Kim Henderson, the woman chosen to help oversee the Mayor's Racial Equity Initiative in Charlotte, is stepping down.
In her resignation letter dated Feb. 13, Henderson wrote that the work of the initiative is "too critical to be jeopardized in any way by public misperceptions related" to her previous job.
An Ohio state audit found that the agency Henderson led there paid out $3.8 billion in fraudulent and inflated unemployment claims.
Henderson wrote that criminals used the pandemic to defraud unemployment benefits systems across the nation.
"In response to the pandemic, my top priority as Cabinet Director was assisting nearly two million Ohioans in need as quickly as possible," she wrote. "Regrettably, foreign and domestic criminals used the pandemic as an opportunity to defraud unemployment benefits systems across the nation at an unprecedented scale. Many of the improvements that were launched during my tenure are now fully operational."
The Ohio attorney general had asked police to launch an investigation into Henderson and her staff, but Henderson said in her statement that she is not the subject of any criminal investigation.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance released Henderson’s letter and another by its CEO Janet LaBar and the initiative’s co-chairs Malcomb Coley and Mike Lamach.
In the letter, they said that LaBar has taken responsibility for Henderson’s hiring and that they regret the negative attention the process has brought to the initiative and Mayor Vi Lyles.
The letter described how governance, operations and distribution of funds of the Mayor's Racial Equity Initiative will work. The writers also sought to reassure the community.
"This Initiative and its leadership will learn as we move forward, and we commit to doing better. Every member of our community deserves our best work, and we expect you to hold us accountable," they wrote.
