Prior to becoming Mayor, McNinch served as a state legislator. During his second term as Mayor, McNinch resigned to take a job in Washington. He was later chairman of the Federal Power Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. McNinch was also an attorney.
During his Administration:
- The Russian Revolution begins March 12, 1917.
- The City's nine streetcars displace billboards as advertising in the uptown area.
- The United Stated entered World War I, joining Great Britain and France in the fight against Germany on April 6, 1917.
- The National Guard quelled a bloody riot during a streetcar strike.
- Camp Green, with its 1000 tents, became the living and working barracks for 60,000 sholdiers passing through Charlotte. Camp Greene is named for Gen. Nathaniel Greene who defended Mecklenburg County from British attach during the Revolutionary War.
- The first S & W Cafeteria opened in Charlotte.
- Charlottean Cameron Morrison was elected governor of North Carolina. (The Morrison home is historic Morrocroft near SouthPark).
- A flu epidemic killed hundreds in Charlotte in 1918.
- World War I ended on November 11, 1918. Worldwide, 10 million died as a result of the war.