An open letter to Charlotte City Council (05-28-2025--Hour1)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:29] So an open letter to the Charlotte City Council and the citizens of Charlotte. I don't know who has seen this or reported on this, but I figured this woman wrote, took the time to write this letter and she sums up the issues going on with our local governance very, very well.

[00:00:56] And it is titled an open letter. And so I don't think she would mind if I read it. Her name is Robin Emmons. She lives in District 3 in the Paw Creek neighborhood. Now, she is a, I looked her up. She's a farmer and an activist.

[00:01:18] She created a nonprofit called So Much Good. So Much Good. So Much Good nonprofit. And they grow and distribute farm fresh produce for underserved communities. She's been recognized nationally for this work.

[00:01:43] And so she wrote this letter. Now, I don't know if she has any plans to run for office for a city council seat or anything. I don't. But I appreciate her doing this. She says to the mayor, Vi Liles, the members of Charlotte City Council and my fellow citizens. So this is addressed to you if you live in Charlotte. As a resident of Charlotte and a constituent of District 3, I write today with deep concern about the state of leadership and integrity in our city.

[00:02:12] Recent events have not only shaken my confidence in those elected to serve us, they have revealed troubling patterns that continue to erode public trust and delegitimize institutions across our nation. The federal indictment of Councilwoman Tijuana Brown, who represents my district, is only the latest in a growing list of alarming developments within our city government and related public institutions.

[00:02:38] Councilwoman Brown stands accused of wire fraud and conspiracy involving more than $124,000 in COVID relief funds. Beyond the disturbing details of how those funds were reportedly used, I'm left wondering, where is the self-regulation we expect from our leaders?

[00:02:58] The discipline to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing, especially when operating under fragile public trust and preparing to ask for it again. It should be foundational, right? The discipline to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing should be foundational. These charges, compounded by a prior conviction for fraud and time served in federal prison, demand thoughtful scrutiny.

[00:03:24] While Councilwoman Brown maintains her innocence and emphasizes that the allegations predate her time in office, her claim that these charges reflect attacks based on race and her refusal to step down further undermine public confidence. I found this framing not only unsatisfactory but deeply troubling. As a black woman, I do not offer this feedback to minimize the systemic injustices that persist in our legal and political systems.

[00:03:53] They are real and they are ongoing. But we must not use the language of systemic injustice to excuse individual misconduct. When Councilwoman Brown stated that, quote, the justice system doesn't favor people who look like me, as a deflection from legitimate inquiry, it rang not just hollow, it rang careless.

[00:04:17] To invoke that truth as a political shield in this context is a disservice to those who are fighting every day for a more just and equitable society. But Councilwoman Brown is not alone. The allegations against Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden are also deeply disturbing. While the sheriff has received praise for his, quote, no-nonsense leadership style,

[00:04:41] his tenure has also been marked by troubling reports, a toxic workplace for deputies, retaliation against staff, public humiliation of employees, and the use of racially charged and demeaning language. These concerns are compounded by a dramatic spike in jail deaths during his tenure, higher than under previous sheriffs with similar time in office.

[00:05:06] Accolades from afar cannot erase the very real harm experienced here at home by employees, by community members, and by families who have lost loved ones while in county custody. It should be clear to Sheriff McFadden that recognition does not outweigh the duty to lead with professionalism, transparency, and integrity.

[00:05:30] In yet another blow to public confidence, the city recently approved a $300,000 settlement to Police Chief Johnny Jennings in a closed-door council session, reportedly to avoid a lawsuit. No explanation was provided to the public. This lack of transparency has triggered an investigation by the North Carolina State Auditor, who reminded us, quote, There is no tax dollar free from public scrutiny. I wholeheartedly agree. I write this not in haste and not to shame.

[00:06:00] None of us are perfect. But I do believe that those called to serve and entrusted to lead must be held to a higher standard. This is not just about Charlotte. Across this country, disinformation, corruption, and political apathy are feeding public disillusionment and fraying the very fabric of civil society. Like the rule of law, governance only works when we all agree to believe in it.

