Charlotte's city attorney is about to be ousted

Plus: Council minutes complete through 2022; Concert raises $24.5M for storm relief; American tests tech that stops boarding too early; Pineville Toys 'R' Us revived; Toppman reviews '1984'

Oct 28, 2024

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The City Council voted in closed session to ‘end’ the employment of City Attorney Patrick Baker, after a flap over releasing public records, WFAE reports; city’s top legal official

City Attorney Patrick Baker, seen here at a City Council meeting in June, has been with the city since 2019. (Photo from City of Charlotte YouTube)

by Tony Mecia

It looks like there might be a key staffing change ahead in the city of Charlotte’s government.

A majority of City Council members and Mayor Vi Lyles are working to push out City Attorney Patrick Baker, according to a report published Friday by WFAE.

The article says that Lyles and a majority of the 11-person City Council voted in closed session earlier this month to “end” the employment of Baker, who is the city’s top legal official and one of three city employees who report directly to elected leaders.

One of the council’s objections regarding Baker, according to the article, was his decision this spring to turn over to WFAE a document he believed was a public record related to the city’s transit plan. At the time, officials with the city and Mecklenburg’s towns were holding discussions about revamping the transit plan, and the details had not yet been made public.

The article, by veteran political reporter Steve Harrison, says:

Multiple City Council members who were part of the discussions said one contributing factor was Baker’s decision this spring to facilitate a public records request from WFAE about the city’s proposed transportation plan. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential personnel matter.
WFAE had requested the draft legislation for a proposed transit authority and a new one-cent sales tax. Under the state’s public records laws, draft documents are public records.
The city refused to release the document. After weeks of delays, Baker then sent WFAE a copy of the bill in order to comply with state law.
During Baker’s performance review in closed session earlier this month, Mayor Pro Tem Dante Anderson told Baker that he had “leaked” the document, according to four people who were part of the discussion.

City leaders sometimes find it inconvenient to release public records, and the city is often slow to release them to the media and to residents.

The council’s dissatisfaction with Baker, though, probably stems from more than just that one incident. But it will be tough to know for sure: Personnel matters are typically confidential, and in any event, officials like Baker are allowed to be forced out or fired for any reason or no reason at all.

Baker has served as Charlotte’s city attorney since 2019, after 22 years in a variety of positions with the city of Durham. He oversees a city legal staff of 44 people, according to the city’s website. Along with the city manager and the city clerk, the city attorney is one of three city employees who report directly to the City Council. He’s also the president-elect of the Rotary Club of Charlotte, the city’s oldest and largest Rotary chapter.

At City Council meetings, Baker typically maintains a low profile, though he is occasionally called upon to referee disputes on voting procedures. He also has handled touchy tasks, such as ethics investigations of council members. Surrounded by politicians who sometimes speak in word salad, Baker tends to be direct and offer opinions on legal and procedural matters, which has sometimes annoyed his bosses.

Privately, some council members have grumbled over the years that Baker interprets state laws too narrowly and in ways that deprive them of flexibility.

He’s the fifth-highest-paid city employee, with a salary of just over $291,000, according to a city salary database.

A memo obtained by WFAE said Baker can either retire by June 2025, which would allow him to “communicate (his) separation as a voluntary retirement,” or he could allow the council to vote to fire him and receive a lump sum payment under the terms of his employment agreement, WFAE reported. The city is hiring law firm Parker Poe to negotiate an exit for Baker, according to the memo.

➡️ Read the full WFAE article.

—

City to improve to a mere 22 months behind on meeting minutes, after giving raise to city clerk

The City Council is expected to vote tonight to approve minutes of its meetings through early January 2023, making it less than two years behind in providing written records of council meetings.

The Ledger reported in August 2023 that the city had fallen 17 months behind in producing records of meetings, which provides information on how council members discuss and vote on public issues. This spring, the city fell to more than 24 months behind — by far the worst record of any local government in Mecklenburg.

But with the expected approval of the latest batch of minutes, the city will be a mere 22 months behind.

The failure to produce timely meeting minutes isn’t illegal, because the city posts videos of council meetings with no delay. The city has said the delays have been caused by staffing challenges in the office of the city clerk, which is responsible for producing meeting minutes.

The Ledger reported in June that since The Ledger first disclosed the delays last year, the City Council gave City Clerk Stephanie Kelly a 6% raise, to $161,504 a year. —Tony Mecia

Related Ledger articles:

“Charlotte is now more than two years behind in producing minutes of City Council meetings; How did they vote? Good luck finding out.” (June 24, 2024)
“The city of Charlotte has not published minutes of City Council meetings for 17 months” (Aug. 18, 2023)

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Emotional concert for storm relief raises millions — and the region’s spirit

The “Concert for Carolina” benefit at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night brought together 82,000 attendees and raised $24.5 million for Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.

A star-studded lineup including Eric Church, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, and James Taylor performed, and there were surprise appearances by Nicole Kidman and Randy Travis.

