Council Quickies: Robert Harrington Named Interim Mayor
Attorney will be sworn in on July 1
Charlotte City Council’s regularly scheduled business meeting on Monday was a big one, as the body was responsible for appointing an interim mayor who will finish out Mayor Vi Lyles’ term when she steps down at the end of the month.
Because the two appointment votes were disjointed, with unrelated votes taking place in between, the happenings below are not presented as they occurred chronologically but grouped together for clarification purposes.
On the agenda:
- Interim mayoral appointment
- Red-light cameras and other business items
Interim mayoral appointment
Mayor Lyles began the meeting with a moment of silence for Eddie Knox, Charlotte’s mayor from 1979 to 1983, who passed away on Monday at the age of 89.
Mayor Pro Tem James “Smuggie” Mitchell paused to recognize Lyles for her more than three decades of public service in Charlotte, serving as budget director, assistant city manager, city council rep, mayor pro tem and mayor.
“Few leaders have served this city from as many perspectives with such deep commitment to public service,” said Mitchell. “Mayor Lyles has always been a leader who brings people together. Her integrity, vision and collaborative approach has strengthened countless residents, community leaders and public servants.”
A representative with Gov. Josh Stein’s office presented Lyles with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest honor.
Thirty one people signed up to speak about the interim mayoral appointment in a separate public forum, with speakers having one minute to announce which candidate they were endorsing and why.
The top two vote getters from the first round of ballots submitted by council were Carrie Cook (three votes) and Robert Harrington (four votes). Since no one received a majority six votes, Cook and Harrington advanced to a runoff.
In the runoff vote, Robert Harrington was appointed as the interim mayor to finish out the 18 months left in Lyles’ term.
A partner with Robinson Bradshaw law firm, Harrington has served on the faculty of trial advocacy programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the North Carolina Bar Association and the Mecklenburg Bar Association.
He currently serves as president of the North Carolina Bar Association and previously served as president of the Mecklenburg Bar Association.
Having never served in elected office, Harrington told council members last week that his experience as chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees provided him a good deal of experience in the public sector.
“Charlotte has been incredibly good to me and my family, I believe very strongly in paying that forward and this is perhaps the ultimate way of paying that forward,” he said during last week’s interview. “Collaboration, communication, transparency, continuing to work together in an orderly manner, I would hope would all be hallmarks of this 18 months. And I see this 18 months … as a bridge from now until the next elected mayor, hoping to put this city in the next mayor’s and council’s hands in fantastic shape.”
Robert Harrington is scheduled to be sworn in on July 1.
Red-light cameras and other business items
Avante K. Jackson, a Class A CDL Driver and founder of CDL Shorty D4D, started Monday night’s public forum by calling for improved CDL infrastructure, including education for drivers on how to stay safe driving alongside trucks and safety measures for women CDL drivers at truck stops.
Speakers that followed addressed quality of life and public safety in Uptown, calls for council to more proactively oppose data center construction in Charlotte, and raised awareness for Free Laundry Day.
Sustain Charlotte’s Meg Fencil read off the names of the dozens of people who were killed in traffic-related incidents since the last time the organization addressed council in March. She urged council to implement red-light cameras as soon as possible.
Council unanimously approved the implementation of a red-light camera pilot program that will equip cameras at 10 intersections deemed to be especially dangerous according to recent data, with signage providing advance warning at any intersection where cameras are installed.
The potential pilot locations are: North Graham Street & Norris Avenue, University City Boulevard & the I-485 northbound ramp, Steele Creek Road & Westinghouse Boulevard, North Tryon Street & University City Boulevard, Central Avenue & North Sharon Amity Road, W.T. Harris Blvd. & North Tryon Street, South Tryon Street & Arrowood Road, South Mint Street & West Boulevard, Central Avenue & Kilborne Avenue, East 36th Street & The Plaza.
Violations will also be increased to $75 from $50, to be issued to the registered owner of a violating vehicle, with no points issued toward the driver’s license or insurance. The pilot is expected to be implemented in 2027.
Council voted to designate the Dilworth Methodist Church South building as a historic landmark. Our feature story from 2025 details how restaurateurs Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel preserved the building to house their latest venture, Leluia Hall.
