City Council Zoning Meeting - Special Meeting

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Charlotte City Council's Mayoral Vacancy and Candidate Forum. It's June the 15th, and it's at 2 o'clock, and I think we have almost everyone. I know we haven't. I believe we're going to go around and introduce our staff as well as our council members. All right. Ms. Billy.

Billy Tons, Deputy City Clerk.

Good afternoon, at large.

Good afternoon, I'm Victoria Wallington, and I have the pleasure of serving you as a member at large.

Good afternoon, Joy Mayo, representing District 3. Beverly Owens, representing District 6.

Ed Driggs, District 7. Malcolm Graham, District 2.

Luana Mayfield, serving at large. JD Masueta-Arias, District 5.

Good afternoon. I'm Renee Johnson, and I have the honor of representing District 4. Welcome and congratulations to all the candidates.

so i want to say thank you and uh... it is a pleasure to have you here this afternoon so many of you who are beginning to participate in what i think is one of the most important things that we do which is to have a city that we can work with all of the things that we can do for all of the communities that we have and to make sure it works out i'm just going to say i'm gonna cop we have called the meeting to order and we understand that that we have all of our appointments all of the people that are joining us. So let's go down into what we are going to try to do for our candidate forum. The candidates will appear in alphabetical order by last name. Each candidate has been assigned a number. Candidates will be called by their name and number to the lectern, which is right up here with our city attorney here. And when it is their turn, each one will be given two minutes to provide a statement to counsel. There will be no questions during the forum. However, Ms. Mayfield has asked to be recognized, and I want to do that with her. Ms. Mayfield?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. So, colleagues, as today we are just hearing from the candidates, according to this most updated list, we have about 49 individuals. I had mentioned previously that we have opportunity when we look at what we identified through the MPTA process of trying to narrow down potential, the strongest candidates that potentially may have five or more. I believe we have the opportunity to create the survey again. So today is basically, we have the opportunity of this being part one of a two part process where we then narrow that down to, a number where we could see where they may, maybe consensus amongst council five or more. And then we had the opportunity to invite those individuals back and actually ask the questions that we can come together and decide on some questions. I definitely want to also acknowledge mayor allows for agreeing to stick around a little bit longer. Thank you. And not leaving at the initial June date to give us time to make sure that to the best of our ability, based on the applications that we identified the appropriate candidate to fill out these 17 months. But I do think council should have the opportunity to have discussions. around the candidates and the opportunity for us to be able to ask questions of the candidates after we get through today. Mayor, my question is, do I need to put that in the form of a motion to see if we can get support? If that is the case, I would like to make a motion that part two of this intramural appointment process, we will have the ability for council to then work with staff to identify a survey and from that survey, narrow it down in order to actually have the opportunity for us to ask questions of the candidates. Y'all are going to get a second or not because we don't have a process after listening to 49 people today. So this is the recommended process that I am suggesting.

All right. Ms. Mayfield has made a motion.

That's the motion. So if we don't get a second.

All right. We have a motion and a second. Any further conversation? All right.

Yes, so Madam Mayor, I appreciate the opportunity and I will speak on behalf of the motion. I am inclined towards that, but I would ask for a friendly amendment to add in the ability for individual council members to assess folks who do not show up today in person. I did vote and we were unanimous in that. but I think the manner in which we disclose the date that it would be and the lack of flexibility has led to some folks who are quite honestly part of this community who do have supporters and detractors both, but folks who are not here and it delegitimizes our process to not be able to have an option. So what I would like is for those of us who do not see somebody here today to still be allowed in our process to consider them, even though they did not show up here today.

So as the motion maker, I do not accept that friendly amendment because at this point we have 49 individuals here. To my understanding, there was one individual who could not be in attendance for today. We do not have a virtual option. You can't phone in being the mayor. I don't think that for me we have 49 individuals. I am not interested in changing the process for one individual. whoever that individual is, if they were not able to be in person.

All right. So can I offer a substitute motion?

You can certainly procedurally, you can offer a substitute motion. However, before this moves forward, this presentation that I was getting ready to share provides some context for the process that might be helpful to this discussion. So Madam Mayor and Council Member Mayfield, if you would be so inclined to give me about five minutes to run through this, this may inform this discussion and then you can pick it back up. It may inform where you are.

Madam Mayor, I am fine with a pause so that our city attorney can present. Ms. Kimberly?

I am as well.

Ms. Watlington? Okay, so let's, you know, it's always better to know what we're talking about with the attorney standing in the...

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Good afternoon, Council, Mayor and Council. This presentation will walk you briefly through the appointment process as we stand here today and how we could possibly move forward. As a reminder for council and as well for the public, any vacancy, including the mayor's vacancy, shall be filled by appointment of the city council. In cities like Charlotte that hold partisan elections, the interim mayor must belong to the same political party as the individual being replaced and must be of 21 years of age and reside within the city of Charlotte city limits. The municipal elections, the primary will occur on September the 14th, 2027, and the general election will occur on November the 2nd. So when we talk about the selection phase options, there are two options that I outlined for you in memo form back on May 7th, and that includes a motion, second, and vote as an option, also a nomination and ballot process. With the nomination and ballot process, which is what council has historically used as a means of selecting for a vacancy, you would have two options. Everyone who has filled out an application and adhered to the requirements of the application could be considered a nominee, or each council member could receive, could be offered the opportunity to provide one nomination and then close nominations thereafter. Now, I'll pause here and say this discussion that you're having now could increase that number, but the option that I've given is that council members would have options for providing nominations versus everyone who's submitted an application having the opportunity to be considered. In that process, each council member would go around the dais and have the opportunity to provide a nomination for candidate A, B, or C even. The clerk would record the nomination and ballots would be created and voting would occur later in the meeting. So this would happen all in person. All of the nominations would occur in person and all of the voting would occur in person. With the balloting process, each council member would cast one vote. Votes, as I said, would be publicly announced and recorded. The appointment would require six votes. If no candidate receives six votes, you would proceed to subsequent ballots. The recommendation the city attorney's office would make at this point would be in order for a candidate to move forward, they must have at least three votes. This outlines the elimination and tie procedures, or it's a recommendation for that. After each ballot, the lowest vote getter would be eliminated. The remaining candidates would continue. If there is a tie, the advancement threshold would be still three, and if you have two candidates who receive at least three votes in this example, then A, B, and C would advance. If you have a tie of the lowest vote getters, again, A receiving four, B receiving two, and C receiving two, both B and C would advance. So for today, I have three buckets of decision points. Number one, motion or nomination and ballot method. Number two, the number of nominations allotted to each council member. And number three, the number of votes required to proceed to subsequent ballots. And obviously now at this point, at this juncture, would there be an additional line of questioning and or elimination that would narrow the field? Those are the points that you all would need to decide today as you move forward through the process to streamline the 22nd vote.

Thank you very much. I know that all of us can see this, and I know that we had two people that wanted to speak on this right away. So I'm going to start again, Ms. Kimberly, Council Member Kimberly, and followed by Council Member Watlington.

If I could defer to Council Member Watlington. I've already spoken on the issue and want to defer to my colleague who's not yet had an opportunity, but thank you.

Thank you for that, Council Member. A couple of quick things. Firstly, as it relates to the question of whether or not council members can reach out. So I don't think my assumption is that any council member can speak to anyone at any time. I just want to make sure that that was clear. Even if that doesn't go forward in a motion, I don't want folks to feel as though that they cannot have a conversation with any of the candidates as they so please. And then the second thing in regards to the, narrowing it down, I do support the three rather than five because we would essentially have voted by that time. For those reasons, I'm wondering if there's a need to have an additional step to whittle down to ask questions given that that can happen offline at any time. I also wanted to, and we talked about this earlier, but I just wanted to be clear about the fact that no one is being eliminated because they're not here today. Now, that may be a factor for an individual council member, which is certainly their prerogative, but for those watching, if you are not here today, you are not automatically eliminated from this process. So that being said, I think there's plenty of opportunities still to have conversations going forward. With that... I don't want to jump over Council Member Mayfield's motion, but I do wonder if it is, well, I would imagine it's in order because of what's been presented to us, but I would like to go ahead and move to use the ballot method to address the first decision point here.

Very well. May I answer the other questions, Dr. Watlington, that you posted? Opposed, excuse me. First, legally certainly council members can reach out to individual candidates and have offline conversations. What we would want to avoid certainly is a quorum of this body conferring with a particular candidate. But barring that, certainly conversations could occur. As it relates to your comment about the nominees or the candidates that have been brought forward, All of the candidates who met the legal threshold for requirements were provided in your binders in the eligible candidates category. Those who did not, obviously, were in the non-eligible. That is the threshold question for the application process that you adopted on May 26th. That checks that off. And then lastly, the nominations piece of it, certainly you could address the number that you feel is appropriate. But again, recognizing that the threshold needs to be set in advance of the meeting so that the rules aren't changed in the middle of voting.

So then with that, Madam Mayor, if I may just to get a motion on the floor for discussion, I will amend.

There's a motion. Oh, I'm sorry.

I thought you were withdrawn. Forgive me. Go ahead. No, I did not.

I'm next. Thank you. No, I think, no, I don't think.

Yeah, I had raised my hand after. It was next. Okay.

Yes.

So I appreciate Ms. Mayfield's, I guess, recognition that the way we were going, we were going to have two minutes here, and then, and we have this. And without any further engagement, we were going to move to our selection. So I absolutely agree that I think there's a step missing here where we get a closer look at the contenders. I'd like to understand better, Ms. Leslie-Fite, city attorney.

Yes, sir, I'm making my mind.

Could you back up a little bit? I'd like to know a timeline for the steps and understand better how these steps occur. Are we talking about an online ballot or are we talking about going to the next meeting and all of these events occur at the next meeting?

So all of these events would happen at the next meeting in an open session and so The nominations process would happen at the very top of the meeting. And again, go around the dais. The clerk's office staff will be standing by to create a ballot based upon the nominations that are made on the floor. Again, this keeps everything in the open and allows for the public to hear when those nominations are made.

But it still means that at one meeting, we move from here to this election. That's correct, sir. And... I don't know what others think. That for me is a challenge. There are some people here that I don't know that well and I don't feel that in two minutes and based on this submission I'd be able to give them a fair shake and that's why on one basis or another I like what you're suggesting which is we have an elimination round where it takes support from some council members for us to identify finalists. And then we spend a little more time with the finalists, which I think is what I understood you to suggest. Thank you.

And I think that's included in your motion, Ms. Mayfield. Mr. Graham. Thank you. I mean, Ms. Ajimera.

Yes, thank you. So I agree with Councilmember Owens. Previously, we did not eliminate someone just because they could not attend a meeting. And this, we adopted an express timeline where people had prior commitments. So I agree with Council Member Owens. I don't think we need to eliminate someone. Obviously, individual council members can eliminate someone. But from the process perspective, for me, I would consider everyone, regardless of whether they attend the public forum or not. Just from the consistency perspective, can you go back to the slide where you have the three options? Yes, I'd be glad to. Yes, so in the past, we had used ballot method. So I think from consistency perspective, we can continue with that. In terms of number of nominations that will be allotted to each council member, How many are we looking at? Do you have any recommendations?

Attorney? I don't. I don't. It could be as low as one, obviously, or as many as council sees fit. However, obviously, the more nominations each council member has, the longer the process will take and the more involved it may be.

So you recommended a candidate getting at least three to get to the subsequent round. I agree with that so that we can meet our expedited timeline of June 22nd. But this also gives council members an opportunity to have one-on-one with candidates. So I would like us to continue with the adopted timeline that the council had adopted a few weeks ago, which is June 22nd, being the final decision. So after the discussion is over, I can make a motion if needed in terms of the number of nominations and number of votes required to proceed to the second round. And that's all I have. Thank you.

All right. Mr. Graham?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. One of the things I wish we had done that we decided that we did not want to do was send it to a committee to flash out the process. And so we're debating and creating the process on the fly once again. Given that, I think Ms. Mayfield's motion makes sense for me. I am not married to a June 22nd timeline. I think we ought to make a thoughtful decision as long as it takes. Because this is really a term that we're selecting someone for and the interim thing is just quote unquote is the mayor, right? And so I think we ought to make a thoughtful decision based on all the information that we have in front of us through a process that we all understand and can interpret. versus getting one today. I'm just a, I think in process there are a number of questions that I have, notwithstanding that I think it's pretty simplistic, but I would have wanted more time to really have some dialogue with folks around the dies in reference to those process steps to see if they make sense for us based on the recommendation of the attorney. So I just hope that we would be very thoughtful about how we process the work. And the 22nd is next week, right? So again, I think we've... I just hope that we can thoughtfully consider what we're doing. The process matters. Being very transparent matters. And certainly the final decision matters even more. Thank you.

Mr. Graham, thank you very much. I really recall that we turned this over as a process to the city attorney, and that may have been more legal than what it would be personal or the opportunities that we want to have as a community or a city. And I think that that is warranted. I think that we do need some time. Now that's not to say, no, I'm not on a clock. So, you know, nobody has to send me a dollar. So I want to say that if that is what we need to do, then I think the council. as a whole needs to make a decision of how you want and choose what you want to do. I think that's the most important thing about doing this is to get everyone to actually think about what you want to do and what you want to achieve. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Kimberly again.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Owens, and thank you, Council Member Mayfield. City Attorney, may I ask you what the original motion was made? In terms of that in-person requirement and whether, because to my understanding, and I might be remembering this wrong, the in-person requirement was mandatory to be considered for an attendance here at the Candidates Forum, the in-person requirement was mandatory to be considered moving forward. Is that right? That's correct. So does that mean...

And I want to defer to Madam Clark because I don't have that motion in front of me. I don't think they can pull it up. I can pull it up while we're talking from the 26th. Let's make sure we read the motion correctly.

