Montravias King steps back from District 3 race, backs Tiawana Brown despite fraud charges
'After much reflection and prayer, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Charlotte City Council District 3,' King said in a statement shared on social media. 'I gave this campaign my all because I love this city and its people.'
PREVIOUS: Indicted Charlotte City Councilwoman will have challenger in primary
King, a Democrat and former teacher who also serves on Keep Charlotte Beautiful, entered the race earlier this year, aiming to unseat Brown in the September 9, 2025, primary.
Brown currently faces federal fraud charges related to COVID-19 relief funds. Despite the indictment, she has maintained her innocence and said she would not resign.
This week, King not only confirmed he is stepping aside, but also endorsed Brown.
PREVIOUS: Residents of indicted Charlotte City Councilwoman's district holding off judgement on fraud allegations
While the decision ends King's campaign, he said it doesn't end his public service. 'While this chapter is ending, my commitment to our community is not,' he stated. 'I will continue working to make that vision a reality, serving and staying engaged in the work that matters most.'
District 3 includes southwest Charlotte and the Steele Creek area. The race has drawn further attention after Brown was indicted in June for allegedly conspiring with her daughters to fraudulently obtain over $100,000 in pandemic relief funds. She has pleaded not guilty.
MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM
North Carolina Elections
Montravias King steps back from District 3 race, backs Tiawana Brown despite fraud charges
NC generally approves of President Trump, Gov. Stein, though Trump faces narrower margin in new Emerson College poll
Emerson releases updated poll for 2028 hypothetical presidential elections
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
It's Election Day for Minnesotans, but did voters know that?
The Brief Tuesday was Election Day for tens of thousands of people in Minnesota, but voter turnout was very low. People in Minnesota House District 34B had the chance to pick the DFL candidate who would be expected to win assassinated Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman's seat in November. One voter told us he forgot today was the day of the primary. Election officials expected about 10% turnout. The state's turnout in November 2024 was 76%. BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Election Day came Tuesday for tens of thousands of people in Minnesota today, but voters hit the polls in small numbers. Empty election Do they know? Even the race to replace assassinated DFL leader and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman didn't draw a big 9 checked St. Paul, where there's an actual city council election, and in Brooklyn Park at the spot where the Hortmans would've voted, and every polling place was steady and slow. But election officials say that's more or less the expectation for an August election. 'Important' election To vote or not to vote Voters 100 and 101 of the day at the Riverview Early Childhood Center are former neighbors of the woman whose seat they're voting to fill. "We thought it was important to vote to fill Melissa's seat," said Brooklyn Park resident Bob Anderson. He and his wife were fairly lonely at the polls and, just a couple of miles away, a potential voter may have revealed why. "I'm a Melissa Hortman fan and a strong Democrat, so I know who I would vote for regardless of which of the three," Vukmanich said. Slow trickle Typical for August Election officials expect around 10% voter turnout for the primary and maybe twice as much in November. It was just a little busier in the race to elect a new St. Paul city council member for Ward 4. "It's really been steady," said Clara Rainer, a head election judge in Ramsey County. "Almost the whole day we've had at least a couple voters in." The slow trickle of voters is normal for an August election. Brooklyn Park city clerk Damon Montero said they had a 7.3% turnout in their last August primary. But it's a stark contrast from nine months ago when 76% of Minnesota's eligible voters cast ballots in the presidential race. "The last election we were here in November and where we're standing right now there were lines basically out the door," said Raineri. Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
GOP Washington state Sen. John Braun is running for Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez's seat
CHEHALIS, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Sen. John Braun announced Tuesday that he will run next year for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House seat held by Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Braun, the Republican minority leader of the Democratic-controlled state Senate, will be vying for a competitive, conservative-leaning district in southwestern Washington that was carried by President Donald Trump last year. Braun said in a statement issued by his campaign that he would work to secure borders and maintain national defense. The statement said Braun is the president of a family-owned manufacturer of emergency vehicles who served in the Navy for 31 years. 