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On the last day of early voting Saturday, the three Democratic candidates for Charlotte City Council District 3 staked out a piece of the parking lot at West Regional Library.
Not many voters showed up, but incumbent Tiawana Brown and challengers Joi Mayo and Warren Turner aimed to talk to everyone who came. They wanted to make a final sales pitch.
Brown was laser-focused on an older couple who had come to vote early.
“Good morning, how are you doing?” Brown said. “I am your sitting council member. All of my accolades are on my website. There is no other council member like me. I’m born and raised in this district for 54 years. I wear my heart on my sleeve.”
When she was first elected in 2023, Brown ran on a redemption story after serving time in federal prison for fraud when she was in her 20s.
Now, the U.S. attorney’s office says she and her two adult daughters fraudulently received $124,000 of COVID-19 relief loans, two years before she was elected. They have pleaded not guilty. Her next court date is in November.
In west Charlotte, Brown is trying hard to win voters' support. She told the older couple that she's not running from the allegations.
“At the end of the day, I am facing a tough battle,” she said. “I don’t run from the allegations; they are just that. I have to have my day in court. But I truly, truly believe at the end of the day….”
The man asks what her name is.
“I’m Council Member Tiawana Brown, Beauty After the Bars [her nonprofit that helps women who have been incarcerated],” she said.
The woman asks for more information.
Brown said she took a “PPP loan, five years ago.” Brown also acknowledged she might take a plea deal and that she would likely have to resign from City Council if she wins a second term.
After that, Brown, who was wearing a blue fedora, steps aside for an interview.
“It’s very emotional because people have the right to be concerned about a legal battle,” she said. “But I also have the right to have my due process in court. I will answer the tough questions, it don’t get no tougher than this.”
Brown has lost some endorsements because of her indictment, but she still has the backing of the Service Employees International Union. Brown voted with the SEIU earlier this year for the council to study ways to improve the working conditions and pay of contract workers at Charlotte Douglas Airport.
District 3 covers west Charlotte and fast-growing southwest Charlotte. When Brown won the Democratic primary two years ago, only about 3,000 people voted in the election.
Standing between Brown and a second nomination are two candidates: Warren Turner, a former City Council member, and Joi Mayo, a neighborhood activist who works for Trees for Charlotte.
Montravias King is also on he ballot, though he suspended his campaign last month and backed Brown.
On Saturday, Mayo was also campaigning at the library. She joked with a voter about getting a migraine the day before.
“I’ll make sure to hydrate today,” she said.
Mayo won the critical endorsement of the Black Political Caucus over Brown by a single vote. She is running on a traditional campaign of smart growth and building more affordable housing.
She does not bring up Brown’s indictment when campaigning.
“We know Charlotte is known for its politics being very polite, which I like,” she said. “We’re staying focused on the issues that affect District 3 residents. And everything else is unnecessary to talk about.”
Also in the race is former council member Warren Turner, who represented the district for eight years last decade.
His main issue is public safety. He mentioned the random murder of a young woman on the Lynx Blue Line by a man with mental illness.
“After what happened on the light rail system, people want to talk about (crime),” he said. “When I took over this district in 2003, we had the highest crime rate. I have watched us fall back. Our leadership has taken a passive role, and it endangers all the things that make Charlotte a great city.”
Turner finished second to Brown in 2023.
If not for her legal problems, Brown would be the heavy favorite. She grew up in the district in the public housing community Southside Homes. She has friends and family throughout the west side and won every precinct in the 2023 Democratic primary.
But the district also includes fast-growing Steele Creek, filled with newer voters.
Joey Davidson lives there and supports Mayo. He said that’s not because of Brown’s indictment.
“It wasn’t a factor for me,” he said. “Those issues do not supersede what happens day to day in our community. Those who live here know who’s involved and who's doing what.”
There is a Republican in the race, James H. Bowers. An unaffiliated candidate is also trying to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary will face Bowers and the unaffiliated candidate in November.
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