On Tuesday evening, Feb. 3, WFAE and the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg hosted a forum with the candidates for Mecklenburg County Sheriff at the WFAE Center for Civic and Community Engagement in uptown. "Charlotte Talks" host Mike Collins moderated the discussion and it was streamed live here.
All four candidates running for the office are Democrats and will first compete in the Democratic primary on March 3. All four were invited and initially confirmed their participation.
Days before the event, Sheriff Garry McFadden told WFAE he would be in Washington, D.C., on business related to ICE operations in Minneapolis and would be unable to attend the forum. Candidate Antwain Nance did not attend the event and did not provide a reason for his absence.
Mike Collins sat down with the two candidates who attended our forum:
Rodney Collins: A retired chief deputy who spent 30 years with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office before retiring in early 2024.
Ricky Robbins: A retired sergeant with more than 30 years of experience at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Statement from Garry McFadden, candidate for Sheriff in Mecklenburg County
Good Evening.
Today, I am deeply disappointed that I cannot be with you, not just to defend myself, but to defend our county, our returning citizens, and most importantly, my staff, who are facing accusations from some individuals who have never carried this responsibility, never made life-or-death decisions, and who have never led during such moments that we are now facing in America.
At this moment as your Sheriff I am the only candidate who has actually sat in the seat as Sheriff of Mecklenburg County, which allows me to bring real, lived experience and not the theoretical view of what it takes to serve 1.2 million residents during the most challenging period in modern law enforcement history and even in our own life time.
I have led this Office and this county through a global pandemic, nationwide civil unrest, and a broken and violent immigration system only to be confronted within 30 minutes of being sworn in as the first African American Sheriff by one of ICE’s public information officers. I must add that becoming the First Black Sheriff also brought a huge honor along with some very unique personal and professional challenges that I did not run from.
I must add that we did all of this while operating the largest detention center in the Carolinas that is now nationally recognized for re-entry programs and accreditations that rarely make headlines. That work did get noticed, because in 2024 we received a visit from U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su of the Biden administration to see firsthand how progressive and innovative we were. She was impressed.
Tonight, you will hear a lot of promises built off media headlines, second-hand information, outdated personal experiences, or election and political gossip adjusted to fit the climate for the election season. What you won’t hear is tested, authentic platforms or initiatives that produced real results during their years of service in law enforcement. Here is the difference between me and other candidates
Every promise I made to this community in 2018 and 2022 was delivered and the impact was felt by real families especially the families of those who were incarcerated for years prior to me being elected because I’m a man of my word. That same word has been battle-tested through betrayal, being undermined by people I once trusted, yet my integrity never moved. I am still standing and fighting alongside my community, and against those in Raleigh and even in Washington, D.C., which is why I am not with you tonight. I am in Washington DC to address the issues that are important to my community.
Now when it comes to community engagement the real test or question should be, prior to this election season, did you see the other candidates in the community? Did you ever hear them take a real position on HB10- HB318 -HB307 - ICE or on Customs and Border Patrol when it mattered, not when it became political. If the answer is yes, they should be able to point to the receipts like a media account or news article as a documented example. Words are easy to say but records don’t lie and here are a few of my examples.
• North Carolina’s First Behavioral Health Unit for Men in 2019 and 2020 for Women
• True Re-Entry Programs such as The Next Great 50 entrepreneurship program with an LLC
• NC First Post-Release Center at a Sheriff Office
• Face-to-Face Visitation
• Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office’s own BLET Training School
• Community Engagement Unit
Death in the Detention Center
Now let’s address the most difficult, misunderstood and poorly reported issue which is the deaths inside the detention center.
Yes, these deaths are tragic and will always matter to me and to our staff. But let me be clear none were caused by the actions of my staff, despite what critics and the sensational headlines would have you believe. What you won’t hear from the media or critics are the facts from the medical examiner- the SBI Investigation findings and the District Attorney’s decision. These are the actual undisputed facts and not opinions that are never viewed or discussed.
The SBI investigations and autopsy reports document the truth. Critics and others should review the cause, manner, and contributing factors including conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes. Those facts exist. They just don’t fit a political agenda or narrative they provide facts. Here are other facts to consider. Most of our incarcerated citizens arrive with long-standing undiagnosed illnesses- poor or nonexistent healthcare prior to incarceration and conditions tied to poverty, homelessness and contributing factors.
Finally Staffing
I didn’t walk into The Sheriff office naïve. I walked in prepared. But what I encountered wasn’t resistance to change, it was resistance to me. Let’s be honest about something America still struggles to say out loud. Black leaders are held to a different standard. Per a Harvard study we are 23% less likely to have our authority respected than white leaders in the same roles. 42% of Black leaders report being openly undermined, have orders ignored, decisions questioned in public, authority bypassed. That’s not theory, that’s my lived experience.
As the First Black Sheriff of this county, I didn’t just face outside pressure, I faced internal resistance. Resistance from people who were supposed to lead alongside me.
Instead questioned my authority not behind closed doors, but to the local media after they resigned or were fired, and then with the help of others at the height of election season.
And when I asserted leadership I wasn’t called decisive. I was called difficult.
I wasn’t called strong. I was labeled aggressive. Again the Harvard Study indicated, when Black leaders lead, the narrative is rewritten, confidence becomes confrontation, and authority becomes attitude.
As the Sheriff I lead with accountability, transparency and results because leadership isn’t about being liked in executive meetings, it is about breaking systems that were never designed to be challenged. This campaign isn’t just about re-election. It’s about whether we reward courage or comfort. Whether we tolerate quiet insubordination or demand professional accountability. Whether progress scares us or complacency costs us. And if demanding respect as a leader makes some people uncomfortable, so be it.
Thank You, Have a Great Evening
Sheriff Garry L McFadden
