LaWana Mayfield resigns from a state commission, days after being denied another
Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield Tuesday resigned from a state commission, a week after Gov. Roy Cooper rescinded her nomination to another.
Mayfield resigned from the Commission on Inclusion, an advisory group in the Department of Administration. She was named to the commission by DOA Secretary Machelle Sanders.
“The Commission greatly appreciates the work that Ms. Mayfield has done to advocate for equality, inclusion and diversity in North Carolina, and wishes her well in her endeavors,” Sanders said in a statement.
Last week Cooper rescinded her nomination to the state’s Human Relations Commission. In a letter to Mayfield, William McKinney, the governor’s counsel, wrote, “The important work of the North Carolina Human Relations Commission needs to continue without distraction from its mission.”
The letter came shortly after all 29 Senate Republicans asked Cooper to withdraw the appointment of Mayfield, a Democrat. They cited a tweet Mayfield wrote last year.
“Being Black in America under #45 (Donald Trump) has created homegrown terrorist [sic] wearing blue uniforms,” she tweeted.
In their letter, the senators cited a recent Charlotte Observer editorial that said Cooper should not “look the other way” on the matter.
It was not clear whether Tuesday’s resignation from the Inclusion Commission was related. Reached by email Tuesday, Mayfield declined to comment. “Thanks to the misogyny shown by your paper over the years I have nothing to say to the Observer,” she wrote.
Last year she responded to criticism of the first tweet with another.
“I have and continue to be one of the strongest supporters of law enforcement,” she wrote, “but I will NOT turn a blind eye to corruption, assaults, and the killings of unarmed black & brown people. If you are offended by my comments and not the situation YOU need to re-evaluate.”
One gay rights group, the LGBTQ Victory Institute, said it was “extremely disappointed” in Cooper’s decision.
“(He) took the important step of appointing a Black LGBTQ woman to the Human Relations Commission and then rescinded it,” the group said in a statement. “Councilwoman Mayfield is a tireless fighter for the underserved communities the commission is meant to protect ... (I)t is now essential Gov. Cooper appoint someone who can provide the same insights into the lives of LGBTQ women of color.”
Mayfield represents a west Charlotte district. She has said she plans to run at-large this year.
“I am still waiting for someone to produce pieces of the planes that opened the doors for US Citizens to lose all privacy rights (from the conspiracy theorist in me),” she wrote, linking to an article titled “It’s Official: European Scientific Journal Concludes 9/11 Was A Controlled Demolition.”
A few days later she apologized for “the hurt and pain” her post had caused.
This story was originally published February 12, 2019 at 3:02 PM.
