NC: Only one of Charlotte’s finalists for new transit board relies on it for daily life

The Charlotte City Council favored Democrats, developers, men and Black leaders in its finalist selections for the new countywide transit authority board.

The council will interview the pool of 27 finalists this week before voting to appoint seven of them to the board at the end of November. Zero Republicans made the shortlist. Only one finalist said he relies on public transportation in his daily life. Most said they sometimes ride the light rail for leisure.

The board will oversee the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority, which will be funded in large part by the 1% sales tax that voters approved last week. The tax is projected to generate more than $19 billion over 30 years for road, rail and bus projects.

Six of the city’s finalists work in construction or development, three are current or former council members, three ran previous unsuccessful council campaigns, two hold positions in local political organizations and one is a former state senator and member of the UNC Board of Governors.

The city received more than 150 applications for just a dozen slots. Council will choose seven appointees from that list. The mayor will independently choose two people from the city’s applicant list, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance will choose two and Foundation for the Carolinas will choose one.

Other appointments will be made by neighboring towns, Mecklenburg County and elected state leaders, which have separate processes.

The board will have 27 seats in total. That’s bigger than the transportation boards in New York City, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Founding board members will play an important role in setting transportation priorities that will impact regional mobility for a generation.

Men, Democrats dominate finalist field

Every City Council district has multiple finalists in the mix, but south Charlotte’s District 6 has the most with six. District 3 in west Charlotte and District 1 in center city have the fewest finalists, with two each.

Men outnumber women two-to-one in the finalist pool. And three-quarters of the finalists identified themselves as Democrats in their applications, including the vice chair of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, Martina Ackridge.

Republicans did not make it to the interview round.

The largest portion of registered voters in Mecklenburg County are unaffiliated at about 41%, followed by Democrats at 39% and Republicans at 19%, according to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

Only seven finalists did not self-identify as Democrats. Three are unaffiliateds who work in development and construction: Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, Lee Cochran of Laurel Street Residential and Scott Harris of Choate Construction.

A fourth unaffiliated is Colette Forrest, an American Airlines employee who recently worked on District 3 Democratic Councilwoman Tiawana Brown’s campaign. Brown in June accused Forrest of leaking to the press a fake “test” email in which Brown deceptively claimed she wouldn’t seek reelection.

Three finalists did not specify their political party, including Shannon Binns, founder and executive director of nonprofit Sustain Charlotte; Sagar Rathie, a developer with Crescent Communities; and Keith Williams, the executive director and police chief of security services company Southeastern Public Safety Group. Binns is a Democrat, and Rathie is unaffiliated, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections voter database.

Finalists mostly don’t rely on transit in daily life

Only one finalist is dependent on public transportation for day-to-day living, according to their applications. Seventeen said they use it in some form, including nine who use it actively.

Most finalists who identified themselves as active users said they only ride light rail for leisure.

Cochran, a developer who identified himself as an active user, said he uses Amtrak “about once a month” to travel to other cities. But Amtrak is not operated by the city.

Only four finalists indicated they ride buses, which serve the largest overall percentage of public transportation users in the city.

William Cameron Pruette, the executive director of the Freedom Center for Social Justice, said he rides the bus for work and rail for leisure. He is the only finalist who described regular use of public transportation.

Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP branch, said she rides the bus once per month to the supermarket and “twice per month when necessary.” Gerald Patton, a retired probation officer and diversity and inclusion coach, rides both rail and bus “when attending events in Center City.”

And Binns, the Sustain Charlotte leader, does not drive a car in his daily life but doesn’t rely on public transportation either due to limitations in the system he said “prevent it from being useful” to his situation. He rides bus and rail “from time to time,” but mostly commutes by bike to his office and by bike, foot or car with his family on the weekends.

Black leaders under consideration for transit board

Nineteen finalists are African American, including several prominent people in the Black community.

Mack has led the local NAACP for over a decade. She is a former union representative for transportation workers in New York City, according to her application.

Jocelyn Jones-Nolley is the chairperson of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, considered to be one of the most influential machines in local politics. Every one of the BPC’s endorsees won their respective general election races this year, including seven current council members.

Forrest is a former BPC chairperson, too.

Of the six white finalists, three work in construction and development: Sittema, Cochran and Harris.

The only finalist who self-identified as Hispanic in his application is Juan Euvin, a community activist and the lead data product integrity specialist at Wells Fargo. Rathie, one of the developers, is the only self-identified Asian or Pacific Islander.

Conflicts and controversies

Two finalists noted potential conflicts of interest in their applications.

Jay Ferguson, the son of prominent civil rights attorney James Ferguson, leads sales personnel and operations for a parking management company. He noted projects created by the transit tax will likely generate business opportunities for parking operators.

Ferguson is also the only finalist who reported a formal charge of professional misconduct. He was convicted of wire fraud in 2005, for which he served a 7-month sentence and paid $120,000 in restitution, according to his application.

Williams, the private security executive, has a firm that bids on many types of contracts, including transportation. He is also the only finalist who said he has a contract with the city.

None of the developers reported existing city contracts. James Scruggs, the CEO of Kingdom Development Partners, left the question blank. Sittema checked “no” despite working with the city to develop Eastland Yards, a project that is still underway.

Current District 5 Councilwoman Marjorie Molina reported no “real or perceived” conflict in her application. However, multiple council members expressed concern over the optics of her application during an October City Council meeting. Brown called it a “red flag.”

State law prohibits elected officials from serving concurrently on the board. Molina will no longer be in office by the time the board takes effect since her term ends in December, but she has been a sitting member throughout the discussions and votes.

Anthony Fox, who was interim city attorney at the time, told council members in October that Molina’s application didn’t present a conflict of interest “at this point” because Molina didn’t stand to profit from the appointment.

Although the positions are voluntary, state law does not prohibit board members from setting compensation for themselves once appointed.

Two appointments have been made so far, both by state leaders. Senate leader Phil Berger appointed Ned Curran, a businessman and developer who previously chaired the state transportation board. House Speaker Destin Hall appointed business executive David Longo.

And two finalists in the city’s application process indicated they were recruited by a “current committee member.” Both of those recruits work in construction and development: Harris and Scruggs.

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