Term on City Council: 2017 - Present
Personal: Dimple Ajmera is proud to be living the American dream. With little means, her parents immigrated to the U.S. to provide their children with greater opportunities. Proving her tenacity, Ajmera learned English as a teenager, graduated from college and, as a successful Certified Public Accountant won awards for managing multi-million dollar budgets. She left her successful career to use her skills for public service to make Charlotte the best city it can be. As a wife and working mother of two young daughters, Ajmera is now serving her fourth term on City Council At Large — elected in 2022 and 2023 as a top vote getter.
Education: NC Institute of Political Leadership Fellowship; University of Southern California, bachelor's degree in accounting; Southern High School, Durham.
Professional Experience: Councilwoman Ajmera cleaned hotel rooms and worked various minimum wage jobs to put herself through college. After graduation, she worked for Deloitte and TIAA-CREF managing large scale financial projects.
Civic Engagement: Charlotte City Council District 5 Representative; Former board member of the Charlotte Housing Authority; Democratic Women; Young Democrats of Mecklenburg County; Asian American Caucus.
Key Achievements: Councilwoman Ajmera was the first Asian-American and youngest woman to be elected to City Council. She successfully championed affordable healthcare for thousands of city employees.
Ajmera supported $50 million in affordable housing bonds to increase the supply of safe, quality, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout Charlotte. She also played an integral role in securing the funding and neighborhood support for the St. John's Place affordable housing development. She continues to work to expand access to affordable housing and increase local awareness and action on school safety. As former District 5 Representative, Ajmera championed the redevelopment of the former 69-acre Eastland site, an area left undeveloped for years. Later she worked with her successors to bring to fruition a mixed-use development at the former Eastland site which includes affordable housing, retail, sports, recreation, and a park.
As Chair of the Budget Committee, Ajmera successfully facilitated bi-partisan approval of a 3.3-billion-dollar city budget that increased investments to address community needs and raised salaries for city employees for five straight years without raising taxes.
She helped develop the SAFE Charlotte plan to adopt a comprehensive, holistic approach to community well-being and the Alternatives to Violence program to enhance community safety by addressing the root causes of crime.
As part of the Economic Development Committee, Ajmera helped create the HIRE Charlotte initiative to expand employment opportunities and strengthen Charlotte job creation.
She is dedicated to helping Charlotte become a global leader in sustainability and successfully championed the adoption of the bipartisan Strategic Energy Action Plan - the city's first-ever framework to transition to a low carbon future. Within 24 hours of its passing, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Charlotte to announce a $2.5 million grant from his foundation toward Charlotte's efforts to fight climate change. Ajmera promoted The Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte by 2050 Resolution(PDF, 1MB) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to zero-carbon sources for city operations by 2030, and guide Charlotte into a low-carbon city by 2050.
Council Committee Assignments: Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations; Housing, Safety and Community
Platform and Goals: Councilwoman Ajmera's key priorities include public safety, affordable housing, a healthy environment, women's equality, economic development, and infrastructure.
Awards and Recognitions:
- Montford Point Marine Association's (Charlotte Chapter #40) 2023 Outstanding Civic Achievement Award
- 2019 CleanAIRE NC Blue Sky Award for public policy work
- 2018 Rotary International Global Service Award
- Café Mocha Radio Community Advocate Award
- Longleaf Politics' 54 Top Young Political Stars in North Carolina
- 50 Most Influential Women in Mecklenburg County by The Mecklenburg Times
- Charlotte Business Journal's 40 under 40
- NAACP Excellence in Leadership Award