person in the heart of Charlotte, how can we expect him to represent 67,000 people while working out of the ... Capitol in Raleigh?"

Mackey says he read the comments and chose to ignore them. "This is my thing: I have always stayed above the mudslinging," he says. "I don't have a problem staying above it, and I plan to stay above it in this race as much as possible. I'm not going to be as quiet as I was in the previous race. If I'm attacked, I will respond appropriately. But I don't plan to stoop to the mudslinging."

Mackey says that another reason he decided to run is because his son is on board. He says that the sheriff's race was difficult on his son. But thanks to a teacher who took time out of the class to explain politics to the students, his little boy and his classmates were able to get a better understanding as to why Mackey was on the front page every day.

"I talked to him about running again, and I asked him if he wanted me to. His response was real funny. He said, 'If you run again, will they put you on TV?' And I said, 'Yes, they will put me on TV if I run again.' He loves the attention, so it worked out fine with him."