[00:06:26] When we trust in the efficacy of our leaders and the legitimacy of the rules. We in Charlotte are not immune. And while I do not call for a rush to judgment, due process matters. When the noise of scandal grows so loud that it drowns out the ability to govern, we must ask, Does continued service benefit the city or detract from it? This is a question for every council member who bears responsibility not just to their office, but to the people who placed them there.

[00:06:56] Holding office is not a right. It is a responsibility. And clinging to power in spite of all else reflects a deeper problem, one that has failed too many communities time and again. Charlotte deserves better. We deserve leaders who reflect the best of our values, honesty, humility, accountability, and a clear-eyed commitment to public service. Let this moment be a turning point, not toward further division,

[00:07:24] but toward ethical leadership and civic renewal. Charlotte has long positioned itself as a shining city of the New South. If that identity is to mean anything today, it must be reflected in how we govern, not just in growth or branding, but in the integrity of our leadership and the trust we build with those we serve. With respect and hope for our city's future, signed Robin Emmons, District 3, Paul Creek, Neighborhood. P.S. I write not only as a concerned citizen,

[00:07:52] but as part of a growing national effort to restore the moral center of public life. The Citizens Project 2025 is a call to action for local ambassadors, engaged neighbors, and everyday people to step up, speak out, and demand better from those who lead. Charlotte has the potential to model what courageous, transparent, and people-first governance can look like. Let's begin here. Again, that's the Citizens Project 2025.

[00:08:24] And she did a marvelous job with this letter. I read it this weekend. And I shared it on social media. She sums it up. Like, from McFadden, Gary, not my fault McFadden, Tijuana Brown, the behavior of the Charlotte City Council with regards to the police chief, the police chief. Like, what are you people doing? You know? What are y'all doing?

[00:08:55] Because this is not, dare I call it, the Charlotte way. This has never been. What we're seeing now with what's going on in Charlotte politics now, I can tell you, as one who covered city council, county commission, the school board, okay, maybe the school board. They were always kind of dysfunctional. But the other two, this was never the way that Charlotte leadership behaved. This is new. So last night, the Charlotte City Council

[00:09:24] had its first meeting since all of this stuff blew up with the settlement, with the police chief, the payoff, and the indictment of Tijuana Brown. And she was there last night. There was a public forum. Not a single person addressed her or these issues. However, at the end of the meeting, Councilwoman LaWanna Mayfield, she raised an issue, not on the agenda. The real issue, the one that she

[00:09:54] really wants to get to the bottom of is, who the hell's been talking to the media? Right? They're on a mole hunt. She wants that to begin post-haste. How do we get the ball rolling on the mole hunt to find out who has been talking to the media from the closed sessions that City Council has been holding? Who's been leaking stuff to the media? Because as we all know, snitches get censured. Or an ethics complaint violation filed against them, or something.

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[00:11:22] Mail orders are accepted too. Get all the details at createavideo.com. Got an email from Jonathan. Pete, based on the amazing letter you just read, I just braved, not Googled. Yes, I use Brave as well. Brave is the browser of choice. Okay? If you don't want to be tracked, don't want, like all of the cookies and all of the ad tracking and pop-ups and everything else, you want to swap out your browser for Brave.

[00:11:52] Brave was, created by Brendan Eich. I've talked about this over the years. I'm a big fan. This was the guy who created Firefox, Mozilla Firefox, that browser, which I used to use and I was happy with Firefox. And then, his board of directors removed him from his own company. Like, he did, he did Firefox and they fired him

[00:12:20] because he made a $500 donation to Prop 8 in California, which was to define marriages between a man and a woman. And when the voter, or sorry, the donor list to Prop 8 got hacked and disclosed, they went hunting for people on the donor list and they found him and the leftists whipped up this mob and they got him fired.

[00:12:50] And then after, I guess, he sat out long enough for his non-compete to expire, he went and built another browser, which is superior to all others. Brave. So anyway, back to the email from Jonathan. Based on the amazing letter you just read, I braved the above Citizens Project 2025 and the first two options I got were ACLU.org and the Project 2025 from Heritage Foundation that has gotten so much flack from the left.

