Pat Cotham's superhero alter ego takes flight after chair vote

The Mecklenburg County commissioners, to no one's surprise, gave Trevor Fuller another year in the chairman's seat, dismissing a bid from controversial former chair Pat Cotham, the top vote-getter in the last election. Commissioner Bill James, not exactly a universally beloved figure in local politics, said on his Facebook page that the heavy doses of ridicule coming from the large pro-Pat and anti-Pat protesters in the audience was "not nice to watch."

Cotham introduced a dose of humor to the situation last night when she noticed the following photo on Twitter, created by the satirical group Charlotte Squawks, and posted it on her Facebook page:

Not sure what to call her superhero alter ego here -- BatCotham? PatWoman? the Dark Slight? (Get it? 'Cause she was slighted by the other...oh nevermind). Anyway, here's hoping it helps the board members share a laugh and move on to start finding common ground on the many pressing issues before them.

--Eric Frazier