Charlotte mayor: Council member should offer proof of corruption if she has it
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles on Wednesday said comments by a council member about illegal and unethical conduct within city government were “unfounded.”
Lyles, along with other City Council members and City Attorney Anthony Fox, spoke at a news conference Wednesday afternoon about an email campaign message from council member Victoria Watlington. The Tuesday evening email didn’t directly reference a particular incident, but it followed days of reporting about a settlement with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings to avoid a potential lawsuit.
“They are serious and they damaged the reputation of this organization,” Lyles said about Watlington’s comments. “To be clear, these allegations are unfounded and if she has any proof she needs to provide that to the city attorney’s office, who is duty bound to investigate.”
The City Council has been silent publicly about the reported settlement. And Fox said Wednesday City Council members are not allowed to discuss what happens in closed session meetings. Fox promised to conduct an investigation if someone presents his office with evidence of ethics violations by City Council members.
Numerous other council members echoed Lyles’ statements. That included Malcolm Graham, who said reports about the settlement include “half truths,” and council member Ed Driggs, who said Watlington is “scaremongering.”
In her email, Watlington said she was “extremely concerned with the level of unethical, immoral, and frankly, illegal activities occurring within City government.”
“I have seen enough. Over the last five and a half years, I have witnessed the brazen disregard for dissenting opinions and the rule of law. Never, however, have I seen such an egregious example as what has occurred in the last week,” she wrote in the email.
Watlington clarifies corruption comments
Watlington sent an email to her supporters Thursday morning where she said she does not have concerns about “financial or widespread corruption,” despite her previous email beginning with the words “power corrupts.”
She said in the new email she was unaware of a news article published about her initial email in which she alleged illegal and unethical conduct within city council. The Charlotte Observer reached out to Watlington via phone call prior to publishing an article about the initial email and updated the story the following morning with her comments.
Watlington told the Observer she was concerned about “the culture of the organization and how work is done.”
In her Thursday morning email, Watlington said she reached out to the interim city attorney and city council members last week to share her concerns about procedural challenges. Fox agreed to conduct a study to look into a solution she pitched to ease some of the challenges, her email states.
“This, as I have said consistently, is about how we process our work, and the impact it has on our culture and our policy,” she wrote. “Not for politics, not for show, not to elevate myself.”
Watlington also wrote that she will respect the “confidentiality of sensitive information,” after council members on Wednesday expressed concerns about closed session information leaks.
Reported CMPD chief settlement
The potential lawsuit by Chief Jennings reportedly started with statements made by former councilman Tariq Bokhari during a push for new bulletproof vests. Bokhari wanted the city to buy the vests after an April 2024 shooting in east Charlotte killed four police officers.
Although Bokhari later withdrew a budget request to fund the vests, he continued to promote the idea publicly and criticized the department’s response on social media and his personal website.
WFAE previously reported Bokhari sent Jennings messages saying he would press for the chief’s resignation and tarnish his legacy because of the vest disagreement.
WSOC-TV, The Charlotte Observer’s news partner, reported council members met in closed session on Monday and learned that a vote taken a week prior met a threshold to approve a settlement to the potential lawsuit. Earlier, WSOC reported the vote didn’t meet a six-vote threshold because of a council member absence.
The Observer has submitted a public records request for a settlement with Jennings. The city otherwise hasn’t disclosed any details of a settlement.
It remains unclear why the council would agree to settle when no lawsuit has been filed.
After her email and before Wednesday’s news conference, Watlington declined to comment on the reported CMPD settlement but told The Charlotte Observer she was concerned about “internal politics” and a “lack of disclosure.”
Bokhari resigned from city council in April to assume a role with the Federal Transit Administration.
Potential investigations into leaks, ethics concerns
Graham on Wednesday also called on Lyles and the city manager to conduct an investigation on who is responsible for leaking information about closed session meetings. The reported Jennings settlement is the third or fourth time sensitive information from closed sessions has been leaked, he told The Charlotte Observer.
“They impact the ability for the City Council and the manager office to have a relationship that works, that’s built on trust and transparency,” Graham said of leaks. “Many of the leaks to the media in front of me are half truths about a wide variety of issues, and because we cannot disclose they go unanswered.”
Fox said an investigation into the leaks could require him to seek outside counsel to conduct the investigation, though he hasn’t yet been instructed to do so. A violation of open meetings laws constitutes a misdemeanor.
Fox said he will contact Watlington to investigate her comments.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM.