[00:13:20] Is that what she was mentioning? I don't know, I've not heard of the Citizens Project 2025. I believe she is politically on the left so if I had to pick one of those two, I would say ACLU. But I don't know. I don't know what the Citizens Project is. She just made this little postscript. The Citizens Project 2025 is a call to action

[00:13:49] for local ambassadors, engaged neighbors, and everyday people to step up, speak out, and demand better from those who lead. So I don't know what else that organization is about or the effort. But I just read her letter because it was addressed to you and me, all Charlotte residents. So there you go. But yeah, I'd be interested. Maybe I'll brave it during the break.

[00:14:20] All right, so let me get to the Charlotte City Council meeting last night. the most important thing that the city council members need to wrestle with right now is who has been telling media stuff from closed session. How dare they inform the public about things that they are doing in closed session. So Lawana Mayfield said, hey, we need to get the ball rolling on investigations here. The way our

[00:14:49] system is set up because of North Carolina General Assembly legislative language, I must ask my colleagues to be recused in order to not be present at a closed session meeting. I have concerns regarding our closed session meetings because quite a few of those meetings, honestly, before we even leave the meeting, the information has been shared with the media, which is in direct opposition of the oath, one of the oaths

[00:15:19] that we take, but also legislative policy. Oh my goodness. So people are, well, just look to see who's on their phone then. If stuff is leaking out in the middle of the closed session, like Joe Bruno is getting direct texts and Brett Jensen is getting notes in real time about what's going on, then you know what? Then maybe just look across the table and look to see who's on their phones. But this is, so there's two parts of her

[00:15:49] comments here. Two parts. So one is, and Renee Johnson will also pick up on this, which is, if I leave the closed session, why is my vote counted as a yes? And this question has come up. This is actually state law. So this question came up, a lot of people were unaware of that. That's one component. But then the other component is who's leaking. Mr. Fox, I need to get an understanding of what is the process for there to be any

[00:16:20] research on what ability or inability we have. Let's say we're going to go, we announce from this dais that we're getting ready to go into closed session. If I was to say, okay, clerk, go ahead and put me down as a no because I'm not going to be attending this closed session. I don't know if I would be able to do that because the way that our policy language is written, you must be in attendance. If you are not in attendance, then that is an automatic yes

[00:16:50] vote. What do you need in order for you to move forward to, one, do an investigation and or identify, can there be language to say no cell phones, no smart phones, no nothing in our closed session, so that we can have a meeting that doesn't be reported to the media immediately afterwards because there are a lot of important discussions that we have and the information is going to be released through the clerk's office after the decision anyway.

[00:17:21] Not necessarily. Just if, well, I mean, I could tell you, like, I'm old enough to remember when this issue came up with Chief Jennings' settlement, right? Yeah. You guys weren't going to tell anybody about that, were you? It was only because Jennings and the city attorney waived confidentiality. That settlement agreement had in it a confidentiality clause that they were not

[00:17:51] supposed to talk about any of the details in the settlement. So don't tell me that, oh, the city clerk is going to publish the results after the votes anyway. No, she won't. Do you know how far back in arrears they are on minutes? You're, like, this is truly amazing to me. In today's day and age, with all of the AI stuff, and they have a clerk that is trying to put

[00:18:20] minutes of the meetings out, and they still can't seem to catch up. It's unbelievable. Back in my day, literally back in my day, when there were no AI things to help out, it was just Brenda Freeze typing away, and then the minutes would be posted, like, within a day or two. You had a complete transcript of everything that happened at the city council meeting.

[00:18:51] So, yeah, I don't put a lot of faith and confidence in the city's ability or willingness to produce this information after the fact if it's not required. And boo-hoo-hoo, you have some city council members that feel like this information should actually be public and the city is not going to be making it public, so they are leaking it out. Good for them. Good for them. Here's a great idea. How about making an

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[00:20:20] And they have pet-friendly accommodations. Call or text 828-367-7068 or check out all there is to offer at cabinsofashville.com and make memories that will last a lifetime. All right, so the Charlotte City Council last night meets and one of Charlotte City Council members calling for an investigation into their closed session meetings, mainly the people who are going to the media, the city council members who