In a Sunday edition of our Mountain Updates newsletter, The Ledger’s Lindsey Banks reflected on the night’s powerful mix of celebration, solidarity and remembrance:

Many Western North Carolinians have expressed worries that the region will be forgotten in the weeks and months of recovery ahead. But last night, everyone in the stadium and watching on the live stream was thinking about them.
I realized that hearts can sometimes ache for good.

➡️ Read our Mountain Updates newsletter for a full account of Saturday’s benefit concert.

🎥 WATCH: James Taylor performs “Carolina in my Mind” on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium:

American Airlines is testing tech that shames passengers who try to board too early

Are you one of those people who tries to board a plane before your group is called?

Well, American Airlines is on to you.

Charlotte’s dominant airline is testing new technology that alerts gate agents with a sound if a passenger scans a boarding pass before their boarding group is called.

The technology is “designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team,” the airline told The Associated Press.

Gate agents have the ability to override the system if, for instance, someone is traveling with a companion who has an earlier boarding group.

The system — which the AP described as “technology that audibly shames line-cutters” — is being tested in Tucson, Albuquerque and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

It isn’t in Charlotte … at least not yet. —Tony Mecia

Pineville’s Toys ‘R’ Us comes back to life, through the magic of Hollywood

The old Toys “R” Us in Pineville closed in 2018 when the company went bankrupt, but it has come back to life temporarily as a movie set, with bright new letters. The upcoming motion picture “Roofman,” starring Channing Tatum, is shooting at various locations in the Charlotte area. As The Ledger reported in May, the movie recounts the tale of a fast-food robber who would gain entry by chopping holes in the roof. One of his hideouts was an empty Circuit City store on Independence Boulevard, and he would sneak into the Toys “R” Us next door.

🎭 Theater review: Orwell’s ‘1984’ returns to the stage in a faithful adaptation that still haunts

Ledger arts critic Lawrence Toppman took in Friday night’s performance of Theatre Charlotte’s “1984” which runs through Nov. 10.

In his review for The Ledger, Toppman writes:

George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” appeared 75 years ago this summer, warning readers of the dangers posed by totalitarianism. He took Stalin as his model, with Hitler vaguely in the background. Since then, history’s parade of murderous dictators — starting with Mao Zedong, who took power four months after the book came out — has continually proved Orwell prescient. A theatrical adaptation at Theatre Charlotte, which runs up to and beyond the 2024 presidential elections, gives us a timely chance to reflect.
The stage version by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr. and William A. Miles Jr. remains faithful to the novel in the important ways, eliminating minor characters for reasonable economy of storytelling. Director Chris Timmons, assisted by Chloe Shade, has spared us none of the psychological and (briefly) physical torture Winston Smith undergoes, as he tries to maintain his individuality in a world where it represents “thoughtcrime.”

Check out Toppman’s full review, with information if you want to go:

Toppman review of '1984'

You might be interested in these Charlotte events: ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ Restaurant industry awards, Trinity Episcopal open house

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

TUESDAY: “Sleepy Hollow 25th Anniversary Screening,” 7:30 p.m., Independent Picture House. Join The Independent Picture House for a 25th anniversary screening of Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow.” The screening will be followed by a virtual Q&A featuring Industrial Light & Magic's Robert Weaver, computer graphics sequence supervisor on the film. $8.45.
NOV. 4: Unpretentious Palate's 2024 UPPY Awards, 6-9 p.m. at the Visulite Theatre, Charlotte. Save the date for the 2024 UPPY Awards! Unpretentious Palate‘s fourth annual People of the Year Awards, or The UPPYs, will be held on Monday, November 4th from 6-9 p.m. at Charlotte’s historic Visulite Theatre. The annual event celebrates the best in Charlotte’s restaurant industry, from chefs and bartenders to sommeliers and general managers. Tickets are on sale now! See this year’s finalists
NOV. 7: “Trinity Episcopal School K-8 Open House,” 9:30-11 a.m., Trinity Episcopal School, 750 E. 9th St. Register for an open house for the 2025-26 school year and learn more about the K-8 advantage at Trinity. Free.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.

In brief:

Soccer playoff loss: Charlotte FC lost Sunday in the first game of a best-of-three playoff series against Orlando City. The second game in the series is Friday at Bank of America Stadium. Check out The Ledger’s Fútbol Friday newsletter for info on the playoffs.
Big LoSo sports bar: A new sports bar in the area known as “LoSo” has four media walls that allow streaming of up to 20 games at the same time, including a 40-foot TV. Partial owners include former Carolina Panthers players Charles Johnson and Kawaan Short. (Axios Charlotte)
Final week of early voting: Early voting continues this week at 33 sites in Mecklenburg. It’s 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Places and times here; and of course research all state and local races on your ballot at The Ledger’s free and easy-to-use Election Hub.
Extra hour coming this weekend: Daylight saving time ends this weekend. You’ll gain an hour on Saturday night (early Sunday morning).

Taking stock

How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:

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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman

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