While that is looked there, because I know Dr. Wallington brought up the point whether somebody is eliminated or not, but I believe that the motion that was voted on and that we all unanimously approved was that if they're not here in person, they're eliminated from further consideration.

I asked that question earlier. I thought, Madam Attorney, that you had confirmed that that was not the case.

They are in the eligible candidates. That's correct. And now I will say that the application, and that's why we need to look at the motion, the application... specifically stated that people needed to attend in person. Okay. But we'll look at the motion. Let's follow the motion.

Okay. So while that is being looked up, thank you, Madam Clerk, for looking that up. I do want to say that I agree with Councilmember Mayfield and the majority of my colleagues around the dais when it comes to that additional step. I do feel uncomfortable not having that additional step collectively with quorum in comparison rather to leaving it to individual conversation with council members. That is not to say that there are special interests at play, right? But there are folks on this list that I have personal relationships with, that a lot of folks have personal relationships with, And I don't think it would be fair to any candidate that we held those conversations offline. Not to say that we can't have those conversations offline, but that we should level set by adding that additional step of finalizing the finalists to what Mr. Driggs pointed to earlier, and us collectively asking those questions to those candidates that we have individually, but as a collective, come to agree to interview with, rather than having a step in the process that is not open to the public. I mean, it could be open to the public. They can FOIA request phone calls and text messages and emails, but that it's very proactive transparency rather than reactive transparency. And then I had another point. Can you go to the decision points, Madam Attorney, please? Yes, sir. And I'll make this quick, because I do want to be respectful of the candidates' times. So could you, again, explain to me the difference between the motion and then the nomination ballot method?

Yes, sir. So the motion method would be one motion on the floor at a time, so it would be motion for candidate A, second vote. It could be a substitute motion and on and so forth. You would really have to know... pretty precisely where you were leaning, where the body was leaning, otherwise it would be a series of substitute motions and or process. The nomination method is where you would open the floor up and you would have one nomination, at least one nomination potentially per council member and you would close the nominations at the conclusion of that and the ballot would be created there from and voting occur thereafter.

Thank you. Goodness, God knows I already get confused with all the motions on the floor, so I do defer to the ballot method. And then I also agree with Councilmember Graham that we need to get the process right. It needs to be fair. It needs to be transparent. We also need to honor the office of the mayor to ensure that we are selecting the best candidate forward. And that being said, I also agree with council member Mayfield's motion of an additional step where we as a council interview the finalists rather than having offline conversations, which again, not to say that we can't have offline conversations, but that there is another open, transparent part to the process. Thank you.

All right, Councilwoman Kimberly.

So thank you, Madam Mayor and colleagues. I will say, one of the reasons that I wanted to supplement the motion that I do support by Councilmember Mayfield, Is because the way that this process has played out and the certainty with which we went to the community with our date and the lack of ability for folks to rejigger their lives and the good intentions and goodwill that has been evidenced by the work that has gone into these. I would like to be removed from a constraint of not considering somebody solely because they were not here. If individual council members feel strongly, I think that's still within their remit. to not consider someone because of their failure to be here today. I personally am uncomfortable with that because of the way that we communicated it. Another aspect of this that I would like to put into the room, and then I'm going to suggest that perhaps this be removed to BGIR committee. That's where I originally had hoped that we would be able to sort some processes around this. But this other element that I'd like to add is I have heard from the community a lot of consternation around the conflict of interest of Mayor Pro Tem being a part of the early rounds of this process and i'd like us to explore the precedent for that and how we all feel about that and perhaps if there is a motion method we would go out with an early motion on him if we did not have the requisite votes for him then we would then he would be re-injected into the process but there's a lot of folks who are speaking in our communities now about a perception of unfairness and i don't think that we should sit set up any interim mayor for failure by having this process look like it's less than transparent and less than fair. So I just would like for us to respect the time of the folks in the room, have them go ahead and get started, and perhaps we defer this to BGIR so that we can develop a process along the lines of what you suggested in line with the motion brought by Council Member Mayfield and in line with my own suggestion that individual members still be allowed to select someone and advance them even if they are not here today. Thank you. Substitute motion. I've already had a substitute motion, but I don't know how we want to go forward. I think we have to decide those two motions before we put another motion into the room. That's correct. So I'm not doing a motion.

So what, I'm sorry, what is the substitute motion then? It's on the floor right now.

Mine was to supplement and she rejected it. Correct.

So there's not a substitute motion. No.

So are you making a substitute motion?

So could I make a substitute motion? You can make a substitute motion if... You offered a friendly amendment and it was rejected. You can offer a substitute motion.

So then I would offer a substitute motion that builds on the motion that was raised by Council Member Mayfield, adds the ability for Council Members to not discount someone solely for their failure to attend today, and then defers this entire matter to BGIR. And we go ahead and start the forum right now in deference to the people who are in the room who thought they were going to be speaking at 2. So I guess the motion is to put it at BGIR.

All right, so I think Ms. Watlington was... So we can discuss it. With this discussion, Ms. Watlington, go ahead if you have a motion.

Well, I don't have a motion, but I got a couple of questions. I'm hoping the clerk or someone can tell us what the original motion was, because then we'll know whether or not it's necessary to... Add special permission.

So I can tell you what my notes have, but these minutes have not been transcribed. So I would have to go back and look at this a little bit further. But the original motion from... um if you had an amendment to it if i could just read what i had from the 20 um from 20 seconds so the the original motion was um ajmera and watlington seconded and it was a motion to adopt option b invite both external and internal candidates have a public candidate forum do not send back to committee application question will include mandatory in-person interview question if intention of running and strike through on June 1st. However, it was amended shortly after that. Ms. Mayfield, second by Johnson, that the application process be in person. And then there was another motion. So I would have to go through more notes to see what the final motion was, but that's how it started.

so at no point did someone say you would be eliminated if you did not attend so it sounds like there's not clarity there is what it sounds like um so i understand some application but that's to me very different than that that eliminates you from so i i say that to say that i do think it makes sense to go um and spend more time on this process um I'm not sure that that's exactly what's reflected in this motion, and it sounded like there was a compound piece of the motion. So, Council Member Owens, I just want to make sure I understand. There's this component of sending to BGIR. Yes, ma'am. There's a component of sending this to BGIR. There is a component of adding an additional round. You said building off of Council Member Mayfield. And then there's a component of... in some way dealing with a potential conflict of interest. Okay.

I think for me what it results in, we need to get the forum started today and we need to have a meeting. And I believe it should be BGIR, but I am open to other possibilities of who should be making that decision. But I think there's enough queries at this dais today that we need to address so that we can have an intentional process that follows up after today.

Okay. So the only other thing that I will say in regards to that is who is on the BGIR committee?

Raise your hand if you are. Three.

And one, two, three, four.

And then James.

Exactly. So I say that to say I hope that there's some thought and care taken to that, given that this motion doesn't provide one side or the other a position. But just be mindful that if it goes to BGIR, that's now already addressed, like implicating another component of what your motion was. So.

Point taken. I am open to any amendment to a motion that it be another committee.

I think it's another committee or another person in the committee.

Which one?

I chair the committee, and so either the member recuses himself from the meeting, and we still have four. or we get another council member to sit in instead, right? I think the four of us, with the city attorney and staff, could really flesh out all the process issues, which is almost 90% done, and give us something that the council can react to relatively quickly, even meeting this week, right, for the urgency of what we need to do. But I'm open, and

Just to finish up then, and I promise I'm done, whether or not this council member chooses to recuse himself is going to impact my vote and support it for this motion. Okay.

So if I may. I think Ms. I mean, I'm sorry.

I just have a question because. I'm unclear as to I heard your motion Councilmember Owens, but I'm still unclear as to what would the committee actually be discussing and bringing forth. I just need clarity on what the outputs are of this motion. So what would the committee be doing?

I would hope at least a decision.

May I respond, ma'am? Yes, please. So my understanding and the reason I put this into the room, I believe that a lot of the questions that have been raised here, in addition, the motion by Councilmember Mayfield around how we would engage more publicly and more collectively with candidates, I personally have been reaching out to candidates individually. I'm assuming my colleagues have as well. But I am moved by the comment that it should perhaps be a little bit more deliberate a process. And so I think that the committee would be discussing these issues that we're raising around the dais today. And as the chair has indicated, I think that that meeting can happen very quickly this week so that we can give some clarity. But I don't think we're going to get there right now. And again, I'm sensitive to the time of the candidates in the room.

Okay, if I can just finish up here. I also want to share that I have heard from several community members around this potential conflict of interest of having a a council member participate in this process and effectively have a vote up against everyone else. And I know that I've shared it with the city attorney, I've asked her, others have shared it with me as well, but I'm hearing that from community members many, many times. So I think we need to address it in some shape or form.

If I can answer or speak to the question about a conflict of interest. So 168-75 contemplates a responsibility for council members to vote unless there is a statutory purpose or reason, I should say, for why they should not be participating in a vote. For instance, if there's a financial interest under 14-234 or a conflict of interest under 160D. And so based upon that, There is not a legal reason why a council member, a sitting council member, could not vote for him or herself if they are part of the candidate pool. In terms of precedence, this has occurred previously. Mayor Patsy Kinsey did vote for herself in contemplation of her appointment. And so this is not unprecedented, nor is it a legal prohibition for a council member to vote for him or herself.

So, City Attorney, just a follow-up to that. The interim mayor will be receiving the salary of the mayor and transitioning from a council member to interim mayor is an increase in salary, is it not?

It is.

So would that in turn give a different layer here, someone? I have the ability to vote for myself for a salary increase. Is that not against that line of conflict of interest?

So 160D, excuse me, 16875A does contemplate a salary component, council members voting for salaries as well as other pieces of an analysis, and that is permissible. It is a distinction, you're correct. Councilmember Anderson that it is an increase, but that would be in line, I would argue, with council voting to increase its salary more broadly like you would in a budget similar in fashion. Before I want to say, Mr. Arias?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I guess you just forgot me. I'm here. Well, I'm really trying hard now. It would be very helpful if you actually took a number and tell me when. But right now, I'm trying to get it around the table because we're going this way. So if that's against the law, I mean, I didn't want council member. Okay, thank you very much. Let's go ahead, please.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I do want to be clear. We voted on a timeline, right? We didn't vote on a pay raise or appointing a colleague of ours to be intramayor immediately. We voted on a timeline and a process that opened up the candidate's forum. So I want that to be very clear that there is no gray area there. By the way, we did just vote on a budget that gave all council members and the mayor a pay increase, right? that itself and I mean if we're going to go through those definitions to be. You know standard but that being said I think it is 2.42 PM. We are wasting these people's times by having a conversation about a process we should have had weeks ago. I think mayor. We all as a council need to defer this to the budget committee and because we're just gonna keep having questions and questions and questions and we're about to go up an hour having cut into the candidates forum that we all voted to have today to dedicate time for people to tell us their vision in seeking the interim air position.

All right. Okay. Ms. Johnson. Thank you. I'll support it going to the budget committee, but I will say that on May 7th, when you submitted your resignation, I suggested we talk about this. Also, I called a meeting last week for council members to talk about this. So I apologize on behalf of council that this is the process that we're in. at today. Thank you.

I agree with you. We should have had a process, but obviously that did not work in the right way. And I think it's just another opportunity for us to understand that there are things that we need to do more on.

All right. With that, we have a motion on this. Mayor, I did not get an opportunity to speak or comment. I agree with Council Member Johnson's Had this been referred by you, Mayor, several weeks ago, we wouldn't be here where we are today. So I think all the candidates, I agree with Council Member Masura Arias. We are wasting their time. We should proceed, and then we can continue this conversation after the public hearing has ended to value their time. So I would like to make a very simple motion, is to continue with the public hearing.

There's a motion.

We already have a motion on the floor.

Because I think there is a lot of questions around your motion, and I think that we are not going to... I will withdraw the motion.

If I may, I'm going to withdraw the motion for clarity in the room and allow Council Member whoever to go forward with a better motion.

So, Council Member, just for clarification, you're making an amendment or a substitution to my motion. That's the motion that's on the floor.

Okay, my substitute motion is to just proceed with the public forum, and we will come back to all the questions and address it at the end.

Second, second, second, second, second.

Is that a motion to table?

Is that a motion?

Second.

It's a motion to table. All right. So we have a motion on the floor. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor?

Let's continue this.

All right. So that's unanimous. I don't think we have it. So I think one of the questions that we're talking about is how are we going to get this motion and begin with this? So at the city clerk's office, if you, Billy, would... make sure everybody has the information, that we all have the same list of people, and then we can go ahead and begin the forum. All right, council members, any objection to starting right now? All right, let's go. All right, thank you. Billy, let's go for this.

Madam Mayor, would you like me to read the name? Yeah, go ahead. Okay, so the first person to speak is John Abasho. I'm sorry if I'm saying your last name wrong. Say it one more time.

Abasho.

Abbas House.

All right.

If you would just come. It's still the process of two minutes. I know we may have taken a lot more for our own, but if you would just stand in that middle case. I don't know you'll be on TV tonight if all of the people in the newsroom are here today. So thank you.

Well, that is fantastic. Thank you very much. So happy to be here. So happy to be going first. Yeah. So thank you very much. And my name is John Abbas House. I'm here as a mayoral candidate. I moved here 13 years ago. The city adopted me. I love it here. I think it's one of the greatest cities in the country. And this is just an amazing opportunity to help the city grow. The city's growing fast, furious, and I'd like to be able to help usher it in to a new age. Some things that I believe in. Tax the rich, feed and house the poor. I think that's pretty basic. And I think that's... I think taxing the rich to feed and house the poor is just basic human compassion. Justice and equality for all. Our systems are flawed. They've been that way since the inception and needs to be fixed. More parks, less parking lots. Our society is way too car-centric, in my opinion. The city has pockets of areas in which you don't need a car to survive. There should be more of those. Cameras on traffic lights. I've lived in a lot of cities. I've been in a lot of places. Nowhere else that I've been, do people hit the gas pedal on a yellow light as much as they do in Charlotte? It's dangerous. In DC, when I lived there, they had cameras on traffic lights. It raised a lot of money for the city, and I think that's a pretty passive way to do that. Keep this brief. Very, very low on the list of priorities is I don't really see any other way in my life that I can meet Mayor Mamdani, and I would really like to do that. That's calm.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Our next speaker. Sorry, the next speaker is Yara Al-Bayari. Apologies.