[00:20:49] tell the media stuff that goes on in the closed session, which by the way, that has occurred, that's been occurring ever since there were closed meetings and a media. So, Moral Compass on Twitter points out, it's a Pete tweet, points out, a mole, a.k.a. a whistleblower. Right. Something is going on in the closed session that and a city council member

[00:21:19] then goes and tells a member of the media this is what happened in the closed session. And LaWanna Mayfield, Councilwoman Mayfield, is keen to start the investigation to find out who has been telling the citizens of Charlotte what's been going on with their tax dollars. Or is that something that I can request or is that something that has to come from as a council vote with majority? What does that look like? Councilmember Mayfield, there are

[00:21:49] several questions that you have raised in your address. First of all, you're correct. It's a product of the state law that provides that if a member who attends a meeting leaves that meeting, that that member is counted in the affirmative as a vote when they are not excused from that meeting. you are excused

[00:22:18] when you can demonstrate to the council that you have a financial or pecuniary interest in the matter. Absent that, your colleagues should not technically allow one to be excused. So, your ability to announce that you are no vote and not attend a closed session meeting would not have the weight that you would like for it to have because your vote would be counted in the affirmative. So,

[00:22:48] this only applies, obviously, if the council member comes to the meeting first. Right? So, the way they do their meetings, well, first they have their dinner meeting, they do like a workshop kind of a deal, and that's televised, you can watch. But, then they go downstairs to the full chamber, they have their meeting, and so if you show up at any point for the open sessions, and then the council votes to go into closed session, and you do not go into

[00:23:18] the closed session, that's still part of the same meeting, and so your vote is counted as a yes. So, let's say the meeting, the open meeting is running like four hours. I used to cover those all the time. They would drag on to 11, 12 o'clock at night, you know, and then they would go into a closed session. So, let's say I can't stay, I got a flight to catch, this meeting has gone on way too long, or whatever, and so you bail.

[00:23:48] Now, every vote that comes up after that, you get counted as a yes. So, and again, that's state law for all municipalities. Now, if you just don't show up to any of the portion, the open or the closed, you just don't show up that night for the meetings, then you're not counted one way or the other. So, that's the only way to avoid having a vote counted as a yes on something if you can't stick around for the whole meeting. Does that make sense?

[00:24:18] Now, with regards to closed session, Councilmember Wallerton has raised a question that office is looking at about a bifurcated approach to the meeting where you have a separate notice of the closed session as well as the business meeting, and we are evaluating that option. There are some hurdles to that, but we're looking to respond to that. So, this is not a new issue. Apparently, this has

[00:24:47] been raised before. It makes me wonder, what exactly have you guys been doing in closed session that has created this kind of animosity and confusion and leaking, right? what haven't we heard about? To the point where Councilwoman Victoria Watlington, who, recall, about a week ago, had accused the city and the council of unethical and maybe

[00:25:17] illegal behavior. So, she is suggesting that you do separate notices because the law requires you to issue a public notice for a public meeting. You've got to give people enough time to go to the meeting. You have to advertise where it is and all of that. And so there are all sorts of rules that govern that. So you have to advertise the public meeting. So, her idea is to say, let's advertise an open meeting and then advertise a closed

[00:25:46] meeting and we're going to make them separate meetings. It's not going to be on like your one business meeting agenda where it says closed session if needed and then you go into a closed session as part of that meeting. No, it'll be a separate meeting just for a closed session. That would maybe allow council members who don't want to participate in whatever chicanery, I don't know, but whatever is going on in the closed session, they don't want to participate in it for whatever reason.

[00:26:17] So that's the city attorney, the interim city attorney, Anthony Fox, not the former mayor, but interim city attorney who is saying, it just said that they're looking into it, they're exploring whether they could do that. All right, if you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events and I know you do too and you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app and it's a

[00:26:46] website and it combines news from around the world in one place so you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself,

[00:27:15] check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription then not only helps my podcast but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. I have a Pete mail from Ron who says Charlotte leadership you get the government you deserve. I would not hold my breath waiting on any self-reflection by Charlotte area leadership.

[00:27:46] And then I got a tweet message from Kenny Smith who ran for mayor with a campaign slogan of Charlotte deserves better. And I gotta ask, does it? Seriously, like we keep saying and people keep making this argument, you know, that we deserve better leadership but I'm not sure we do.