'I know how to fight bad policy — and how to craft good policy that makes a difference for people here in Southwest Washington. I look forward to working with President Trump on a positive agenda that gets America back on the right track," he said. Gluesenkamp Perez, an auto repair shop owner, flipped Washington's largely rural 3rd Congressional District in 2022. The six-term Republican who previously held the seat, Jaime Herrera Beutler, did not make it out of the primary that year. Right-wing constituents angry about her vote to impeach Trump instead cast their lot with Joe Kent, a former Army special operations soldier who promoted Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen and touted conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. Gluesenkamp Perez beat Kent by less than a percentage point in 2022. Heading into a rematch with Kent last fall, she was considered one of the most vulnerable members of Congress but won reelection by nearly 4 points. Gluesenkamp Perez has described political polarization as destructive to democracy and used a nuts-and-bolts approach to governing. Some progressives in her district have said she has not pushed back hard enough against Trump's second presidency. But some consultants say her approach could help boost her support among independents and moderate Republicans. Federal elections filings show that Democrat Brent Hennrich, a former movie theater operations manager who has dismissed Gluesenkamp Perez's moderation as the wrong approach, and Republican businessman Antony Barran are also running for the seat.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sonya Massey shooting prompts Illinois law requiring disclosure of police recruits' backgrounds
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois law now requires that prospective police officers approve the release of personal background records in response to last summer's shooting of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman, in her home by a sheriff's deputy who had responded to her call for help. Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed the legislation, which requires disclosure of everything from job performance reports to nonpublic settlement agreements. It resulted from indiscretions that came to light in the background of Sean Grayson, the ex-sheriff's deputy charged with first-degree murder in the case. Pritzker, surrounded by Massey's family in the state Capitol, said the first-in-the-nation law should serve as an example for other states as he let Massey's 'spirit guide us to action.' 'Our justice system needs to be built on trust,' the Democrat said. 'Communities should be able to trust that when they call the police to their home, the responding officer will be well-trained and without a history of bias or misconduct, and police officers should be able to trust that they are serving alongside responsible and capable individuals.' The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Doris Turner, a Springfield Democrat and friend of the Masseys, and Chicago Democratic Rep. Kam Buckner, who noted that Thursday marks the 117th anniversary of the three-day Race Riot in Springfield that led to the founding a year later of the NAACP. Who is Sonya Massey? Massey, 36, was a single mother of two teenagers who had a strong religious faith and struggled with mental health issues. In the early morning of July 6, 2024, she called 911 to report a suspected prowler outside her home in the capital city of Springfield, 201 miles (343 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Grayson and another deputy searched but found no one. Inside Massey's house, confusion over a pot of hot water Massey picked up and her curious response to Grayson — 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus' — which the deputy said he took to mean she wanted to kill him, prompted him to fire on Massey, hitting her right below the eye. What prompted the legislation? The 31-year-old Grayson was 14 months into his career as a Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy when he answered Massey's call. His arrest two weeks later prompted an examination of his record, which showed several trouble spots. In his early 20s, he was convicted of driving under the influence twice within a year, the first of which got him kicked out of the Army. He had four law enforcement jobs — mostly part-time — in six years. One past employer noted that he was sloppy in handling evidence and called him a braggart. Others said he was impulsive. What does the law require? Those seeking policing jobs must sign a waiver allowing past employers to release unredacted background materials, including job performance reports, physical and psychological fitness-for-duty reports, civil and criminal court records, and, even otherwise nonpublic documents such as nondisclosure or separation agreements. 'It isn't punitive to any police officer. The same kind of commonsense legislation needs to be done nationwide,' James Wilburn, Massey's father, said. 'People should not be able to go from department to department and their records not follow them.' The hiring agency may see the contents of documents sealed by court order by getting a judge's approval, and court action is available to compel a former employer to hand over records. 'Several departments need to pick up their game and implement new procedures, but what's listed here (in the law) is what should be minimally done in a background check,' said Kenny Winslow, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, who helped negotiate the proposal. Would the law have prevented Grayson's hiring? Ironically, no. Most of what was revealed about Grayson after his arrest was known to Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who was forced to retire early because of the incident. Campbell was aware of Grayson's shortcomings and, as a result, made him repeat the state's 16-week police training course. Even an incident that didn't surface until six weeks after the shooting — a dash-cam video of Grayson, working as a deputy in a nearby county, ignoring an order to halt a high-speed chase and then hitting a deer with his squad car — would not have disqualified him, Campbell said at the time. 'We can't decide who they do or don't hire, but what we can do is put some parameters in place so that the information will be there and the right decision can be made,' Buckner said.