Good to see you again.

Nice to see you too, Mayor Lyles. Is my time started? My name is Yara Albayaria. I currently serve as a senior district liaison for Congresswoman Adams, where I have the privilege of helping our most vulnerable constituents through their most challenging times. Prior to that, I worked for the International Organization for Migration, highlighting the stories of our vulnerable communities worldwide. As a proud 49er, I've seen Charlotte grow into one of the fastest growing cities in America, but with growth comes tremendous responsibility. We must ensure our city remains affordable, accessible, safe, and full of opportunity for all of our residents. I've worked with constituents directly for years. I've helped them navigate issues from housing instability to immigration issues to delayed benefits. What I've learned from those experiences is that leadership is not about having all the answers. It's about listening, showing up for your communities, and honestly just doing your best to lend an ear when it's needed. As a daughter of immigrants and a Muslim woman of color, I know better than ever that many of our residents experience the city differently. And in times of uncertainty, a lot of our residents felt immense fear when ICE filled our communities. And honestly, I felt it alongside them. That experience reinforced my belief that Charlotte must remain a city that is welcoming and accessible and full of support for all of its residents. Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and safe where they call home. An interim mayor is not being asked to serve Charlotte for the next decade. They're being asked to serve as a steward during a transitional period. And much like you would trust someone to watch your home while you're away, you would expect the city of Charlotte to be in responsible hands. Now, local government is one of the most influential and impactful forms of government. Thank you. All right.

Next, we have Ryan Arioli.

Good afternoon, council. I am Ryan McKenzie Arioli. seeking opportunity to serve as the next mayor of Charlotte. A little bit about me, I come from a working-class family. I'm proud to be a first-generation college grad and what those experiences have instilled in me and has taught me throughout my career is that When you work hard, you have accountability, and you use service, these principles can really help you through your career and help you in leadership because it's all about that. And today I serve as the Vice President of Marketing and Development for an American manufacturing company. Here I lead innovation strategy. I work with cross-functional teams. And before that, I worked as a scientist where I developed deep appreciations for facts, critical thinking, and the ability to solve complex problems. I've also had the privilege of coaching middle school and high school soccer, which has taught me a lot about leadership is more than X's and O's. It's about helping these people be the best people they can be on and off the field. It's about developing a team around a common goal and focusing on developing individual people. And my belief is that good leaders create more leaders. They don't create followers. So it's always been something of my personal belief is that if I'm doing a good job, more people are going to step up and be leaders and less people are going to be followers. And as an author, I've had the opportunity to explore ideas around leadership and community and our shared responsibility to one another. Writing has taught me the most important thing is listening and communicating and being clear in your communications. And it's also about bringing people together around a common idea and common values that we share. And also, I sought public office back in 2020, and I gained an even deeper appreciation of the importance of civic engagement in public service. Campaigning taught me that leadership begins with listening. It also taught me how to engage with people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and that's time.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next, we have Noelle.

Noel? We did sign in. All right, last name is N-O-Y-A-L. Where are you? Last name A-S. And the last name, I was still in the first name. Thank you.

This is a $10,000 bill. This is exactly how much of a salary decrease I will take if I'm elected mayor. but it's not about the money. For me, it's about integrity. It's about selecting a mayoral official who knows exactly what he's doing and doesn't bullshit. I'm born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. I've seen it grow. I've seen it develop. When I was 20, 15, I was an honor scholars program and I had to attend a city planning class where they showed Charlotte's growth rate in comparison to all the other major cities in the South. Charlotte's growth rate is unprecedented in comparison to any other city in America. It's exponentially growing, and the problems it's having are not being solved. For instance, if you use the equation P equals 810,000 times 1.022 to the power of T, where T is every year past 2015, when I first attended that class, it went from 2015, population 800,000 to over 1 million almost. It's going way too high, way too fast. And the infrastructure that Charlotte was originally built for was only built for 500,000 people. So we are way past maximum capacity, and we need to make sure we absorb the surrounding communities and increase wages for everybody so it's livable and sustainable. Right now, I know I don't have too much experience in politics. I do have a long service career with the post office working for the federal government. So I do have a lot of seniority in that way. And I appreciate you so much and grateful for the opportunity to be your mayor. Thank you. God bless.

Next is Barrett Berry.

I wrote remarks to keep me to two minutes. I've been a pastor, so I don't have much time. Thank you for the opportunity to be considered for the position of interim mayor of the city of Charlotte. My name is Barrett Berry. I'm a former White House staff member, small business owner, educator, nonprofit executive, pastor, and community leader. For nearly a decade, I've called Charlotte home and dedicated my professional, civic, and faith-based leadership to serving the people and neighborhoods of this great city. I came to Charlotte in 2016 with only one family here in the city of Charlotte. Through service, relationship building, and community engagement, I have had the privilege of working alongside residents, business leaders, educators, health care providers, and nonprofit organizations, faith leaders, and public officials throughout Mecklenburg County. I've been appointed to serve in leadership positions by the Clinton White House to multiple senior roles. by the governor of Massachusetts as Deval Patrick in senior roles. I've been appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to serve on a statewide board. I've been appointed by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners to serve as a board. And now I'm ready to be appointed by Charlotte City Council. It's the only place I haven't served in some capacity in leadership in government. at city level. I'm a graduate of Morris Brown College with two degrees in political science and Africana studies. I'm a graduate of Harvard University and also a fellow in the Harvard Center for Public Leadership, where the current, well, the former mayor, Anthony Fox, now the director. And so I'm very familiar with being prepared to be a leader here in the city of Charlotte. I systematically approached being a mayor of a city, city of South Bend, where I ran against Pete Buttigieg. He became president. I became pastor. But I did that strategically, my education, my leadership roles, and the like. I've been a speechwriter at the highest levels of government. I've been a senior advisor to the Small Business Administration, so I've advised small businesses throughout the country. I've been in government and politics over 30 years. I've been a presidential surrogate speaker across the country for two presidential candidates, and I've served. I'm ready to serve here in the city of Charlotte.

Thank you.

Next is Janie Caldwell.

Ms. Caldwell? Ms. Caldwell?

Janie Caldwell? All right. I'll continue through the list, and if she comes, we can go back. The next person is Jer. Jairi Clarida? Clarida?

Greetings city council and Charlotte residents. I'm going to open up with my quote by a quote of my favorite author Toni Morrison, somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader. I am Jairi Clarida, a licensed social work practitioner and PhD candidate and a native of North Carolina born in the Piedmont Triad area and raised between the Piedmont Triad area and Charlotte, North Carolina, specifically on the west side, West Boulevard. As an alumnus of Harding University High School, a first-generation college graduate of North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor's degree in social work, a master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a specialization in organization and community practice, and a current PhD candidate in the School of Social Work at Mergen State University, I'm interested in serving as interim mayor due to my commitment to service, leadership, and prioritizing the needs of all Charlotte constituents while continuing a seamless transition focused on the city's core priorities and the governing body's focus areas for the city of Charlotte including affordable housing, transportation, mobility, community safety, and more. With my experiences in diverse settings and nonprofit community-based agencies, healthcare, and higher education, working with individuals, families, organizations, and communities throughout the Charlotte community and large urban cities, I have developed a wealth of knowledge and experience prioritizing the needs of people essential to my personal professional goal as serving as interim mayor. The message is clear. To serve, lead, and provide special attention to the concerns of the community. Thank you all for your time and support and consideration.

Nathan Clark.

What's up, everybody? Another beautiful day in the best city in America. My name is Nathan Clark. I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I grew up in Noda from 98 until about 2006. Then I lived in West Charlotte after that. Then I graduated from Lincoln Charter, and I'm the first man in my college or in my family to graduate from college. I graduated from UNCC with a double major in polyscience history. During that, I interned for Congressman Patrick McHenry, So I got my first foot in the door with politics then. And it was pretty eye-opening, to say the least, because when you work for somebody you don't agree with, you see all the ways that they don't work for the people that they voted them in. So in the meantime, I have been driving Uber. So I've spoken with a lot of people that live in Charlotte across all areas. I would say spectrums of the socioeconomic platform. And we got a lot of problems here that aren't getting met specifically at the lower end of the spectrum. We've had thousands and thousands of people kicked out of their houses, grandparents because they couldn't afford to pay the taxes because of the property valuations. So, um, My goal, if I were to lead, would be to rewrite tax code for the locals and see how we can get equity across the board for our people on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. and definitely do something about traffic because it's bananas out there. It's like a grand theft auto server. Seriously. Like I don't, I don't know what people are doing when they're driving anymore, but we we got a lot of work to do, especially as far as the infrastructure goes. And I'm a big believer in changing the infrastructure and putting more money into education because the kids are going to be the next, you know, they come after us. So more money for education, more money for infrastructure. And that's my time.

Thank you.

Zach Claywell. That's great. Thank you. Sure.

Great.

Honorable city council members, distinguished guests, and Madam Mayor, thank you for your time. Hi, I'm Zach. Nice to meet you. I'm running for interim mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, because I love the Queen City, and I want to make a brighter future for all Charlottians. And also, I really need a job. I have, like many in our community, been affected by corporate layoffs recently. And according to LinkedIn, this is the only available job in the city.

So that's...

I'm here. I know you're thinking, you know, yeah, this guy looks like the Riddler if he was into urban planning. Okay, I get that. I know that I was just on the Internet saying I would drink 964,000 beers, one for every Charlatan. Those could disqualify me. But I know that I could rise to this occasion. Yes, I know that... The mayor of Charlotte as the 13th or 14th most powerful person in the city has immense pressure on them. And I can be there for that. I know that I'm hilarious, handsome, and heroic. Who wrote this? But I don't have the government experience of the esteemed panel before me. But what I do have are big ideas. I'm here for one big idea and one big idea only. We need to make 277 a river. That's right. We need to cap the freeway and turn it into a linear park. And we need to have beautiful waterways encircling the Queen City. I mean, imagine it. We could be the Venice of the South. We could be having a lazy river by Panther Stadium instead of dodging Altimas or Mellow Ball on the highway.

How am I doing on time?

Now you're saying, well, what about traffic? I answer that question the way I answer every question that's ever been asked of me, trains. We need more trains. I want to see trains to the airport. I want to see trains to Atlanta, trains to Gastonia and Rock Hill. I want trains to John G's Barbecue, so I don't have a DUI if I drink a beer at John G's Barbecue, okay? I want trains everywhere, except Matthews. Those people hate trains. I don't know why. Thank you for your time and thank you for your service.

Thank you for the opportunity to laugh. I just got to say that's a hard act to follow.

It's actually impossible.

Madam Mayor, members of council, other applicants for the appointment position and other stakeholders in the community, city staff, thank you for this opportunity to be here today. My name is Harold Cogdell, and I'm humbled to be entrusted with the privilege to once again serve the people of this incredible crown jewel of a community if this board so chooses to give me that opportunity. I would like to take the time today to speak to this board about three very important considerations that I hope this board would consider or take into consideration. My apologies. Those three things are experience, motivation, and governing philosophy. one experience i have served at the dais that you sit i have served as a council member and commissioner i've served as chairman and vice chairman of mecklenburg county board of commissioners chairman of the charlotte housing authority and in my capacity as chairman of mecklenburg county commission chairman of the metropolitan transit commission I have been humbled to have the opportunity to serve this community in many fashions. I've been both on board of advisors for the Charlotte Chamber as well as a lifetime member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus. I've had many, many discussions, policy discussions, budgetary meetings, and impromptu discussions about policy on both the 11th and 15th floor in this building. It is something that I believe that that experience will give me the opportunity to begin day one to serve this board and serve this community. But experience is one thing, motivation is another. I have no future political aspirations. I've been enormously blessed. To quote Shirley Chisholm, service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. I fully recognize and I'm ever mindful that we have experienced great prosperity in this community, but so many in this community have also been left behind in the... Wow, that was really fast.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Daniel Connor.

Good afternoon. Thank you for having me today. My name is Daniel Connor. I am a native of the Charlotte area, was originally born in Salisbury, but moved here in 1984. My dad has always worked in this area, actually in this city. He was an architect with JNPs and Associates when they were on Independence Boulevard. He loves this city, and he's always been very invested in Charlotte's growth and development. And he's passed that passion on to me, and it's something that I am very interested in being a part of as well. Before I get into that, though, I'd like to talk about the role of interim mayor. The mayoral position has been one of a bit of volatility ever since Anthony Fox left to be the Secretary of Transportation. And I don't blame him. It's a great job. It's an amazing opportunity. But as interim mayor, I want to establish myself as someone who provides a steady, stable, and consistent presence in the office of mayor while dedicating myself to working to reduce and even eliminate the political polarity we've experienced for the last 10 years or so in Charlotte and of course nationwide. If I'm chosen to be the interim mayor, I want to work towards something I call the Charlotte Vision for 2040, which is a bold, aggressive, and consistent concept for growth in Charlotte that addresses jobs, it addresses affordable housing, it addresses infrastructure, And it would actually culminate with Charlotte being able to host the 2040 Summer Olympics while diversifying our strengths as a city. The immediate impact for implementing this plan calls for significant expansion and upgrades in our public transportation, particularly light rail and possibly high-speed rail. And that's my time. Thank you.

Thank you. Carrie Cook.