[00:28:17] Right? I mean, we get what we vote for. Or in my case, I get what other people vote for. Well, because I live outside city limits. But I, yeah, outside city limits, so I have no city council representation even though I'm controlled by all of their zoning. Oh, it's a wonderful spot to be in. Yeah. No, they're not taxing me, so there's no taxation without representation. It's just, you know, controls on, you know, development and

[00:28:46] such that impact the whole portion of the county. Because when they couldn't get people to get annexed in involuntarily, nobody wanted to join. So that's where we kind of are. Anyway, back to the audio here from Councilwoman Lawana Mayfield asking the interim city attorney, how do we get the ball rolling to find out who's been leaking from inside the city council

[00:29:15] closed sessions? With regards to, I think, your question regarding, I don't know if it's an investigation, the only thing I'm looking at right now that's within my bailiwick is the product of having done a disclosure for the airport 25 bonds. And in that disclosure, we raised comments that were made. And I,

[00:29:46] in responding to that, assured to the bond holders that we will look into that. And that is something that I'm looking into sufficient enough to provide a response that we have looked at it and determined if there's no there, there, there's no there, there, but we've got to, as a point of due diligence, look into that issue. All right, I must admit, I have no idea what he's talking about here.

[00:30:16] I don't know. Something to do with the bond holders? Is there something like a violation that would jeopardize the bonds or something? Maybe this was an issue that arose a couple years ago, I just, I wasn't aware of it, I don't know. I have no idea what he's talking about, but it somehow relates to whatever approach they're going to try to take on, you know, this leaking. Maybe there was some leaking about the bonds or the airport projects or something, I don't know.

[00:30:49] asked them correctly. I believe I sent you an email thanking you and saying I'm looking forward to whatever the results are based off of emails previously sent. Yeah, also in there, I think I asked the question and if not, I'm going to ask it now. Is there a space for your office and or the manager's office to do an investigation so that we on the council can have full transparency if there is a member or

[00:31:18] members that is releasing information to the media when we are still in discussion of whatever the item that we go into closed session for? Do we have, what would it take for that investigation to happen? That will require a directive for this council. It requires a majority vote of this council to direct our office to look into issues around closed

[00:31:47] session meetings and provide a report or response. Partly that may include our office doing it or having an outside firm conduct that but it would require the directive of this council in order for us to undertake that engagement. So for clarification of the director, if I am requesting it, are you saying you will be able to move forward with an investigation or that you would need a certain number of council members to actually vote

[00:32:17] in order for that to happen? Yeah, I view it as that would be a council action and action of this council requires six votes. Correct. Yeah. Individual council members don't get to direct staff resources. It's been a very old rule. One member on the 11-member body does not get to tell the manager, go do this or tell the attorney, go launch an investigation into my political enemy or something. You don't get to do that. So you would

[00:32:47] need the full council to vote. Now here's the problem. There's no criminal conduct here. So this would be just like a city government probe. And that would require that all of the council members cooperate if they're going to be interviewed. Because if you're trying to find the mole, unless the reporters want to completely torch their careers, they're not going to tell you where they're getting the information from. They're not going to burn

[00:33:16] their sources. So you have to ask the council members. Oh, and also all the staffers. Let's not forget about the staffers. See, everybody thinks that it's always the city council members, but there are other people in those rooms having conversations about this stuff too. So you're going to have to bring in all of the staffers. Now, maybe with the staffers, you could require them to get deposed. You could, I guess, do voluntary

[00:33:46] depositions, swear people under oath, right? Get them to answer questions whether or not they have ever provided information from a closed session. And if you are the council member who has been leaking or you are one of them, look, let's also keep this in mind, right? It could be every single one of them and the mayor. It could be every member of council and

[00:34:15] the mayor and staffers at any given point on any given issue over any amount of time, right? So you're going to put everybody under oath, you're going to depose them all, and you're going to ask them if you've ever leaked anything, and then I guess you could have them voluntarily comply and do the deposition and lie or admit that they did disclose stuff or they just say I'm not going to participate, which then would indicate that yes, they were a leak. All right, that'll do it

[00:34:44] for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not so if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendorshow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.