After Weak Performance During Charlotte Riots, Mayor Roberts' Leadership Called to Question | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH, NC     As the situation in Charlotte subsides, attention is now focused on Mayor Roberts' bumbling and bizarre performance. Her failures mounted over this past week, which included an astonishing lack of clarity on who had control of the much-discussed video footage, who could authorize the footage to be released, and failure to call for curfew in a timely fashion. The embarrassing display played out on live national TV for all to see: https://youtu.be/zBFSsEd1ovE

    At the beginning of the week, she refused help when Governor Pat McCrory offered the assistance of the National Guard and other State Law Enforcement resources while tensions mounted and unrest grew beyond control.

    Mayor Roberts' decision to refuse additional law enforcement resources or failure to call for curfew in a timely fashion - led to the most violent night of riots, including injuries to many law enforcement officers and the death of a civilian. Mayor Roberts reportedly refused the resources NOT out of motivation for the safety of her citizens, but because she feared how accepting those resources may make her look.

    Mayor Roberts confirmed she met with Roy Cooper and a member of his political staff for three hours during the State of Emergency. This begs the question; is her utter incompetence a result of hyper-partisan politics?

    The New York Times proclaimed, "the city's mayor, Jennifer Roberts, seems largely at sea and distressingly out of touch," and groups are now calling for her removal.

    "As if lost at sea, Mayor Jennifer Roberts has stumbled through the last week making decisions that impacted the citizens of Charlotte and our law enforcement officers in a negative capacity. The City of Charlotte needed leadership more than anything else-and her backdoor, three-hour long, political strategy meetings with Roy Cooper and his campaign strategist-are beyond inappropriate while the City of Charlotte suffered through a State of Emergency," said NCGOP Vice Chair, Michele Nix.

   

    For a video compilation of Mayor Roberts conflicting statements on the video release over the past several days, click here: https://youtu.be/zBFSsEd1ovE

    For media inquiries, please contact Kami Mueller Kami.Mueller@ncgop.org, (765)215-1334.

    Background:

   

    "Mayor Jennifer Roberts has been unsteady. She did not call for a state of emergency and backup help quickly enough. She didn't set a curfew until 48 hours after the unrest started. And she didn't push to release police video of the shooting until public clamoring became too much to ignore. Indeed, she said she hadn't even watched the video as of at least Thursday morning" After Scott Shooting, We Need Leadership. Charlottte Observer. The Charlotte Observer Editorial Board. 9/24/16. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article103801071.html

    "Roberts and Putney were sharply questioned about the unrest that occurred on Wednesday night and asked why state highway patrolmen and the National Guard weren't summoned until a state of emergency was declared at 11 p.m." Mixed messages for business community as mayor, police chief seek to reassure reeling city. Biz Journals. Eric Spanberg. 9/22/16. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2016/09/22/clt-mayor-chief-seek-to-reassure-businesses-after.html

    "Unfortunately, the city's mayor, Jennifer Roberts, seems largely at sea and distressingly out of touch." Release the Charlotte Police Video. The New York Times Editorial Board. 9/22/16. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/opinion/release-the-charlotte-police-video.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0

    Anatomy of Chaos: Democrat Mayor in Charlotte Turned Down State Law Enforcement Resources Hours Before Riots. Breitbart News. Matthew Boyle. 9/22/16. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/09/22/anatomy-chaos-democrat-mayor-charlotte-turned-state-law-enforcement-resources-hours-riots/

    12 Officers Injured as Protests Erupt Over Charlotte Shooting. The Daily Beast. 9/22/16. http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/09/21/protesters-turn-on-police-after-fatal-shooting.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl

    A Night of Tear Gas and Chaos in Charlotte. The Concourse. Justin Westbrook. 9/22/16.http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/a-night-of-tear-gas-and-chaos-in-charlotte-1786933107

    NCGOP head: Charlotte Mayor a Disgrace. WRAL News. Laura Leslie. 9/23/16. http://www.wral.com/ncgop-head-charlotte-mayor-a-disgrace-/16042038/

• Contact: NCGOP Communications
•     communications@ncgop.org