CHARLOTTE — He calls himself Charlotte’s biggest cheerleader and an Energizer bunny. Mayor Pro Tem James “Smuggie” Mitchell’s Charlotte City Council experience dates back to 1999. Now he wants his colleagues to appoint him to the city’s top job when Mayor Vi Lyles steps down at the end of June.
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“The queen and I had a very good conversation about my future and how do I close out my public service chapter,” Mitchell said, referring to his wife. “I think, Joe, in the 18 months I can leave a good legacy and prepare for someone else to run in 2027.”
Pressed multiple times by Eyewitness News Reporter Joe Bruno, Mitchell doubled down on not running in 2027 if he is appointed to the seat.
“What if 2027 comes around and the Black Political Caucus is telling you to run, the business community is telling you to run, then what happens?” Bruno asked.
“I have to say a word that’s hard for me to say. ‘No,’” Mitchell said. “My wife always tells me it’s spelled ‘N-O,’ not ‘Y-E-S,’ but I’m going to give it my all for 18 months, and I’m going to be tired after 18 months, and I’m going to be ready to go home and relax and say to all the other great candidates who want to lead this city, it is your turn.”
“This clip will be shared and shared and shared if you ultimately choose to run,” Bruno told Mitchell.
“It is not going to happen, Joe,” Mitchell said.
That assurance may be vital as council members with mayoral aspirations weigh whether to appoint him to the seat.
He’s promising to empower them by creating committee vice chair positions and setting aside more time for them to discuss important issues.
“I want everybody to be a leader,” he said. “I want everybody to have the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership positions. I want us to tackle big issues from a proactive standpoint.”
Just like anyone with more than two decades of service, Mitchell has been involved in controversies throughout the years.
His first came in the year 2000. He was under fire for racking up a $3,000 city cellphone bill in six months. More recently, in 2021, Mitchell left to council to be president of RJ Leeper only to leave that position a short time later. That led to a dispute over ownership share, but the district attorney cleared him of any conflicts of interest.
And in the past few weeks, he told the Black Political Caucus he would vote to rescind support of the Interstate 77 toll lanes, but ultimately did the opposite. Mitchell says the city attorney warned him there could be detrimental impacts from Raleigh and for I-77 if the project doesn’t move forward.
“After talking to the city attorney, Joe, one thing I hope people will respect, that I had to do what was best for Charlotte, and what was best for Charlotte was to try to keep the project going,” he said.
He says what sets him apart from any outside candidate is that he can hit the ground running with no learning curve.
“I’m going to take a 30-day tour of Charlotte,” he said. “I’m going to listen to our citizens. What do we need to do? What are your pain points?”
Last year, Mitchell opened up about his battle with bladder cancer. He says his final immunotherapy treatment is in June, and he remains cancer-free.
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Mayor Vi Lyles is resigning on June 30. It takes six votes to appoint someone to replace her.