The Charlotte City Council swore in three new members Monday: Kimberly Owens, JD Mazuera Arias and Joi Mayo.
A week before that, some old tensions boiled over in an email exchange between all council members.
District 2 council member Malcolm Graham was offended by comments made by council member LaWana Mayfield during a public meeting earlier. Mayfield appeared to have suggested Graham wasn’t present for enough meetings on community area plans under consideration by the city.
Graham was livid.
He wrote:
“I am writing this email to make absolutely clear that the comments Councilwoman Mayfield made during last night’s meeting — suggesting that I have not listened to residents or shown up on the Community Area Plans meetings — were entirely false, unprofessional, and unacceptable.
“Councilwoman Mayfield, your statements attempted to turn a policy disagreement into a personal attack. That crosses a line. I have attended well over a dozen meetings with residents, neighborhood leaders, and staff on this issue. I have not seen you at any one of them. None!”
He continued:
“Let me be very clear:
I will not tolerate personal attacks.
I will not allow anyone to misrepresent my record.
And I will not sit quietly while false narratives are created in a public forum.
The next time that it happens. I will respond in real time and add to the dysfunction that occurs each and every Monday night.”
Ahead of a big 2027, who has the most $$$?
The City Council on Monday picked James Mitchell to be the mayor pro tem, a ceremonial title that was historically given to the council member who received the most votes.
In this election, that was Dimple Ajmera.
She went for the position, but only received four votes. Mitchell then got the nod.
This council term will be notable for officials jockeying for position to become mayor. Vi Lyles, who just won her fifth term, isn’t expected to run for a sixth.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, here is how much money some potential contenders have on hand:
Dimple Ajmera: $180,000
Dante Anderson: $49,600
Victoria Watlington: $42,400
MalcolmGraham: $10,700
James Mitchell: $9,400
Transit authority board adds more geographic diversity
Two weeks ago, Inside Politics noted the appointments for Mecklenburg County’s new 27-member Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority made it more like the South Charlotte Public Transportation Authority.
Most of the initial picks, after all, were from south Charlotte’s affluent “wedge.”
As the authority board comes into full focus, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have added more geographic diversity.
They have made picks like Corine Mack of the NAACP, former City Council member Justin Harlow, transit riders Clayton Sealey and Cameron Pruette.
Sealey and Pruette appear to be the only members of the board who use public transit daily.
Pruette said he rides two buses daily to get to work — the 27 and then switches to the 8.
“My goal really is to make sure that as we implement (Better Bus) and implement microtransit, that we’re thinking about the experience of riders,” he said. “My 27 bus, it varies every day. Some days I’ve got a nice screen where I can tell my next is coming. And some days I have an old sound system where I can’t hear where the next stop is.”
He said he plans to be a squeaky wheel for transit users.
“It is something that I will have to keep at the top of my mind in every room I’m in that many of the folks may not share that experience of bus riding,” he said.
A second Mecklenburg Commissioner announces this is her last term
First, it was District 5 Commissioner Laura Meier announcing she won’t run again. And now District 1 member Elaine Powell said this will be her last term.
Powell was first elected in 2018. The Observer reported that Adam Pasiak, former chair of Democrats of North Mecklenburg, is running for her seat.
All nine commission seats are on the ballot next year, and we’re already guaranteed at least two new seats.