Good afternoon, mayor and members of council. I'm Carrie Cook, and I'm proud to stand before you today to request your support for the interim Charlotte mayor role. I was raised in Charlotte, attended CMS schools, and I'm still firmly rooted here with my children and family. Long before I served in executive leadership roles, I served the people of Charlotte without a title. Charlotte is in a unique moment. We have incredible momentum to continue building a world-class city. And with that, there remains opportunity. We have families who cannot afford to stay in the neighborhoods they built. We have residents who need to feel safer in their communities, and we have growth that demands intentional planning with community. I have spent my career working inside these very issues, listening, building coalitions, and advancing solutions. I did much of that work together with you all, and I thank you for your leadership. At the Federal Reserve, I helped drive capital investment towards under-resourced communities. Before that, I built Greenlight Fund Charlotte from the ground up because our city deserves a model that supports economic mobility for residents with real results. We did just that with collaborative investments in safety, neighborhoods, and workforce development. And we did it together with you. So thank you for your work. At the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, I galvanized advocacy campaigns for streets, housing, schools, because quality of life should not depend on your zip code. And I sat at the table where business, government, community, and other partners had to find yes together, even when they did not initially agree. That's an important role for the mayor to play, to bring together different perspectives and power council to hear resident voices and make decisions to advance its priorities. The development of your priorities made it clear that trust, transparency, and execution are critical in this moment. And in this moment, you must have the right experience. So this is what I'm offering to you. The moment we're in right now demands someone who is working to address these issues today. Thank you so much for your support.

Jeremy DeCarlos.

Thank you so much for having me today. My name is Jeremy DeCarlos. I will not take up too much of your time. As far as experience goes, I have not run for any public office, nor have I been in a community leader's position of this sort. What I am is a performer. And I am a Carolina boy. And what I could bring to this job is communication, an ear to listen, and the opportunity to work with city leaders to make a difference for the people that live in this city. At the position that I am in, on the ground floor, I hear lots of discussion. I hear lots of... special feelings about what it is like to live in this city and in a position of leadership, what I would hope to do is to level the playing field for those who are lower income and to make a better equitable and better running city in the interim. Thank you very much.

Michael Evans.

Madam Mayor, members of council, ladies and gentlemen, I am Mike Evans. I appreciate the opportunity to address you this afternoon. There are several applicants among the applicant pool who could serve in this role. Your challenge, in my opinion, is to decide who has the combination of skills, experience, and personal qualities to work collaboratively with you over the next 18 months to make Charlotte a better place for all Charlottetians. I'm confident that we can work together effectively to achieve this goal. I arrived in Charlotte in 1980. Charlotte opened up its arms and provided me with opportunities to grow personally and professionally. I've had the opportunity to lead in politics, education, and business. I owned a financial planning firm for 27 years. I also served as a professor of finance at Winthrop and chair of the Department of Business Administration at Johnson C. Smith University. I've remained engaged by serving on a host of boards, including serving as treasurer of the United Way, chair of WTVI, president of Leadership Charlotte, serving on the CPCC and ABC boards. Most recently, I served on the board of the CRVA, serving two years as chair. It has been my ongoing mission to give back to the city that I love. It is the limited term of this opportunity that's so appealing to me. I will be fully committed to being the best mayor that I can be without the challenge of simultaneously managing a career. If selected, it is my pledge to give this city everything I've got for the next 18 months. There is absolutely no scenario in which I will seek this or any other seat in 2027. Thank you. Thank you.

Gregory Fagan.

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity for me to talk with you today. My name is Greg Fagan, and a brief summary of my background. I have a BA in political science from Chapel Hill, a master's degree with a concentration in finance from the University of Alabama, a Juris Doctorate degree, a law degree, if you will, from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. After law school, I practiced law in Alabama for a couple of years, and then in the mid-'80s, returned to Charlotte, where I worked for New York Stock Exchange Companies for 20 years, and then started my own law firm. The mayor of Charlotte has the unique opportunity to make the lives better for every citizen in Charlotte. How does the mayor do that? Simply make Charlotte the best place in the country for people to live. How does the mayor do that? Let me touch on a couple of things that come to mind. Focus on affordability, not just the cost of goods in Charlotte, but the actual cost of living in Charlotte. Economic development opportunities for sole proprietors, small business, up to Fortune 500 companies. Um, environmental concerns. In order to be the best city, you have to have the best drinking water, you have to have the best air to breathe. What about infrastructure? It's been mentioned before. Can we simply get traffic moving in Charlotte and can we provide public transportation to make it easier for the citizens of Charlotte to get around? And what about safety? You cannot be the best city to live in if you're not one of the safest cities to live in. And furthermore, education. In order to be a great city, you have to have one of the greatest educational programs in the country. I have the background, education, and experience to address these issues. Thank you very much.

Jacob Falk. Ann Fallon. Sebastian Fechlick.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members. My name is Sebastian Fetzlach. I'm a representative of the Iron Workers Union. I am also one of the vice presidents of the Charlotte, Metrolina Central Labor Council. We represent over 30,000 different workers in the city in different industry, both public and private sector. Folks from bus drivers, communication workers, construction workers. And basically, our job is to understand their issue, discuss it with elected officials, and fight for the different problems that they may have in the city. I'm also one of the vice presidents of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, the Labor Federation of North Carolina, alongside one of our former council members. And one of the additional backgrounds, I have lived here for about 20 years now, on and off a little bit, but mostly in the city of Charlotte. I do have a degree in economics from UNC Charlotte as well as political science. I wanted to place my name for the consideration because I do believe that the position of the interim mayor can do so much more to continue our support for the many workers who live in this city but continue to struggle. That's one of the biggest problems we continue to hear about. You know, it's not fair that so many of our workers, you know, they do what they're supposed to do. They work the 40 hours or overtime, and they still struggle to afford a standard of living here in the city of Charlotte. I want to continue to find solutions to support them, whether it's through affordable housing, which is the number one issue that we continue to hear about. I feel like we do bring in some band-aids and support, but there's so much more that we can do. Things like, we do appreciate things like the transportation referendum. It did actually create so many more jobs, good union jobs for Charlotte workers. We have construction workers building out parts of the light rail now and hopefully the future expansions. We have more access for more bus drivers and we're looking forward to the continued investments in infrastructure such as that. It'd be nice to see maybe some sort of public plan for the gateway I think a lot of folks are looking forward to that. But thank you so much for the consideration. Hopefully you can consider me for supporting workers in Charlotte.

Derek Forsman. Colby Foster.

Good afternoon. My name is Colby Foster, and I live in Councilmember Owens' district. I want to begin with a simple point. I'm not here to replace your vision of Charlotte. I'm here to help you execute it. In a campaign, candidates run on their own vision, and in a campaign, it would be appropriate to cast that vision. Casting a vision is a privilege, and it is a privilege that neither I nor any other candidate today have earned. You have, though. Voters chose you. And what I offer is not a competing agenda, but what I offer is the ability to help turn your agenda into action. I'm a businessman through and through. And over the last 20 years, I've worked in a number of industries and just passed my seven-year mark in aerospace and advanced manufacturing. In my world, big ideas do not leave the ground because someone gave a good speech. They leave the ground because a team defines a mission, builds a plan, manages risk, assigns responsibility, tracks progress, and communicates clearly when things change. You would think that building airplanes is hard, but I've heard politics might be even harder. But the same principles apply. Be clear about a goal. Respect the people doing the work. Keep meetings organized. Measure progress. And do not let ego get in the way of execution. The role that I believe an interim mayor should play, not the star of the show, not the 12th council member, not a future opponent, a facilitator, a steady hand, and a bridge between council and its goals to its constituents. The priorities are already in front of us. Great neighborhoods, safe communities, transportation and planning, well-managed government, and a workforce and business development. If selected, I would meet with each of you, understand your priorities, help organize work, communicate clearly, and support the goals voters entrusted you to lead. I'm not asking council to follow me. I'm asking for the opportunity to help Charlotte follow through on its promises. Thank you.

Sarah Freeman. Ebony Givens.

Good afternoon, Madam Mayor and members of the Council. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Ebony Givens. I am a small business owner, a community advocate, a mother, and a proud resident who believes deeply in the power of service. The through owning and operating London these cafe and London these catering I've had the privilege of creating jobs support and local families and working alongside organizations that are making a difference in our community. I am seeking the opportunity to serve as interim mayor because I believe local government should be focused on people our city is the strongest with families feel supported businesses can grow and residents have access to resources they need to see. One of my greatest passions is supporting our youth. I believe we must do more to address mental health as it is challenging to our community. uh... every young person deserves to feel seen supported and empower i believe leadership begins with listening it means bringing people together finding solutions and serving with integrity compassion and accountability i'm not seeking this position for recognition i'm seeking it because i care deeply about our community and its future thank you for your time a consideration and i look forward for the opportunity to serve to help guide charlotte mecklenburg county and make this community healthier and stronger. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Ike Gordon. I live in Charlotte here with my wife, but I grew up just north of here in Huntersville since I was five. So I've been here 25 years and seen the city grow and continue to grow. And so it was a great place to buy a house and settle down here with my wife. I have no political experience, as you can tell from my background. I own a small business. I'm a freelance video production and photo photographer. photographer but in that job I've got to meet a ton of people through the city of Charlotte and all different backgrounds to get to tell their stories and that is what is what makes Charlotte Charlotte is just the people and the community that we have here. I think as the interim mayor, like I said earlier, it's not my job to come in here and have a bunch of different ideas, but I think it's to be approachable, be a mayor that people can come up to at Skyline Amphitheater or Charlotte FC games and you can tell me about what's going on and why you think we should have more trains or better walkable cities or whatever's on your mind. But yeah, just like all of us here, I think Charlotte's a great city. It should be one of the best places to live, work, start a small business, be a part of a big business, and grow your family. And I think one last point, I guess I do have one thing to put on my agenda, is that to Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, Charlotte is the best place to bring a new expansion MLB team. Thank you for your time.

Sabine Guerriere.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Sabine Guerriere, and I am honored to be in front of you today as a candidate for interim mayor for the city I proudly like. I love Charlotte. 23 years ago, I moved to Charlotte from New York in search for opportunity and better life, better future for my family. What I got was a community, a home, a place where I can shape my future rooted in purpose and service. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to serve others through my professional career and nonprofit leadership. For the past nearly three decades in the financial industry, I've led global teams, manage complex challenges, and also help organizations navigate change. And for the past 16 years, I have led a nonprofit dedicated to improving lives and strengthening communities through service, passion and compassion, as well as partnership. These experiences have reinforced a lesson that I carry every day. Leadership is not about authority. It is about responsibility, listening, and bringing people together. It's about solving problems and ensuring that you put other people's needs first. As an interim mayor, I will bring steady leadership always and passion for the job. Thank you.

Tavion Guilford. Good afternoon. I'm Delta Gwynn.

Good afternoon, Mayor, council members and fellow residents. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. You'll see me reading from my phone simply because I won't be given two minutes. I want to make sure I don't miss anything. You'll also see him wearing a hat that says Delta for the people. And that's because that's my main message. I'm for the people. As many of you know, I previously ran for mayor in 2025 because I believe in the city. And I believe in the people who call it home. I was born, baptized, and raised right here in Charlotte. This is the city that helped shape me who I am today. Charlotte is not just where I live. It's a part of my family stories across generations that have worked, worshiped, and served in the armed forces here. Working my entire adulthood life in this banking town and some of the largest financial institutions, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, has taught me how to conduct meetings in boardrooms, close business deals, and manage billion-dollar budgets. One of the strengths I bring to this position is that I am not a career politician. I do not come with years of alliances or owe any political debts. I have no preexisting relationships with any of city council, which would influence my decisions or cloud my judgment. My relationships would start with a clean slate based on respect, transparency, and a shared commitment to serving the public. Today is also an opportunity to send a powerful message to the status quo while selecting the interim mayor that leadership and appointments are not reserved only for those already in elected office or in political circles. but it's open to all citizens, as I believe ordinary citizens can make extraordinary differences when they step forward to serve their community. I respectfully ask for your support as we move forward together to build a stronger Charlotte. May God bless you, this beautiful city, and this great nation. Thank you.

Jalen Hall. Kevin Hall. Sameer Hamid.

Are you here for this one?

Good afternoon, City Council, Madam Mayor. My name is Samir Hamid. I'm a Charlotte native, local businessman, a community builder, a husband, and a father of three. I'm not standing here because I think that Charlotte is broken. Quite the opposite, actually. I get butterflies when I drive through Uptown. I believe Charlotte is already the best city in America, and I believe each of you are already doing the difficult work of leading it. My role as mayor would not be to reinvent Charlotte. My role will be to align what already exists, accelerate what already works. And I'm not coming to you with any answers. I'm coming to you as a partner, a collaborator. My commitment is to help this council fulfill its intentions with greater velocity, alignment, and accountability. Charlotte already has world-class leadership. We already have incredible neighborhoods, businesses, institutions, and community organizations. My job as mayor would be to look for what's wanted, what's needed, and what's missing, and help find and fill the gaps. To ask questions that matter, what future are we creating? What are we standing for? How do we ensure every resident feels valued, welcomed, and included in Charlotte's success? There's one issue that will have my unwavering attention, and that's opportunity. And I stand that in the next 18 months, we will have moved Charlotte from 38th to 25th in upward mobility. I will work alongside each of you to expand opportunity, strengthen economic growth, and create pathways for residents to rise no matter their zip code. I believe that leadership can bring people together to do extraordinary things, and I'm not here to change who Charlotte is. I'm here to amplify what's already working, to close the gaps where they exist, and to help move our city forward. My request today is that all 11 of you align on me as the next interim mayor of Charlotte. Let's discover together what it would look like to close the gap and go from 38th to 25th. Thank you.

Robert Harrington.

