Lloyd Scher, former Mecklenburg County commissioner, has died

Lloyd Scher, a former Mecklenburg County commissioner, philanthropist and two-time state legislature candidate, died Dec. 18 following a battle with Parkinson’s disease and an inoperable brain tumor. He was 75.

Loved ones remember Scher as a jovial man with a loud demeanor and quirky personality. He was an artist — photography and writing were his mediums of choice — and he seemed to know everybody around, from NBA players to producers.

But most of all, they remember his selfless heart.

“Everybody who knew Lloyd knew that he was a dreamer, and not everything he hoped for would come,” said Ed Cecil, who knew Scher since he was 13. “I want people to remember him for his generosity and his hard work to make things a better place than they were when he got there.”

From New York to North Carolina

Scher was born in New York and had three brothers. The siblings were raised by their mother and aunt after their father died when Scher was 5 years old.

He maintained “a pretty good Brooklyn accent” throughout his life, though it would soften over time, said Scott Verner, a longtime friend and former Charlotte Observer editor who was with Scher when he died. He also remained a stalwart fan of the Dodgers baseball team, which was based in Brooklyn during his childhood.

But Scher was a Charlottean through and through: He moved to the city at 8 years old and would spend the majority of his life here.

He left Charlotte only a couple of times when he was young, first to serve in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, then to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

UNC was “the best school on earth” to Scher, Verner said. He applied seven times before getting accepted, with each rejection fueling his resolve. Once there, he was the varsity basketball team’s manager, becoming close friends with stars such as Al Wood and Jimmy Black.

And he was a dedicated foodie with particular obsessions, never leaving a restaurant without asking for seconds to go.

“Lloyd was Jewish, but his favorite thing was ham biscuits. He would hog the biscuits,” Cecil said. “And if it wasn’t the ham biscuits he was loving, it was the banana pudding. Lloyd always said he hoped he would die in a hot tub full of banana pudding.”

Elected life

The public might best remember Scher as a political figure. He was elected to four terms on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners from 1992 to 2000.

Scher was regarded as an outspoken liberal at a time when Republicans had a strong presence in Charlotte politics.

As former commissioner Bill James once described to the Observer: “Lloyd is one of the few honestly open liberals on the commission … I do totally respect him. Even though I don’t agree with him, he takes honest stands on issues.”

Strong constituent services made Scher a popular candidate. He was ever-present in his neighborhoods and schools, frequently attending PTA meetings and performing puppet shows for kids.

However, personal financial troubles swayed enough voters to side with a new leader in his district in 2000. A criminal investigation into his fundraising hung over Scher’s campaign leading up to the election, though he was ultimately cleared of charges.

He later served on the county’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, where he tracked whether bartenders were checking patrons’ IDs before serving them alcohol, Verner said.

Scher shifted his attention to state politics in 2007. The North Carolina House of Representatives considered him to fill a vacant seat but went instead with Tricia Cotham.

The two formally ran against each other in the subsequent Democratic primary, making him Cotham’s first-ever opponent in her decades-spanning political career.

Scher once again entered the political fray in 2016 when he ran for state Senate. Scher lost to Republican Dan Bishop, who authored the controversial House Bill 2, often referred to as the “bathroom bill,” requiring individuals in public buildings to use the bathroom aligned with the gender on their birth certificate.

“He was as strong a Democrat as anybody could be,” Verner said. “It took a lot of courage to run against Bishop.”

‘Always trying to help somebody’

Scher served in other, quieter ways, too.

Beyond politics, Scher was a member of the Lions Club, where he worked to address limitations faced by blind and vision-impaired people, Verner said. He was also a faithful member of the Jewish religion and a longtime congregant of Temple Israel in south Charlotte.

Each year, Scher hosted his own birthday party and asked attendees to bring new and unwrapped toys. He delivered loads of gifts to local agencies that served disadvantaged children, Verner said.

“He was always trying to help somebody, even if it didn’t help him or help us. He wanted to take somebody to lunch. He wanted to make sure that everybody was having a good day,” Cecil said. “He was just a terrific guy looking out to have a good time in life and be fair with people. I’m going to miss him a lot.”