Charlotte Left Holding the Contracts After RNC Departure | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: The author of this post is Sam Hieb for the John Locke Foundation.

    By now you've heard the Republican National Convention is moving to Jacksonville after President Trump and Gov. Roy Cooper were not able to work out their differences. Now-we knew this-Charlotte is with the many contractual liabilities related to hosting a national convention:

• Republican officials announced last week that they're moving most of the August convention, prompting the host committee to lash out over what it called "broken promises."
• "I've got contracts that are a couple inches thick of what people promised to do and they've breached them," CEO John Lassiter told the Observer. "Now we're trying to figure out how you work through the wind-down on an effort we've been focused on for two years."
• ....In a statement Friday night, the city of Charlotte said it plans to "hold the RNC accountable to fulfill all its outstanding obligations to the parties and make them whole." City Attorney Patrick Baker has said the city has spent about $14 million on the convention but expects to be reimbursed through a federal security grant. Much of that money reportedly was spent on insurance.
• It's the host committee that could be on the hook for more.

    Contractual obligations include "leases on apartments and agreements with contractors who were going to renovate the Spectrum Center by raising the floor and building a stage and produce a four-night TV spectacle." One thing that won't happen: Lassiter was adamant that no money will be sent Jacksonville to assist with its convention costs.