Good afternoon, Mayor Lyles, members of the city council. I'm Rob Harrington. I came to Charlotte nearly 30 years ago. My wife Sharon and I raised our son here in public schools. I owe this city a lot, and I'm determined to pay that forward. I've committed not to run for public office. I won't run for public office. I haven't done in the past, and I will not run for mayor, of course, in the next election cycle. So the question is, why now and why me? We're in a transition over the next 18 months. We have a committed council. We have a community looking to make sure their voices are heard. We have serious issues to work on with and through the legislature in Raleigh. I've chaired the Mecklenburg Library System Board, I've worked with Trees Charlotte, and I'm a devoted member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. And for the last year, I've traveled the state as president of the North Carolina Bar Association. I've worked with people from across this state to find consensus on difficult issues. And what have I learned? What is the vital issue? What are the vital issues here now? Consistent involvement over many years matters. Listening to people matters. Engaging across the city and across the state matter. Preparation and hunger to learn matter. And equity and equality of opportunity are required for the success of this community. If we follow these principles of collaboration, preparation, organization, respect and maybe even a little grace for each other, we will thrive as a city for all of our residents. I look forward to working with and supporting council and each of its members as we grow this city and we grow opportunities here for charlatans across its great reach. Making sure that we have and use the organizations within the organization and structure with our reach to make reasoned decisions. For all these reasons, I ask that you appoint me as the interim mayor. Thank you.

Michael Henderson. Robert Hillman.

Good afternoon. Thank you for having me. I'm at a mayor and city council and guests. My name is Robert Hillman and I'm seeking the appointment as the interim mayor of the city of Charlotte. Like everybody in this room, first and foremost, I must say I love the city of Charlotte is providing me the great opportunity to come here, live here, play here. and make a decent amount of money here, and give a decent amount of time. I've been able to engage and enjoy my life as an engineer, as a finance executive, as an investment advisor, as a not-for-profit leader, and as a public servant. Along the way, I've served on the Public Transit Advisory Committee, the Business Advisory Committee, the Central Island Economic Development Committee, the North Carolina Supplemental Retirement Board, and currently I'm the President and CEO of Queen City Robotics Alliance, an organization that's responsible for getting kids engaged and involved in building robots as a competitive sport. Think of it as AAU for robotics. And this is really basically, it's a workforce development tool. for preparing the future. Those experiences has given me the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life, and most importantly, to listen. Through those conversations, I've come to believe that Charlotte's future can be guided by three principles, growing together, moving together, and safer together. What growing together means is really about workforce development, economic development, and making sure that as you develop the economy, you don't leave people behind. We know from the Chetty study and certainly from the work that I've done with robotics that if we can train our young people and give them the skills that are for the future, our city's future is bright. If we don't, it won't be. Moving together is about transportation systems and putting together transit systems that work for people to get people to opportunity. So it's not about rails, not about buses. It's about getting them the opportunity. Safer together is about keeping people safe in the city. A thriving city is a safe city. Public safety requires strong partnerships between law enforcement. I'm honored to give each of your votes as interim mayor. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hayden Key. Christopher Love. James Mitchell.

Good evening, colleagues. Six months ago, you blessed me with the opportunity to serve you as Mayor Pro Tem. Together, we embraced a simple but a powerful slogan, team. Together, everyone accomplished more. Since then, we have demonstrated what teamwork can accomplish. We have held a very successful annual retreat session in March and recently approved our budget. As I ask for your support as interim mayor, I believe three things matters most. Leadership, relationships, and results. Leadership's about bringing people together to move our city forward. Throughout my career, I've been blessed to help lead transformative projects and initiatives, including Northlake Mall, Eastland Yard, CIAA Tournament for 14 years, and a new CBI program. Relationships, the best solutions come when we work together. We've seen through partnerships between the city and county, we can preserve historic Excelsior Club. Through the collaboration with the city and CMS, we can create a teacher village. Council members, if I'm honored to earn your vote on June 22nd, I'll be ready to lead on day one. with a clear vision and an action plan built around four C's. The first C, collaboration. I will meet with each and every one of you to receive your input. Secondly, committees. I want to empower our five standing committees to do the more important policy work before us. Third, communication. We must be proactive, engaged, and share our results. And the fourth C, the most important C, is our citizens. Every decision we make should focus on improving the quality lives of our residents. With confidence after 18 months, we will make Charlotte a better city. Thank you all.

Ava or Aviva Moody?

Thank you, counsel, for having me today. Thank you, madam. for having me today, Madam Mayor, excuse me. I had a speech plan for today, but I guess I will let that one go because I want to be open and honest. I'm transparent. So I came here to Charlotte because my mom said no. So I said I must go. I came here when I was 15 years old. I found employment. I gained employment by the age of 18. I was attending UNCC. I did not get my degree. However, I joined many, many jobs and many, many businesses around the area. I worked. I was able to purchase my first home through people that I met here in Charlotte. They gave me the education and showed me the direction on what to do to get there. And I got there. Now I am a single mom in Charlotte with two adult children and a grandchild that I too want to see, be able to buy their own houses, be able to raise their own children safely in Charlotte. And I do believe Charlotte is safe. I always feel safe in Charlotte. Um, I just want to make sure that I am able to serve this community and be able to make my ancestors happy that I follow what I believe that they gave birth to me for.

So I thank you.

Sebastian Nicewicks.

Hi, everyone. My name is Sebastian Neiswitz. I appreciate your time today. I especially appreciate everyone who is in the candidate pool. I feel like a lot of us can agree on what the issues are, but maybe not necessarily on how to get them done. And I'm here to speak about efficiency. I got here at about 2.15. I had a meeting at 1 PM at my job. where I was leading about 30 people. It went to full time to two o'clock, ran over here literally, and then was worried that I was going to be late, but was not. The council was still deliberating on the procedure, which was great. However, that went a little bit long, so I had to go back to my job at three o'clock for another meeting where I presented, and then fired up YouTube, found out I wasn't too late to come back, which was great. So ran back over here, now I'm here. but I care deeply about this city. I've worked in my past to help first generation college students get to college, first ones in their family, helped teachers save for retirement. My mom's a teacher, just helped them in their lives. I work in project management. I'm great with timelines and deadlines. And I want to be someone who represents all people, not just some people within Charlotte. So we need someone who can represent this city in the best way possible, not just for the next 18 months, but for the next 18 years. And I'd be honored for your consideration. Thank you.

James Reese.

Matt, Billy, can you give us a moment? I just asked the mayor for a point of personal privilege. I do not have an application for the gentleman who just spoke. Can someone clarify that?

You don't have an application for James?

None of us have an application for the gentleman who just spoke. If we could follow up after the forum. Thank you.

Apologies. We'll get that to you.

This is James Reese. uh... good afternoon uh... council members on their lives i appreciate the time i moved to charlotte time flies uh... back in two thousand fourteen uh... and as a die-hard durham native uh... it took me a lot of use the charlotte the driving people will rather run you off the road and let you merge over. But this is home now. I have a wife, two small children. My son actually asked me, Dad, are you going to be the mayor? Kind of like Mayor Goodway. They think everything is Paw Patrol related. But if you have kids, you get it. But I say that to say Charlotte is home for me now, and I plan on being here for a long time. So this cause is important to me. Right now, I think the biggest thing that we're dealing with is cost of living. We're fortunate enough to have the means to... to make things work but at the same time I know people foreign is fortunate on the way in here you know you see the homeless encampments right and I think this as nice and as beautiful as the city Charlotte is I feel like there's something that would be done about that to make sure that that's not the first thing someone sees when they get off seventy seven going to a Panthers game I think it's in our mayor that's one of the things that I would like to approach mayor allows you done a great job and my goal as interim mayor is not not to mess things up you know you have you know a 21 point lead in football you come in your quarterbacks went out he got hurt just don't mess it up don't lose the lead so as interim mayor that's what I want to focus on and I appreciate your vote and thank you Clayton Seeley

Alan Smith.

Good afternoon, Mayor Lyles, council members, fellow Charlotteans. My name is Alan Smith. I'm a father of two daughters, a longtime Charlotte resident, and somebody who spent much of my life participating in and serving communities. Over the years, I've addressed city councils, county commissions, state agencies, run for public office, I've volunteered in schools. In my professional career, I've led nonprofit initiatives, I've supported public sector organizations, and I've helped lead communities through moments of uncertainty by bringing together people with different backgrounds, different perspectives, and different priorities. Now, while those experiences may sound different on the surface, they all taught me one thing. Communities are strongest when people feel heard, included, and connected to the decisions that affect their lives. Charlotte is a city with tremendous opportunity. We're growing, we're innovating, we're attracting new people every single day. But that kind of growth creates new challenges and it magnifies the challenges that we've been wrestling with for years around things like transportation and housing and basic affordability and maintaining that sense of community that makes people want to build their lives here in the first place. I'm seeking appointment as interim mayor because I believe good leadership is ultimately about stewardship. It's about listening carefully, Communicating honestly and helping people work together towards shared goals. So I don't come before you as somebody who believes I have all the answers. I come before you as somebody who has spent a career bringing people together in the midst of complexity and change to solve problems and build trust and move forward together. If appointed, I would work collaboratively with city council, city staff, community organizations, businesses, and residents alike to ensure that Charlotte continues to move forward together. Thank you for your time.

Anton Southern. Crystal Stanton. Jacob Swinton.

Hello, Madam Mayor, council members. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I love Charlotte, but every politician says that they love Charlotte. Serving as mayor requires more than affection for the city. It requires judgment, steadiness, the ability to bring people together, and to stop pretending that every problem is small. That's why I applied to become the interim mayor. I'm not applying to come in with a sweeping new agenda or to use an interim role to reinvent the city in 18 months. This is a unique responsibility. The next mayor should respect the work already underway, support the procedures of the councils, and help the city move through this period with focus and stability. Each member of the body brings different priorities, a different community, different perspectives to the table. The role of an interim mayor is not to flatten those differences and to pretend that one person has all the answers. I also understand the work of the city depends on staff, relationships, and knowing how the institution actually moves. Whether it's serving as chair of the Charlotte Equitable Development Commission, working with Cherry and Cherie, and knowing Sarah when she was a... a fellow and now chief of staff, or folks like Pat Wideman and folks that have oftentimes left the city. Those experiences taught me how to navigate city government, respect the professionals doing the work, and help move things without unnecessary confusion. I can be especially useful with Charlotte's relationship with Raleigh. The next 18 months will serve with serious conversations, whether it's the airport, the PAVE Act, MPTA, infrastructure, data centers. Those conversations should not happen in silos. I love serving in the North Carolina Senate, but Charlotte is home. Right now, our city needs someone who can connect the city, who can connect to Raleigh, the General Assembly, our neighborhoods, to city staff. And the residents who feel a decision should be made with them being invited. I'm applying because I believe that through strong relationships, the council can steady and move the city forward, move with urgency, and keep the well-being of all residents here. Thank you.

Blake Van Leer.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you for the council and Madam Mayor for being here, giving us space. And wow, we've got a lot of talent here. So I think that just shows you how much Charlotte's grown and what we have to offer. I'll get into a little bit of my background. Entrepreneur, ran for county commissioner at large. and proud resident of Charlotte, of course, and a proud dad. Spent most of my career doing turnarounds and usually on like a three to six month sprint. So I'll work with a company for about three years and we'll grow it from three million in rev to a billion. So it's a quick turnaround. And I just wanted to lead with that. I work with the board. I work with the city council at the company. It's a very similar path, just making sure we all align together and we get what we need to get done. I'm gonna pause for a second. I'm also gonna throw this out here. What I would like to do is forego the salary and we put that to work within your districts, however you guys think that could be most impactful to people. And I'm not claiming to have all the answers. I'm here to serve and listen. I find that every company I work with or community or organization, it's about listening to people. and then getting results done. Charlotte's given me just a tremendous opportunity, and I'm just happy to be here and be of service. Thank you.

Christopher Walters. Douglas Welton.

Hi, everyone. My name is Douglas A. Welton, and I currently serve as the chairman of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission. I have been the chairman for three years, and last week, I was elected for an unprecedented fourth term. Since I joined the commission in 2018, I've reviewed and recommended 1,000 rezonings, the Charlotte 2040 plan, the Unified Development Ordinance. My experience in land use is a complement to my strong background in software and technology, community relations, broadcast media, arts and entertainment, and nonprofit organizations. A wide variety of experience and knowledge gives me the advantage of being able to quickly create insightful and innovative solutions when problems come up. I've led a lot of professional and volunteer teams, and I understand the value of aligning individual motivation with the organizational purpose. A team is not just a group of people. It's a group of people that trust one another. The unique value of having me as mayor is that I bring principled leadership, innovative problem solving, a future focus, excellent communication skills, and a sense of fun.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. I know we're all excited for me to be the last person to go today so I thank you for for sticking with us. My name is John Paul Zoliket. I am a proud Charlotte native. I was born down the street at CMC Maine a few decades ago. And I am also a proud K-12 product of CMS schools, graduated from Providence High School. I am... I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and I got a degree in music and then studied accounting after that. So I currently hold a license as an active certified public accountant here in North Carolina. I work for EY, Ernst & Young, LLP, and I work as a third party risk management consultant. So my team and I, we help the largest public and private companies in the world manage risk that's introduced to their businesses through their third-party relationships, so vendors, suppliers, business associates, and I think that's some great background and experience that I can bring forward to the City of Charlotte. I am really excited about the next 18 months. I think that, like some of the other candidates have said, focusing on executing per the vision that's already been set forward, I think our key five focus areas are the right focus areas. I think we have our FY27 budget set already as of a couple weeks ago, so I think that making sure that we can show for our resources being used well and make progress using our strategic progress tracker tool, I think that'll be a great way to show that we have served the constituents of the city of Charlotte well over the next 18 months. So I thank you so much for your consideration and yeah, appreciate all that you do for the city.

