Is Pat McCrory Hesitant to Say 'Charlotte' in TV Ads?

Pat McCrory was mayor of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009, holding office for a city-record seven terms. In my opinion, he was an effective mayor and should be credited for spearheading and championing a lot of the successful growth Charlotte experienced during the last decade. His successor, Mayor Anthony Foxx, has done a good job as well and has helped lead the city out of the recession. See what I just did? I complimented two political leaders, one who's a Republican (McCrory) and one who's a Democrat (Foxx). I wish more of you what push your partisan views (and hate) aside and give credit where it's due. But on to my point.

McCrory is in the homestretch of his second run for governor of North Carolina. He lost to Bev Perdue in 2008. This time around, McCrory is facing Walter Dalton, the Democratic nominee and current lieutenant governor of the state. McCrory has a sizable lead in the polls I've seen, but the 2012 NC gubernatorial race will probably end up being closer, influenced by voter turnout and the majority of people voting straight-party. McCrory appears to be outspending Dalton, at least that's how it seems regarding the number of TV ads by him I've been seeing lately, which led to something else I noticed.

Does Pat McCrory have a problem saying "Charlotte"? Check out two of his recent commercials (here and here, or watch below), where he touts his tenure as mayor but doesn't name the city.

It seems odd to me that McCrory doesn't say Charlotte in those ads, which are two of the last three TV ads he's released. In the other one, Charlotte is mentioned, but by someone else, in that not-intended-to-be-funny-but-kinda-is-ad featuring former Wilson, NC Sheriff Wayne Gay, who says McCrory "did great as mayor of Charlotte. He'll do great with our state, or I'll hunt him down."

Perhaps McCrory is concerned about any perceived Charlotte stigma negatively affecting his appeal to voters across this large, diverse state of ours. Plus, former Charlotte mayors don't have a good track record of seeking higher office, such as Harvey Gantt's (D) two failed runs for U.S. Senate (1990 and 1996), Sue Myrick's (R) unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 1992 (though she would be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and hold that seat until she announced her retirement in 2012), Richard Vinroot's (R) three failed attempts to become NC governor (1996, 2000, and 2004) and McCrory's own unsuccessful 2008 run.

Still, c'mon Pat, represent for the Queen City!