Charlotte City Council

James "Smuggie" Mitchell, who is running for Charlotte City Council, took out a $375,00 loan from Malcolmb Coley when he became chief executive and part-owner of R.J. Leeper Construction. Coley said Mitchell never paid him back and that he is taking Mitchell's ownership stake as collateral.

District 1 Charlotte City Council member Larken Egleston has about $145,000 cash on hand for his bid for an at-large seat, according to the most recent campaign finance report. Early voting for the May 17 primary starts Thursday. Some candidates are late in filing reports.

Charlotte Area Transit System now has most of its 18 new electric buses on city roads as part of an 18-month trial. The head of CATS says he'll outline plans next week for replacing the entire fleet.

The May 17 primary in North Carolina isn't just for Congress. Many local races are on the ballot, too. And in Charlotte, that includes City Council, thanks to a delay in census data from 2020. Mecklenburg County offices are on the ballot as well, including commissioners, the district attorney and the sheriff.

A Charlotte City Council committee wants to streamline the process for residents to request new speed humps — or to remove old ones. A recommendation from the group includes ending a requirement that 60% of homeowners in a neighborhood have to sign a petition asking for one of the devices.

Charlotte’s unified development ordinance is the part of the city's 2040 plan that puts new regulations in place to guide future growth. WFAE went through the 608-page document and found a couple of things that caught our eye that we wanted to know more about.

Candidates running for the citywide at-large seats on the Charlotte City Council are preparing for a round of questions from members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus this weekend, in hopes of receiving an endorsement.

Housing Trust Fund developments have requirements to prevent landlords from discriminating against renters using vouchers. Charlotte City Council will consider whether to require that of all housing developments it supports.

There's still a long way to go before the city of Charlotte meets its climate goals. City staff reported signs of progress this week, such as the debut of electric buses on city streets. But they also said the city may need to buy carbon offsets to hit its target of eliminating fossil fuel emissions in its buildings and vehicles.

A community organizer said some city workers don't get paid enough to live in Charlotte. Meanwhile, bus drivers are wary after one of their coworkers was shot and killed on duty last month.