So I want to say thanks to all of you. This is really an important opportunity for all of us, and I think that you've done it so very, very well that we're very proud to have each of you and hope that one of you will become the person that's going to be possible to take us into the next generation. I want to say thank you to Billy, our clerk, who has to do all of this. Like, well, we all have a sheet of paper. I've got, like, a notebook full of everything else. And with that, I want to just ask the council if there were any comments that they would like to make before we close out.

We need to resume the conversation.

I'm sorry.

We need to resume the conversation that we suspended earlier, right?

So we have to come back to our, do we have, what's necessary for us to have our place to be legal? I don't think we said any motions. Our next step. Okay.

Those are motions, Kimberly. Regarding my motion.

I know we have the motion and those things that we're talking about now. I want to ask her motion.

What does it look like? We can.

As I was approaching the lectern, I overheard a motion. Is there a motion on the floor that we need to address?

Yes, we did have Ms. Mayfield had a motion that we did not vote or completely vote on. I think that there was some discussion, but not any action. So Ms. Mayfield, am I saying that correctly?

If I may quickly, I was speaking of another motion I thought I heard as I was approaching the lectern. Is there something else on the floor we just need to address procedurally or was there just banter?

I think what happened is that there was a motion for process to table. And so Council Member Mayfield had an original motion that we did not vote on because there was a substitute which was withdrawn.

Thank you.

Another point of order, if I can. So there was a joke. A motion was made, and then there was a second.

Which I said.

So that's the one I think that needs to be resolved. That's what I heard.

It's withdrawn.

I read through it.

Okay. Okay. It's gone. Okay, good.

We just need to make sure Billy knows that.

All right. All right. I said it pretty loud.

All right. Are we squared away on this? So, Madam Mayor. Ms. Mayfield.

Madam Mayor, I just wanted someone to repeat the motion. Yes. Okay.

Thank you. Billy, do you want to repeat my initial motion so that we have it for the record for Council Member Anderson?

Yes. So the original motion was motion by Ms. Mayfield, second by Mr. Driggs. It was part two of the mayoral process will include council will work with staff based on the survey results and then ask questions to those candidates that selected.

And Madam Mayor, if I may, Council Member Anderson, prior to that motion that I made, I said we had 49 candidates. names on here. Council has not had a chance to actually have a discussion regarding this process. What my motion is in reference to was a part two to today where we actually come together and have conversation because as of today we heard two minutes, but we didn't have a chance to actually ask any questions that would give us similar to the MPTA conversation. Give us the ability to actually possibly have a survey, identify which of these candidates have enough support to basically have a part two to this discussion since our mayor did announce that she will stay around until we identify council member Graham had mentioned earlier also given us the opportunity not to rush this.

I'm with you. I follow. Just the question, Ms Mayfield, when you say give us the opportunity to have the conversation, you mean the full council, right?

The full council.

Together, not in a committee.

It was mentioned by some members that we individually have the opportunity to reach out to candidates. Personally, I have not because we have a process, so I was waiting for us to get through today's process. I think as a collective and not one-off conversations, we have the opportunity to actually come together and have a discussion as well as identify if there are some individuals in here that we would like to have further conversation with.

Miss Mayfield, I want to make sure, Mr. I thought we at one time said we would go to the committee process. Is that still?

Those two different conversations. Two different conversations. That didn't have anything to do with my motion. Not doing with your motion. Right.

But Mr. Graham supported the idea of getting the BGR committee together and working through that. And I guess what I want to make sure is that once we do that, we know that everyone has understood why and what and the what of. So I don't know if you need some time, Mr. Graham, to do that, but I think that we want to make sure that it's done in a way that everybody has the opportunity to understand what's the next step from the BGR committee.

Well, again, I would do the pleasure of the council, right? I think from an efficiency perspective, that might work, right? It kind of coalesced the conversation. to answer the three questions that's up there, to talk about some other questions that were thrown out about the ability of the mayor to participate or not participate, to answer those questions. But again, I will do whatever the council wants to do.

All right, so I see that Ms. Watlington has a request. Yep.

I would offer that we do a couple of things today. I think we settle the question of recusal today, and then we'll know how to move forward. I think the second thing that we can do, if I'm looking at this, when we talk about narrowing down as a body, not within a committee, that's the ballot process. Each council member submits a nomination. Whoever gets the threshold gets moved to the subsequent round. If we were to follow the ballot method, and if you're trying to introduce an extra step, the top three to five candidates, we can decide that, then get specific questions asked of them to get additional information. We could do that Between now and next week, or we could do that on next Monday. We can talk about that. But I think the ballot method addresses the narrowing down concern. I don't think it needs to go to committee. I don't think it needs to be a separate process. I think we adopt the ballot method. And we determine how many of the nominees will get through to interview. And we either handle that via special meeting later on in the week, or we handle that next Monday. So I think we do two things. We address the conversation of whether or not we want to excuse the council member from this process today. And then I think we adopt the ballot method. and determine how many folks will be interviewed, and we either conduct that interview session later on this week, or we do it as a part of next Monday. That enables us to stay on the 22nd. I'm going to keep up. Sorry.

You're talking, and I think it would probably be, if we had everybody to have the understanding of what it is, so it's just a little bit slower. Sure, sure.

I think the clerk can keep up with us on this one. Sure. Okay, so... The first I'll do, I'll do one motion and we'll address the second piece.

So you're making an amendment to the, to my motion, however you'd like it to show up. All right.

Well, Well, let me ask a question, Madam Attorney, because one of them is about the process to me, and one of them is about the path forward here. One of them, I think, is germane or related to Councilmember Mayfield's motion, in which case it could show up as a substitute, but then the other, the matter of excusal, I think is separate and apart. So I don't think either one of them should show up as, I don't think that one should show up as a substitute to her motion. Do you follow what I'm saying?

I would agree. I would agree. But before you move forward, and I really do want to respond to your earlier question with respect to eligibility, because that's germane to this conversation about who's being considered. So we looked back at our notes, and just for counsel's reference, this is in regards to the email that I sent on May 29th outlining what your requirements were based on the discussion from your May 26th meeting. So you required... anyone participating in the candidate form to do so in person. That was the requirement. Now, with respect to eligibility, you have an eligibility section in your notebook with respect to age 21, all of the criteria that I mentioned before, irrespective of participating in the form. I would liken participation in person today just as attaching a resume or failing to answer a question in your packet. All of that is part of what could be considered by this council as you decide to vote upon your nominations or submit them, but it did not render a person ineligible. Correct. from being considered. Now, that's how your motion was structured. That's how it appeared. And again, that's how it's in the notebook. But if there's something to substitute your process going forward, you would need to work through that.

Thank you, Madam Attorney. So that tells me, Council Member Owens, your concern sounds like it was addressed. So then back to the two things. What's the best way to proceed addressing the recusal question and addressing how we move forward in terms of the ballot? Should that show up as a substitute or do we need to, how do we address Council Member Mayfield's motion if we need to do that before we address a path forward?

So the recusal, that would have to be a request first and foremost for a recusal. And again, I'm hearkening back to 168-72 and the concept that there's a duty to vote unless there's a conflict, a statutory conflict that we can point out.

Okay. So what I'd like to do then is let's take care of this. I will submit a substitute to Council Member Mayfield's motion unless you want to accept a friendly amendment. what is the amendment yeah so the amendment is adopt the ballot method rather than the um one by one motion method that's number one uh i would i would offer one nomination per council member that's consistent with our vacant season board uh work and then thirdly i would say the top three top five candidates that I'm open to what that looks like, but I'll say for the purposes of getting it on the table, top five candidates, uh, to move forward to an interview that will take place either later this week or next Monday. That's, that's the package I'm offering up.

So that's basically what I said, but with detail, cause the attorney had not actually had the chance since I made my motion at the beginning. to actually give us what those numbers were, but that's the motion that I made as far as to have an additional step where we actually have discussion and have an opportunity.

So are you accepting a friendly amendment?

I just verified with the attorney because she basically just restated my motion with your actual timeline. So is that an amendment or is that still just the original motion?

I think it's in the same vein. So I would, I would characterize it as a friendly amendment, not a substitute. All right.

So you accepted the friendly amendment. Great.

Before we, I mean, well, it wasn't accepted.

There was another piece of clarification on my motion with the friendly amendment. So, so that I'm clear the way we have the normal nomination process, the challenge with that, This is not the normal process. We are getting ready to identify an interim mayor to step in. Yes. So for this interim mayor role, the concern that I have with trying to utilize that process is out of the 50 people that we just heard from to say we're only going to do one vote per candidate. One nomination.

Right. One nomination, because then you'll be able to vote on the closed nominations.

One nomination out of these 50-something, if they very well may have... That's 11 potential candidates. I want to make sure that we're giving each other the opportunity to have due diligence in this process to say out of those who have presented to us as well as... submitted information that we have the opportunity to bring in those to have that next step of conversation where we do get to add.

Sure. So when I say, and well, let me just be clear in the process right here. So are you asking this question to determine if you want to accept a friendly amendment?

That's what I'm trying to, yes, I'm trying to determine if that one, but I think also comes from a Graham was, You were asking a question for clarification.

Well, I just need to know if you accept the friendly amendment. Otherwise, I'll make a substitute motion. And if your question is around exactly what I mean by that, what I'm saying is if each council member nominates one, that's up to 11 candidates that could be in the queue, if you will. I'll accept the friendly amendment.

The friendly amendment. Is there a second for that?

A second. A second to Ms. Bailey. You had a second. Thank you.

All right, Ms. Mayo. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Is it possible for us to be able to nominate three so that the clerk can kind of put them in order? I mean, I understand that at most it would be 11, but I think that quite a few people in here probably like some of the same people, so I just... Oh, yeah, okay. I personally would be more of a fan of us doing three and maybe we just doing the top five or are asked to have like another interview.

So for clarification, what we're talking about is the process. So for clarification of this, we hadn't gotten down to that number yet, but this process will help us get to the number. Are you identifying a number right now, Dr. Wallington?

This is what I'm hearing. This is what I think. If each person has one nomination, 10 people might choose the same person. Every single person might pick somebody else. So two other people might choose the other three people you were looking at. They're still in the pool. So whether it's three by each council member or if it's one by each council member, I think that the balance of the group will float to the top. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, I think you're talking about two different things. One nomination, top five folks is what you're talking about? Or three?

Top five.

I think we should try to follow out what each person is trying to indicate that they would like to have as a motion.

I caught up with you after the fact. Apologies, Madam Mayor. So I'm understanding you now, Joy. You want to give each council member up to three. So that would be, since I accepted the friendly amendment, that would be an amendment to the amendment. And that would be if you now, if Dr. Wallington, if you are comfortable with adjusting your friendly amendment, I would accept that. I'm totally fine. I think that would be a great opportunity for all of us. Yep, I think that's fine. Up to three, yes.

All right, so- Was that a friendly amendment?

So we need a second on that.

Clarity for Madam Clerk. Let's clarify what we have on- I just want to make sure there's a lot of discussion.

And as well, I want to make sure the chair of this is- Separate conversation.

I know, but tracking. So Council Member Mayo has asked for three nominations rather than one, and Council Member Mayfield has accepted that friendly amendment. So the motion on the floor is for three nominations. By each council member. Up to, I'm sorry, excuse me, up to three nominations from each council member. And we have a second. Second. Okay. Council Member Masletta, Adia, second. So we're good. We're ready for the vote.

Well, I just want to be clear. I'm sorry. This third bucket, the number of votes required, well, I don't even want to phrase it as number of votes required. I'd rather phrase it as top nominations, top five, top three, whatever the will of the group is, top five. You said top five. Yeah, okay, top five.

So point of clarity, if I may, item three really is when you get to vote, right? You all are in this quasi-interim space between two and three when you go into your interviews and all of that. So we're not quite to number three, which is the number of votes required for subsequent ballots.

That makes sense to me. That's more day of.

Yes, absolutely. Okay.

so so mad american that's a point of of information sorry we so we have 49 folks listed here right and out of the 49 17 individuals were a no-show so that then reduces the field down to 32 folks who can be nominated is that correct yeah no no there's some people that can come because

There is not an elimination based. You can yourself individually decide not to nominate that person, but they're not ineligible due to not participating in person today.

That's why this second part, so that we have that chance and we can pick up to three and we have a chance collectively. to have a conversation. My apologies, Madam Mayor. I know Council Member Johnson had her hand.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. So if we're choosing three, are we ranking them? When you talk about top five, are we ranking them?

So you're just saying that the folks... That comes after.

Okay, thank you. All right, so everybody's got to have the vote.

Just the timeline. What's the timeline? The motion maker.

Was...

So, okay. Let's figure out if we get the first motion.

With clarifying with the attorney, the initial information that we sent out to the community had that June 22nd day. Correct. Yet the reality is as council member Graham had mentioned, we do not need to rush this process because this is a very important process for us. I did not. state a specific timeline for me. The first question is how soon can we get that meeting on the books for us to actually come together and be able to have this conversation. We also know according to our rules and state legislation, we need to give at least five days notice to community for that to give them the opportunity for the ones that get through to the next process so that we can actually have the chance to have the conversation with them. We can't go into July realistically because that's when council is on break. I'm not, I'm pulling up the calendar right now just to try to be as specific as possible. Today's the 15th. We do not have a meeting on the 29th. That is our Monday off because that's the fifth Monday of the month. the question will be is if there seems to be an opportunity and an appetite, if people don't already have travel plans for us to be able to schedule the meeting on that wet day, that way we don't have anything else on that day. And that will give us a week to not only give staff time to create the survey, give us the time to go through and identify and do our voting and and give the community the time to have the conversation. I'm saying the 29th for decision instead of the 22nd, and we try to figure out a date to come in and have this conversation based on council's

calendar can i just ask a question of clarity i just want to make sure i understand in my mind i thought what we were doing was we were doing we were going and selecting our ballots and those were the folks that were going to get interviewed so we were trying to schedule the interview that's it that's what i'm saying oh when you say conversation that sounds like a different well the interview is the conversation because they're not going to come in and just speak to us for two minutes we're going to actually just like with the mt yeah a

process where we actually having a conversation that's happening via the ballot and that's part right and but it's the piece where instead of the individual council collectively sits in the room together and hear from and ask questions of the candidates

Just as a reminder, the statutory requirement for special meeting notices is 48 hours.

