Why is Charlotte reviving change it rejected over conflict of interest worries?
City Council members could play a more direct role in deciding who receives some of Charlotte’s largest contracts under a proposal championed by Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell.
The city previously rejected the idea as ill-advised. It returned to the council Monday during a committee meeting.
Under the current structure, the City Council only votes on whether to approve a contract after staff narrows the candidate pool down to one recommended company.
The proposed change would bring one or two council members into the process sooner — during the interview stage with several finalist candidates. Council members would serve on the project selection committee in rotating shifts. Staff would still decide which companies get shortlisted.
Mecklenburg County government uses a similar procedure, but it reviews about half as many contracts in a given year.
“This is something that has been weighing on me for quite some time,” Mitchell said during the Monday meeting. “I got jealous about the county and their policy.”
Charlotte considered the same issue last year at the request of Mitchell, who became mayor pro tem in December and now chairs the economic development and workforce committee, where the change is being discussed.
His request for council members to sit on selection committees was not well received at the time.
City officials across departments, including the city attorney’s office, agreed “it is not advisable for elected officials to participate in selection committees or interview panels,” according to a January 2025 message to the City Council, which was reported by WFAE.
Charlotte spokesperson Jack VanderToll said the latest discussion does not reverse the city’s previous stance on the issue. Rather, it provides an opportunity to “close out” the conversation since the City Council never got a chance to discuss it among themselves.
The city expects an increased volume in contract work after voters approved the 1% sales tax increase in November, which will fund mobility projects in the region, VanderToll said. To prepare, the city is considering different ways it could change its contract process to ensure a diversification in contracted businesses.
Committee chairs decide what topics get placed on their agendas. Mitchell, who works in construction, agreed to a phone interview with the Observer but did not answer at the scheduled time.
Could it be a conflict of interest?
While presenting to council members this week, Deputy City Manager Monica Allen said the changes could be beneficial because they add additional oversight and opinions outside of staff. But she also acknowledged public perception could present a challenge, something former interim city attorney Anthony Fox flagged last year as a reason to keep council members off the committee.
For county government, there are concerns that commissioners sit on committees for projects “that they have not necessarily ownership, but they may have interest in it,” Allen said. “Maybe they know the business, and that could limit their objectivity.”
Some council members were wary similar conflicts might crop up at the city.
“We need to walk a fine line,” said District 1 Councilwoman Dante Anderson. “I do have some consternation around the opportunity for council members serving in this role from a public perception perspective.”
Mitchell is the director of business development at McFarland Construction. He has also had stake in, and was the president of, construction company R.J. Leeper, a familiar business partner with the city.
He resigned from City Council in 2021 over conflict of interest concerns regarding his stake in R.J. Leeper. Mitchell left the company soon after, then returned to the council in 2022. Mitchell still insisted he still had a 25% stake in the company after he left, although investigators found he stopped profiting off the company after defaulting on a loan.
The city will return to the economic development and workforce committee in May or June with a more detailed proposal, Allen said. Their goal is to design a process “that is balanced and focused on diversification of qualified businesses.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
