City Council Special Meeting on 2026-06-18 12:00 PM - Mayoral Candidate Interviews - Jun 18, 2026
meeting
Charlotte City Council
3h 33m
4 speakers
8 agenda items
transcribed 2 months ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Who are the council members and how is the chair pro tem selected?
Good afternoon and welcome, everyone. As the mayor pro tem, I will call this meeting to order and ask for introduction, beginning with our city clerk.
Billy Tons, deputy city clerk. Andrea Leslie-Fight, city attorney. Good afternoon, Victoria Watlington. I have the pleasure of serving you as a member at large. Joy Mayo, representing District 3. Kimberly Owens, representing District 6.
Malcolm Graham, District 2. Ed Driggs, District 7.
Good afternoon. Luana Mayfield, Council Member-at-Large. Good afternoon. JD Masueta-Arias, District 5.
Renee Johnson, and I have the honor of serving District 4.
Thanks, everyone. At this time, I will step away and allow the council to elect a chair pro tem. Is there a motion to appoint a chair pro tem?
I will take the call. Is there a motion?
Council Member McPhail? Motion to appoint Council Member Graham. Is there a second? Second. Second by Council Member Watlington. All those in favor, let me know by saying aye, or raise your hand. Okay. I'm going to turn it over now to Chair Pro Tem, Council Member Graham.
Good afternoon, everyone. The interview forum is part of the City Council's process fulfilling the vacancy of the Office of the Mayor. Each interviewer will be asked a series of questions by the City Council, and each interviewer will also address City Council and the public when responding. No appointment decision will be made today. The City Council will consider the appointment of the next mayor at a public feature meeting on next week. At this point, I would like to turn the meeting over to the city clerk and the city attorney where they will reveal the procedure for today.
Thank you, Chair Pro Tem Graham. By way of background, the ballots for nominations were provided to council members on Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 12 noon. The ballot showing council members nominations of up to three nominees were returned to the clerk's office. Results were tallied, and based on the nominations, the top five nominees from all council members were contacted for interviews. The top five nominees, I will read them at this time, and this is not in order of the top vote, but rather in alphabetical order. They are as follows. Harold Cogdell, Carrie Cook, Robert Harrington, excuse me, James Mitchell, Jr., and Senator Caleb Theodorus. At this time, each of the interviewees have been, their names have been placed into a cup, and at the time of the interview, they will be called forward based upon random drawing by Madam Clark.
Mr. Chair Pro Tem. And so at this time, as you can see, there is a table placed at the center of the room. Each interviewee will be seated there and the council members will have an opportunity to ask questions. You all will have an opportunity to select one question from the compilation of questions that you all came up with individually. And we just ask that you would stick with the same question For each interview, do not deviate, please, from that list of questions and simply stick with the same question with candidate one through five. Okay? I will pause there for any questions. Otherwise, I'll turn it back over to you, Mr. Chair, pro tem.
Any questions for the city attorney? I recognize Council Member Wallington.
Thank you. Just for clarity, the question that we picked does not have to necessarily be one we initiated. That is correct, as long as you stick with the same question throughout the process. Thank you.
Council Member JD.
Thank you, Chair Pro Tem. So just to clarify, out of all the lists here, it doesn't have to be the summary question, but it could be any of the questions.
Great question, Council Member Masueta-Adias. The summary question was an overview or a compilation of the themes of questions, and each candidate received the summary question. They did not receive the individual questions, but you should choose from the individual questions listed below.
Thank you, Madam Attorney. No further questions. Any further questions for the City Attorney or the City Clerk? Council Member Mayfield.
Thank you, Council Member Grahams.
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Agenda
8 items
1
Who are the council members and how is the chair pro tem selected?
0:04–7:22
2
What is the interview process and how were the five mayoral nominees chosen?
7:22–27:41
3
How will candidates be questioned and what are the time rules for interviews?
27:41–42:48
4
What issues do early candidates raise about experience, growth, and public safety?
42:48–1:43:43
5
How did candidates address airport worker conditions and minority business inclusion at the airport?
1:43:43–1:48:53
6
How would the mayor build relationships with council and the city manager to improve council culture?
1:48:53–1:53:04
7
What questions did candidates answer about intergovernmental relations, housing, and transportation (I-77)?
1:53:04–2:04:21
8
What voting process and runoff rules did council set for selecting the interim mayor on June 22?
2:04:21–3:32:26
Speakers
4 identifiedOfficials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.
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