So it's not, just so you know, in terms of your planning, you don't need the full five days.

So we can actually have, if it's at the pleasure of the council, we can have the ability to have that discussion earlier. I just want to be respectful of the fact that staff has to actually create the survey.

And... Yeah, they got their names. They can slap a checkbox next to these and Google Geeks and stuff.

We can say that, but we need to make sure that staff ain't doing just this.

And they come around with something that doesn't spell correctly or whatever. Madam Mayor. Yes, ma'am.

You had another question.

All right. Yes, please.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Colleagues, I think that we, you know, I agree with my colleague, Council Member Graham and Council Member Mayfield, that we shouldn't rush the process. But we did vote on a timeline and we adopted it. And now we are doing this amendment, which council member Mayfield accepted the friendly amendment from council member Wallington. So I think our due diligence, right, as council members serving our constituents is to follow through with the timeline. and to add that extra step and to that point find a, which I think can be a conversation perhaps offline, that middle spot of when we would schedule that special meeting. That midpoint that allows us the flexibility to still follow through with the timeline, but as well as make the necessary adjustments that we're talking about today.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much. Is it possible to make a motion to have a special meeting on the 18th for council?

No, there's a motion on the floor.

We haven't voted for this item.

Unless council member Mayfield, the motion maker, if you want to accept as part of your friendly amendments, I'm not accepting interview.

We need to close this out. The only issue is that this one, we can do it. All right.

Beginning to get offline. And yeah, Well, thank you. I appreciate that, Ms. Ajmera. We've got to stop a little bit, and we've been doing a lot of, like, this is this and this is that, but we are not getting enough information for us to all understand. I mean, I look around, and I don't see, especially I'm worried about the BGR committee because we haven't seen anything. Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry. That's just what I said. You don't have to say it. I just said it. Okay. So this is what I said. And I think what we're trying to do is to get some sense of what everyone agrees to do. And that just takes a little bit more time. And if we skip people over, it's taken us too much time to do this without working through it. So what I would like to suggest is that we actually ask each council member what you think is happening, and then let's see if we're all in accord. If that's okay. You've got a motion, Madam Mayor. I know, but with this motion. Okay, the motion for what?

If I just may. Yeah. Your motion, as I understand it, is to receive nominations from each council member up to three. You don't have to give three, but up to three. Close the nominations. Madam Clerk will be tallying those nominations to deter...

Billy, you got that?

To determine the top five, I believe. Yes. The top five. Right. And those candidates will proceed to a set of interviews to be conducted based on a special meeting later, scheduled later.

That's it.

So now we...

I hear you. All right, Ms. Johnson. Ms. Johnson did not hear you, so let's have her hear us now.

So we have a screen. Is there anybody that can type the motion so that it's clear as these changes are made? That's a PowerPoint presentation. This is a PowerPoint, but I can... Yeah, just type it out and then everyone can read it because there is a lot of chatter. So if, I mean, I think we understand, but just so our, just so everyone's on the same page and we can see what the motion is and clarify there. Thank you.

Would that be helpful to do by tomorrow?

Because I don't think we do not have everyone in this room. Yeah.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10. He's chosen to sit there because of what he's doing today.

We're good to go.

We can vote. Everybody's got that. Everybody's comfortable with that. Wait a minute.

Madam Mayor, since Council Member Johnson wanted to actually see it in writing, I'm just asking if we could just take Less than a minute since it's being typed up. But I think we all are on the same page as far as what it is. And I appreciate you all for supporting the motion and us figuring out, again, so that we can be intentional about this process. Because we've got elections next year. People that want it, run for it. Go in front of the community and get the community support. But if we're going to make an appointment, we haven't had a chance to have a conversation about what our... the opportunities that we see in this role of 17 months, knowing that we've passed our priority areas. We've had our budget retreat. We just passed the budget. We already know that we're going to have the housing bond on the ballot in November and what that looks like. What are the skill sets that we're looking for? That's what I was hoping that we, by adding this additional step, it gives us, Not one-off conversations with individuals because, again, I've tried not to engage anybody unless the call slipped through. But I've made no commitments to anyone because I don't make commitments to anyone. So regardless of the media thinking we got our top five, to my understanding, we have not figured that out. This gives us the opportunity to have the discussion we need to have. I was doing all that just to give you time.

And I'm sure I have to clean it up.

I was trying to help you out. I appreciate it. Honestly, we enjoy all of this, but I think, Council Member, have you spoken, Ed? And then Kimberly wanted to speak as well. Kimberly, a question?

Okay. I agree with this. I want to know at what point in time each thing occurs. I don't feel it's a particular hardship if we don't get it all done by the 22nd. Nobody suffers if we don't. We have the absolute possibility of say on the 22nd conducting this meeting with an eye towards processing the interviews and other discussions that we have on the 22nd for a vote on the 29th. So I just want to know if we do this and we try to vote on the 22nd, when will the ballots be due? When will we get back? Because that's a tight timeline. I just want to know what happens when.

And I think that we're trying to do that. I mean, the city attorney, in terms of preparing, I thought it was going to be the committee, but now I think it's going to move into the office. Is that what you're thinking? What does the council, do they...

Oh, she has a question.

Just for clarity's sake, I want to make sure that I've appreciated and I want the audience and the viewers to understand. When we say each council member will receive up to three nominations, each council member is inclusive of Mayor Pro Tem at this point in time, correct?

At this point in time, we're going to deal with that shortly.

Thank you. Yes. And the timeline will come next. Okay. So we are ready to vote? I think so.

I am still trying to figure out where this leads to the vote. And I think it's basically around the interview process and for participation and the five candidates to be invited to participate. And that's five for each council member? No, ma'am.

Three nominations for a council member. All right. Here we go.

And through the ballot process, whoever ends up being the top five. Top five. Okay.

Yeah. All right, so is everybody ready to vote? Miss Mayfield?

We are. I was just going to ask the clerk, you have it, but do I need to repeat it for the minutes for accuracy? I just need to know what you need in order for you to have, because we have it. If you have it, then I'm good. If you need me to repeat it this way, then I will do whatever you need me to do for the records.

And I'm asking, is it this, if I need to change what's on the screen?

No, this is good. This is what we discussed. Okay.

Now, as long as you keep saying the full counsel, then we'll be okay. All right. So you have a motion on the floor. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Anyone opposed? Anyone that's not opposed? Anyone opposed? Sorry. Anyone opposed? All right. Thank you, colleagues.

Thank you very much. Yeah, we got a couple more motions. Go next. Just for the record, so that everybody's on the same page, just vote and we are where we are. I'm moved to have this interview on this Thursday, the 18th. Second.

Okay.

We've got to check our calendars before we pick a date. We better check our calendars before we pick a date.

I have to move my calendar almost every time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Guys, let's see if we can get through this.

Okay, I'm good on those. All right.

Does everybody have that time frame on there? I need a second. What time on Thursday? Morning or afternoon.

So when are the ballots due? When are the ballots due?

When are the ballots due? Yeah. I mean, I'm open.

When do you need them due in order to make that meeting?

I'm just saying, if that's the 18th is when we're having that meeting, prior to that time, there has to have been a deadline for the council to submit ballots. That's a good point.

That's a good point. We can work backwards.

I'm not tied to this Joe 22nd.

No, I understand. Are we sending three names? Are we waiting on a ballot? We're waiting on a ballot.

If you do not, counsel, if you do not proceed with the 22nd, you will need to amend your prior schedule because you adopted that as part of your process.

Okay, so I'd like to offer this then as part of my motion.

Staff?

And I'm looking at you, Ms. Tynes, because it's the clerk's office.

If you can get us ballots today and we have those ballots back to you by tomorrow, 48 hours ahead of a Thursday afternoon meeting, then we can proceed. Are folks comfortable with that?

I'm comfortable with that. We voted on a timeline. Yeah. Well, then the opportunity to do that. I don't know.

Well, what I'll do is that's the motion. If, if there's a second, we'll vote it up or down. If it goes down, then we'll just figure something else out.

We'll figure that out.

And so everybody would get their information before they leave tonight.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

So just to be clear to make sure I understand. So you want a ballot with the 49 people? Yes, ma'am.

By the end of before we leave here to the eligible people. Yeah, actually the eligible.

Okay. Yeah. So if we can have a ballot tonight before we leave for all of the eligible candidates, and council will return our ballots to you by tomorrow afternoon, which gives 48 hours time for notice to those selected candidates. then we can conduct the interview on Thursday afternoon.

And are you going to do photos and all of those or what are the expectations for the sending the information to the clerk besides just the letter or a list like we have here?

Yeah. So we just, we just can return our lists or like we typically do via email and just respond with your names, et cetera.

What about Kimberly?

Your balance would be received tomorrow? I had a question, but I think that it has been clarified, so thank you. All right, thank you.

And I just want to make sure, point of clarification. It's not the 48 people to count 49. It's all eligible candidates. All the eligible, including those who did not attend in person.

All eligible candidates. Correct. Correct.

Okay.

All right. Madam Clerk, I mean, Madam Clerk, are you good? Is our attorney good?

is anybody on the council good a question um madam clerk would it be easier for people just to write it in like their their top three instead of y'all having to like type all of those names in i mean we all have the list like yeah does everybody i feel like that may be more efficient of y'all's time this evening so we can make the turnaround a bit faster i mean just a write-in

If you want to do that, nobody's going to stop you.

I can make that motion?

Okay.

Can I do a friendly amendment? I'll take it. That instead of y'all writing down all the people, we all have the list?

It's not hard for them. Yeah, that's a hard one.

Oh, okay. Well, whatever.

So are we doing a friendly amendment? Okay.

No amendments.

All right.

Okay, cool.

All right, so...

We're voting on this.

Motion right there.

So this is a two-part motion to have the interviews be conducted on June 18th and also to have a ballot complete with all eligible candidates by end of day today. You received. Don't you want to put a. No, it's due tomorrow. No, but you received the ballot today.

Yeah, I received the ballot.

And council members will turn it in by tomorrow. Close of business. The clerk.

Yes.

Okay, so are we comfortable with where we are? Ms. Mayfield, are you comfortable where you are? Not even the slightest.

Okay.

So for this last piece, I want us to be realistic and responsible. Our meetings have been running until 9, 10, later. To say that our clerk's office is supposed to get this information to us and we are going to be responsible enough to get this done back tomorrow. It's very aspirational versus at least I'm trying my best to at least be realistic enough instead of saying ballot for all the eligible candidates by end of day by end of tomorrow to give enough time for us to have to do what they need to do when we still have meeting in 20 minutes. and we have been getting out of here at 9, 10, 10, 30, 11, and thinking that people are going to get up and get through this by tomorrow, less at least being. gentle enough with ourselves and staff to at least give them Tuesday the 16th to get this out. That still gives us a window to get the ballots done and get them back in because they still have to go in and calculate it. I don't think it's reasonable at 20 minutes to five to say that the clerk's office should be able to get this information to us by tonight.

So a couple of things. I appreciate what you're saying. The spreadsheet is right here.

It is. It already exists. All we have to do is respond. But the immediate version.

But the immediate version of your question, though, I just want to make sure. The reason that I've said Tuesday.

Two people are talking at the same time.

The reason I said Tuesday, tomorrow, is because of the 48 hours. So the question is, can y'all still notice the meeting before you know which candidates are invited?

Mm-hmm.

You can notice the purpose. Yes, we can. Yes. Okay.

Well, then, cool. I'll accept that friendly amendment. You said the end of Tuesday, so that's a matter of hours difference. Those hours make a difference.

I'm fine with that. Also, in light of the conversation, would there be an eligible...

virtual option excuse me available to those because it is such a short notice i mean i think that's now why do you want to start something i mean we are talking about 48 hours notice i just want to yeah again i'm not pushing that june 22nd date is not i feel like we could have made somebody could have made a motion for us to amend that because this is too important of a conversation we'd have this isn't the five months that Anthony Fox had when he was moved into a position. So the idea of us trying to rush through this process, I have a concern about.

I got you.

Just for you to get it on record.

As far as the virtual option, I'm not opposed to virtual, but certainly if that's going to be a part of this motion, folks should know about it. I'm willing to adjust the motion for the will of the group.

If they do not have the opportunity to do it for them, I think that's saying that you want you, but you know, you can't figure out how to get in.

Madam mayor, I just want us to, so, I appreciate both perspectives here. I also though want to talk about, and maybe we're going to do it now. We have to do it at some point, but talk about the structure of these meetings because I think it has to, we have to have a structure. It has to have some uniformity to it. I can imagine if 10 of us have questions, that's a long time, right? Just one question. So We got to talk about the structure.

Maybe you could suggest someone that could do that. Somebody's got to do some work. Exactly right. Okay, I think that what we agreed was that the committee chair would have that opportunity to work through some of that, and nobody has suggested that, but it does need to happen.

So, Madam Mayor, I'll volunteer myself since this is difficult. I think it would be, no, I think. So, what I'm saying is I agree that that can be worked offline. If you have questions that you want asked, simply send them in an email to everybody and we can compile the questions list. These things are not difficult policy questions.

The question, it's not about being difficult policy question. It's how we process our work. It's how we process, and it's killing us. If we make it to the end, for sure, but there has to be process steps that there's agreement upon. If we don't respect our committee structure, why do we have committees? And so all this stuff should have been sent to committee. Weeks ago, right, weeks ago, there is an artificial timeline that we're dealing with. There's nothing magical about the 22nd. We got 18 months, not for an interim mayor, but for the mayor of the city. I think that deserves a little bit of thoughtfulness versus making the sausage around the dais when we're supposed to be listening to candidates, not making policy decisions. It's just for me, it's how we process. It's our work. That's frustrating. Are you making a substitute motion? I make a substitute motion that we send this to committee.

