Charlotte City Councilwoman says she's running for reelection after mistakenly sent email claimed she wouldn't
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Despite an email sent to supporters claiming she isn't running for re-election, Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown says that email was sent by accident.
The email sent Tuesday afternoon said Brown would not run again, but Brown confirmed with Queen City News's Chief Political Correspondent Andy Weber that the email was sent out by mistake and she is planning to seek another term.
This fall, Brown will have a challenger for her council seat.
Democrat Montravias King told Queen City News he will attempt to unseat Brown in the primary set for Sept. 9. The incumbent, who was elected in 2023, is facing federal fraud charges, and says she will not resign from her post.
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Boston Globe
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FAMU still faces accreditation review over trustee's alleged interference
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State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. Dec. 7, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — State Sen. Jane Raybould announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection to her central Lincoln seat in 2026, retiring at the end of her term after 16 years in public service. Raybould, 66, said she has been honored and humbled by getting to serve on the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, Lincoln City Council and in the Nebraska Legislature. In each office, she said she juggled family obligations and outside work. 'Knowing I was making a difference in my community has been tremendously rewarding and profoundly fulfilling,' Raybould said in a statement Thursday to the Nebraska Examiner. Raybould made clear that her announcement is not a resignation speech, writing: 'Oh no, not even close!' She said she remains committed and dedicated 'to being the most effective senator' in her remaining year and a half in office. That window will likely include a revived effort to slow the state's minimum wage, a Raybould priority that stalled just a couple of weeks ago, receiving pushback from some voters who supported the measure on the ballot just a few years ago. 'I look forward to working with my colleagues as I have always done to create policies that help all Nebraska families and businesses thrive in a state that I love,' Raybould wrote. Raybould, a Democrat, ran for lieutenant governor in 2014 with former University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook in 2014, and, challenged Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., in 2018, falling short both times. Raybould served as chair of the Lincoln City Council during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she called it a 'distinct honor' to work with Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and the late Pat Lopez, former director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. 'We worked together to keep our community safe, and we did,' Raybould said. In 2023, Raybould succeeded former Lincoln State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, who was term-limited out of the seat representing Legislative District 28. Pansing Brooks endorsed Raybould. No one had announced a 2026 campaign for the seat by Raybould's announcement. In Raybould's first three legislative years, she introduced a variety of bills, including those focusing on affordable housing, campaign finance reform, red-flag gun legislation, emergency care for survivors of sexual assault, expanded access to and coverage of contraception, mental health access and expanding the state's homestead exemption. Raybould, who now chairs the Legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee, has also taken the mantle to support indigenous Nebraskans from past senators, which helped influence the creation of a state liaison for missing and murdered indigenous persons. In 2024, multiple Raybould bills helped prioritize grants for water improvement projects for tribal lands under federal no-drink orders and allowed state recognition of tribal emergency protection orders. Raybould sometimes stood on an island in her legislative service, such as singing on the legislative floor after conservatives booted her from an assignment on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee for a desired partisan lean. In 2023, she was a leading voice against the state's enactment of 'constitutional carry,' and she regularly spoke against bills to restrict abortion access and to advance 'needless culture-war attacks' against transgender children and adults. She has also tried multiple times to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars from the proposed Perkins County Canal project and to slow the state's 'accelerated' income tax cuts. By 2027, the income tax rate for corporations and individuals making more than $18,000 will drop to 3.99%. A 2025 partnership with State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln could soon lead to statewide evidence-based nurse home visitations for newborns and their families. Perceptions of Raybould have been reshaped by the 2025 fight over Legislative Bill 258, her effort to slow the voter-approved increase in the state minimum wage. That bill is set to resurface in 2026. Voters in 2022, the same year Raybould was elected to the Legislature, raised the minimum wage by $1.50 multiple times, from $9 before the law to $15 by Jan. 1, 2026. Voters also approved annual inflationary increases after beginning in 2027. LB 258, which Raybould designated as her 2025 priority and amended during negotiations, would instead lock annual minimum wage increases at 1.75%, which is smaller than average inflation in recent years. It also would increase a 90-day 'training wage' for teen workers to roughly 90% of the state minimum wage, rather than 75% of the federal minimum wage. It would apply only to 16-19 year olds. Under her proposal, teens aged 14 and 15 could instead be paid a 'youth minimum wage.' As lawmakers return in 2026, Raybould has suggested locking that wage at $15 instead of starting at $13.50, the current minimum wage, with small increases every five years. Raybould has said the fixed increase offers better stability and predictability for businesses that need to plan and that her motivation is to help small businesses and others who might not be able to absorb less predictable costs. 'You have to always balance it out to make sure that we maintain the economic vitality and vibrancy and economic growth in our state without falling off and creating a cycle of cost increases that are so much harder for Nebraska families to be able to afford,' Raybould said in April. Raybould declared a conflict of interest on the legislation shortly after introducing it because her family owns B&R Stores, the grocery store chain that includes Russ's Market and Super Saver. She stepped down as vice president of her family company in late March and continues to serve as vice chair on the company board. The bill continues to have 33 supporters — 32 of 33 Republicans and Raybould as the lone Democratic supporter — the minimum support needed under the Nebraska Constitution to change or repeal laws that voters have enacted. The minimum wage fight turned deeply personal among progressive legislators, including State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, who said she had 'never seen such a blatant, bald-faced, self-serving, self-dealing, selfish, unethical example of self-dealing as this bill.' Others, such as State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who led the opposition that stalled Raybould's bill this year, said consumers didn't care about the age of employees, which should be 'equal pay for equal work.' The bill was defeated by a filibuster when one of Raybould's supporters briefly left the legislative floor. Republicans had defended Raybould for what they said was a thoughtful approach that properly considered federal work restrictions on young workers. Raybould said she plans to focus in 2026 on 'true property tax relief' while working to address the state's projected structural budget deficit compounded by the state's 2023 income tax cuts. Raybould said her decision not to seek reelection was 'a thoughtful one long in the making,' similar to the 'deliberate and well-scheduled plan' to retire from her family company this year. Raybould said those 'who want to rush to judgment' that her decision is directly related to the 'rather brutal' 2025 session 'are wrong, but you are also welcome to speculate.' 'There is no doubt it certainly was a tough one,' she said. However, Raybould said that those who know her know she has 'never shied away from any controversial issue, fought tirelessly and advocated for smart policies for working families, small businesses and the most vulnerable.' Raybould said previously she had 'never cared, not ever' about reelection, but that she did care about 'doing the right thing every day for the right reasons that help the most Nebraskans.' In early 2024, she was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer: splenic marginal zone lymphoma, which took her away from much of the 2024 session. Raybould said her family has 'enthusiastically and wholeheartedly supported' her political career, 'beyond anyone's reasonable expectations.' She said reflected on her 'own mortality and life priorities.' 'Thank you, dear family, for all the sacrifices and sharing that you have made. Now, it is my turn to be the full-time spouse, mom, grandma, sister, aunt and friend they deserve. I plan to spend more time with all of them,' Raybould said. 'I'm officially announcing that my next campaign is to be the best grandma ever!' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