So we have a motion. And a second. And put it up and down. And when we say substitute motion to send to committee, does that include the inclusiveness of the things that we were trying to achieve?

All of it.

The things that we want to achieve.

All the things that we want to achieve, the timelines, the structure, the process questions that Council Member Anderson talked about in terms of making sure that there's some uniformity. There has to be. We just can't make it up on the fly. The recusal question, all those things are legitimate questions that we just shouldn't kind of make the sausage at the table. Again, you can put it up or down, but I just think it matters.

You actually have a motion and a second. All right. I was...

i'm just about to attempt jd tell me thank you madam mayor i think i feel like i ought to do that song what's going on are the candidates still in the room really want to take the job um i i do i i want to this is just more trying not to encourage more frustration among my colleagues. I just really want to ask this question because I'm out of curiosity. Okay, we send this to committee, right? And they will come back to a full council for a discussion, something that was a process that should be inclusive of a full council. to be then discussed from a process that was made from a committee, which I respect the committee, right? I respect the committee and I respect committee structure, but I guess I'm trying to understand the reasoning of sending it to committee just for it to come back again to a full council when we're discussing it now.

Ms. Mayfield would like to reply to that.

So what I am understanding, because again, we got the first part done. By sending it to committee, committee can then have the conversation on the actual structure that we're talking about. In committee, it will be the discussion regarding recusal. It will be discussion on the timeline. It will be discussion, although what we recommended is each of us has up to three. Committee will be able to do the structure around the actual survey and that timeline. That's where committee will be able to come in and do that piece so that when we invite those individuals who make it through back, we are all on the same page of understanding what it is that we're looking at and then we have that opportunity of submitting some questions to committee. And no duplications.

And there's no duplication.

And that will finally put us in a position to have a structure moving forward. Because even though we have done this eight times, unfortunately we are doing this more often than what was done previously. So this way we actually get a full structure, but it answers the actual questions that that have been asked by it going to committee. Is that my understanding? That's what I'm understanding why it would come to committee.

I think you're correct.

Thank you. So just a point of information, this would have to be a special committee meeting because there's not a committee meeting until August.

You can do a special. You can. The chair can call it.

Same notice, same legal notice requirements, but it can be called. Okay, yes.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

City Attorney, I have a question. Yes, sir. So if this is, if the yeas have it, right, then we would have to then introduce a new motion to amend the adopted timeline that we voted for previously. Okay. Correct?

That is correct because you won't be able to adhere to the 22nd deadline. Thank you. Or timeline, I should say.

All right, we have a call to question on the table. So I'll take anyone. All right, so let's go ahead. All in favor of this, please rate, of which we're talking about what's on the... Substitute motions on the form. A substitute motion for the motion on the June 18th in those areas right there. And if not, we'll keep going. Okay. All right, we're ready. Who's in favor? All in favor? One, two, three, four.

All against. Do we have anybody else? All opposed.

Four. One, two, three, four, five, six.

All right, so I think we go back to the motion.

We go back to your motion. All right, you're back to this motion here.

Okay, so we'll call the question.

All right, we have a question on the motion that you see on the screen right now. So all in favor? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Well, obviously this is passing, so. Um, is there all of ours?

Anyone opposed? Yeah, June 16th. I didn't catch that.

So it goes to the 16th and then still 18th.

You have one post.

We had one opposed. All right. And that closes out this section.

My yays were wrong then. How many yays was it? No, that's not math then. All right, so we have a zoning meeting.

Second. Yes, but there is a motion and a second on the floor to adjourn.

You can't have the ballot.

We have a motion on the floor to adjourn.

We need to talk about the request. And is it due back? That's what I was asking.

Okay. All those in favor of the motion to adjourn?

We've got a convener.

I know, but she's not. When are the ballots due back? I think we're going to have to.

Yeah, I know. I was looking at that, too. Is it? The ballots should due back by the end of day on the 16th, not the close of business. That was Luana's friendly amendment.

So when are the ballots due out?

Same day, right? Same day. Yeah, Luana wanted to give staff until tomorrow to get it out to us instead of getting it to us tonight.

Tomorrow for the ballots to be distributed. I can't hear you. After the ballots are distributed until they come back. Yeah. Now what it says is end of day on June 16th for the ballot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No.

Can you change that first June 16th to the 15th? What Ed is saying is that there's no period in there to actually give the ballots and receive them.

So we would have to have like noon on the 16th for the circulation of the ballots and end of day on the 16th for the return of the ballots. Yep.

That's doable for the clerk's office. So we just need it updated on the board so that people are clear.

Let's talk about it. Because we have to vote on adjournment?

No, we have to talk about accusal.

Well, time out. We need to vote on adjournment, yes, Madam Mayor.

All right, we have a motion for adjournment. All in favor, please raise your hands. Okay, so just one, two, three. I'm not going to make sure he turned around for that. All opposed? All opposed? All right, I think that the nays have it. All right, so now the next item on the agenda is what's on the agenda. Upstairs.

Is this right? Billy, is this right?

So I was just commenting that the other topic that was brought up at the beginning of this meeting was the recusal. So I was under the impression that we were going to deal with that today.

I thought that we just had that come up. It says charge, recusal, timeline, number of nominations.

That substitute motion failed. I can't mark it out right now, but it failed.

We just need to talk about recusal. So you need to entertain a motion.

All right. Now what y'all doing?

Let's go ahead. We need to have a motion for recusal.

Mr. Driggs. Could the attorney please clarify? My understanding was that a member who has a financial or other conflict must recuse themselves, or if they have a concern about an appearance of impropriety, they may ask the council to excuse them, which would then require a majority vote to be excused. Those are two different things. You just told us it's not an accusal situation, even though he gets more money. So then it's a question of whether he chooses to ask to be excused, and we agree with him that because of the appearance of impropriety by a majority vote, he is excused.

That is correct. Those are the two issues.

So that means that you would have to ask to be excused since you can't recuse yourself, since the attorney advises us that you don't have a financial contribution. So it's up to you.

Ed, can you speak into the microphone, please, for the record? Sorry.

I was halfway up the room.

Not today.

Not today. I tried.

I tried.

I think she wants you to repeat it.

I won't repeat everything. I just said he is not eligible for a recusal because the city attorney advised us that his increased income doesn't qualify as a grounds for recusal under state law. Therefore, he may ask to be excused based on a concern about the appearance of impropriety and it takes a majority vote of counsel to excuse him. So that does require that you would, in order for that vote to take place, you would have to ask to be excused. And I would suggest that for as long as Councilmember Mitchell is in the pool of people, like if he's not among the final five, then he could participate in the selection among the five, if he is among the final five. In my opinion, there is an issue, a question about conflict, but it is up to you to ask to be excused. We can't do it. We don't do it.

Did everybody hear what Ed said? Is that right? And I agree with Mr.

Trace. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And the clerk mentioned it, but I think what we also have to remember is, When former Mayor Fox took his appointment and then council appointed Council Member Patsy Kinsey, she did not recuse herself. The mayor has always earned more than council, whether it was 5,000 more, 7,000 more, it doesn't matter what the amount was, the mayor has always earned more than council. Councilmember Kinsey did not recuse herself. Yes, she voted for herself, just like when we have elections. I hope you actually vote for yourself when you go in to vote. So that I want us to keep in mind the idea of this recusal. Yes, Councilmember Mitchell would have to make the motion himself, but we already do have precedent on that.

That's correct.

And that precedent is that... feeding council member that ended up being put into the position mayor for that interim period did vote for themselves there was no recusal i don't know why the conversation of compensation came into this particular conversation for the simple fact the mayor will always make more than council wet whatever that amount is all campus two thousand more the mayor's always going to make more than council so whoever the mayor is They are going to make more than counsel with that so the recusal piece. As a city council member who served 28 years as a district where she was appointed to fill out me Anthony fox's seat. She was not as to recuse she did vote. I don't understand why we're. I understand why we have in the conversation now, but I just want us to make sure for transparency. That was not something that was a prerequisite. But again, even though we just voted it down, had it gone to committee, that's where the discussion and the actual process could have been put in place. We chose not to do that, but I just want to make sure everyone does understand we had a council member who stepped into the role. No, they did not recuse themselves. Yes, they voted. If he chooses to that is his choice. We do not get to do that.

All right, Ms. Owen.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want to speak very briefly to my impression of why we are where we are. I tried to bring this issue into the room because I've had a lot of engagement with constituents over the weekend, particularly, who have asked me about what they perceive to be the unfairness of a situation where there is competition between a member of council and other members of the community. Those members of the community need to get to six. This member of council would only need to get to five, presumably voting then for himself. So I wanted to put that into the room out of just an abundance of transparency around what our process is. I believe there to be a conflict of interest, and I believe there is an appearance of impropriety to have Mayor Pro Tem vote in the same way as he would if he were not running. I think to the point made by Councilmember Driggs, there is a difference in my mind of getting us to a point where we have a small group. If he is on that small group, then I would contend that he should not continue to participate in the same way that he would if he were not running. are Mayor Pro Tem. So that is my personal point of view. That is why the issue is in the room. Is there a motion on the table? I don't believe. Did you make a motion?

I did not. I'd like to comment when it's my turn.

Thank you.

All right. So why don't we start? Ed has his hand up. Ed, do you want to? Okay, go ahead.

I just wanted to point out it was possible that four or five of us applied for this. Where would we have been if everybody had been disqualified? So I think the fact that Mitchell has served the way he has all this time shouldn't work to his detriment, as it were. He's entitled to his voice in this process, as the mayor put him. So personally, I clarified, as I did, just to make sure we understand the situation. It's up to him. I personally wouldn't put a burden on him to ask to be excused, which is what we're talking about.

Madam Mayor? Yes, J.D. ?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Yeah, I would agree with my colleagues, Councilmember Mayfield and Councilmember Driggs, and also appreciative of Councilmember Owens' point. However, I really do think, for me, when I think about it, I think about the democratic process, right? We are elected by less than 5% of the city's population, and why are we going to vote on whether somebody has the right to run or to seek a position of elected office? We all raised our hands to run for elected office, And we all went in front of the community, right? Everybody has the right to run for office and be a carry to that same standard. Like we're putting on the same standard for all of the candidates that we've heard from today and that have applied for this role today. That being said, you know, and I'll just for appreciation, we'll say this. That's why I also agree with Council Member Owens when it comes to the physical virtual option, right? We need to be... equalizers and ensure that everybody has a fair shot and opportunity. And as I brought it up before and I'll bring it up today, I'm unsure with this financial compensation part of the discussion came apart because we did just vote as a city council to give ourselves a raise, right? That's part of the budget. City council members and the mayor got a pay bump and the FY2027 budget, right? And so that conversation of financial compensation feels very obscure to me to be had in this room right now. Right, right. And she would have disallowed that exactly, Mr. Drake. So thank you so much, and I concur.

All right, let's go. We're going around this way.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just a question for the city attorney here. We were mentioning when Patsy Kinsey was appointed to be the interim mayor. Was there a public forum with that process, or was she simply voted by her colleagues to take that seat? Because I think if it wasn't a public forum, and I don't believe there was, this is a different structure here.

And I'll be a little prescribed with our language. Not a public forum, but not a candidate forum. There was not external competition. It was strictly internal, to your point, Council Member Anderson. Only council members participated in that. Correct.

And that's why I brought that up because, you know, before we advanced to a public process, we had the opportunity to potentially appoint any of us. So it's not about a particular individual, but we voted to make this a public process and advance in this public forum. So we've had 49 people to sign up to come down to speak. People have taken the time to fill out applications. It's not just a small thing we've asked them to do. And it's a very different process than when Patsy Kinsey, who is a District 1 resident, was appointed interim mayor. Very different.

All right. Ms. Mayo? Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I would agree with Councilmember Driggs.

I don't believe that Mayor Pro Tem should have to recuse himself. I think that, you know, as a sitting council member, he should have the same vote as everyone else on council. So just wanted to put that out there. I mean, that, I guess, would be a decision that he makes and or we would make potentially. But I don't think that's necessary personally.

We don't take it. It's not up to us.

Yeah, it's not. I thought you said it. Uh-uh. The attorney just said y'all.

No, we can't vote. Okay. All right. Anyone else? Ms. Dick Watlington? All right. Ms. Ajmera? All right. Then Ms. Johnson?

All right.

Judy?

I'll just add that it's, like, we're arguing about, not arguing, we're debating about, um, assumption or some preconceived guarantee when there's not a guarantee, right? There is as much possibility for the Mayor Pro Tem to become one of the top five candidates as well as to not become one of the top five candidates, right? And so I just want to put that out there that into the public and I want to be put on the record. There is not a guarantee on who gets appointed interim mayor. That is point blank period, right? We all have, as we voted on, the right to nominate up to three people in this process. And those chances of whether Mayor Pro Tem is one of those top three people, that's not guaranteed and it's not written. We just heard from excellent candidates, right? And I hope that we all have the due diligence to listen to those candidates and really nominate the best candidates we think aligned with the priorities and the future of this city. So I just want to make that very clear that when we are having this discussion about excluding or taking someone's right to vote, there's not a guarantee that any of us would be appointed mayor if we did apply. So thank you.

All right. I think too much into his iron.

Um, well, she ended up,

Madam Mayor, just quickly before we leave out, I just want to make sure everyone remembers that on the Monday, June 22nd, that starting at 2 o'clock, we have the city clerk's evaluation. So that was one of the other reasons the motion went the way it went. But while we are throwing these dates out, I want to make sure that we remember the 22nd, we already have the clerk's evaluation. that schedule from two to six, and with public forums starting around 5.30.