'Lies, slander, hatred and jealousy': The rise and fall of former District 3 representative Warren Turner 

At a May 2010 dinner meeting of the Charlotte City Council, District 3 representative Warren Turner needed to talk. The once popular Democratic councilman, known for changing a blighted district into an area of economic growth, wasn't fighting for new sidewalks this time — he was fighting for his reputation. A recent report had alleged sexual misconduct, and Turner's colleagues were considering a censure.

"I will say now as I have said before and as I will continue to say," Turner told the Council. "At no time have I ever made any sexually explicit comments, any subtle sexual comments, any sexual gestures, or any sexual contact or any physical contact with any of these employees."

The names of employees interviewed in the report have never been released publicly, which means neither the media nor Turner nor members of the City Council have been able to question them. Calls to councilmembers Michael Barnes and Nancy Carter, who voted for Turner's censure, were not returned by press time.

The censure failed in a 6-3 vote, but Turner's defense fell on deaf ears. Despite his continued objections over the way the mayor, city manager and city attorney handled the investigation into rumors of his sexual harassment, Charlotte voters ousted Turner a year and four months later. On Sept. 13, 2011, he lost his seat to political newcomer LaWana Mayfield.

Turner had always fared well in primaries, either running unopposed or defeating his opponent by a double-digit margin. But things were different this year. Voters ignored his past accomplishments, which included bringing light rail to South End, establishing a prostitution-free zone on Wilkinson Boulevard, keeping the youth violence-prevention program Gang of One funded and establishing a transit center in his district.

Within a mere 18 months, Turner's legacy changed from that of a popular man of action to a blackballed politician embroiled in controversy. If you Google his name today, numerous links about sexual harassment pop up — few about his political victories.

Turner's troubles began in March 2010, two months before his public statement, when Mayor Anthony Foxx sent an e-mail to Council, warning members not to harass city employees. A few days later, every male on the board denied the e-mail was about him. City Council member Patrick Cannon said in a March 22, 2010, meeting that the mayor's e-mail cast suspicion over many people on the dais. Within weeks, although no formal complaint was ever filed by anyone, Turner was linked to the sexual harassment rumors.

The city then hired an outside attorney to investigate the claims and file a report. It characterized Turner as a man who made inappropriate comments to five female city employees identified only as "Employee A," "Employee B," etc. The report was a searing indictment that began to overshadow Turner's previous eight years on the Council.

"It breaks your heart when the citizens that you represent are either not involved or they take everything else for granted," says Turner, who chose to speak in depth with Creative Loafing for the first time since he lost the election. "If you lived in District 3 in the last 12 years, you should know that Councilman Turner accomplished more than any other elected official had ever been able to accomplish."

Public service has been a big part of Turner's life: he's served as a Scoutmaster, become a life member of the Second Ward High School Alumni Board and is a deacon at Silver Mount Baptist Church. In 2005, he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame at Fayetteville State University, where he'd earned a degree in political science.

From the beginning, voters saw Turner as a champion for his district. He had stepped into an area of the city in the early 2000s that was plagued by a high crime rate, crumbling businesses and issues with transportation. He won the District 3 seat in 2003 after defeating primary opponent J.W. Walton.

"I took the worst district, at the time, and made it the best district in the city of Charlotte," Turner says. "I created housing opportunities that we've never had. I put in sidewalks, infrastructure that we never had." When construction of the transit center began, Turner fought to make sure people who lived in the area were employed on the project. "I've had people come up to me and thank me for what I've done," he says.

Former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory says Turner played a major role in getting light rail into South End. "He was always fighting for transportation," says McCrory. "He was actually one of the main leaders of the light rail line that goes through the middle of his district. People forget that. I relied on him to work with Wilmore and the other neighborhoods to get the light rail through."

McCrory says Turner also was helpful outside of Charlotte. "He was very supportive of me in Raleigh and Washington, in not just getting funds for the light rail but getting a good bus system in Charlotte," McCrory says.

Turner's support of the Republican mayor's initiatives made the councilman a target within the Democratic Party, McCrory alleges. "He had a tremendous amount of pressure on him to vote against me, but he was his own man," McCrory says, adding that the pressure Turner got "is a very sad commentary on the state of our local politics."

In 2005, Turner faced a primary challenge from Joel Ford, a paving contractor who went on to chair the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party from 2008 to 2011. Turner beat his fellow Democrat handily, receiving 78 percent of the vote. This was the same year Turner and District 3 saw the opening of the Walmart Supercenter on Wilkinson Boulevard, which added 400 new jobs to the area. The shopping center brought economic redevelopment to the corridor, as well more retail locations.

The following year, Turner teamed with Judge Shirley Fulton and attorney Kevin Murphy to help bring the Charlotte School of Law to his district. "We had this discussion and they introduced me to the people who were bringing the law school here," Turner says. "I was able to meet with the folks and proudly told them that the law school belonged in District 3."

It was during this term that Turner seemingly ruffled the feathers of many Democrats. As chairman of the city's public safety committee, he took part in a caravan to Raleigh along with McCrory to lobby for more criminal justice for Charlotte. That was 2007 — an election year.

McCory took fire from state representatives, including Democrat Beverly Earle, who told CL that year that the caravan was "disrespectful," adding, "Maybe [McCrory] has political ambitions and this is part of some kind of show-and-tell." Her allusion to Turner's presence prompted McCrory to fire back, "Warren Turner is getting blasted." The controversy frustrated Turner, too, who said at the time, "I don't know how this thing turned into a war, this turf battle about party and personal agenda. My concern and my concern only is public safety."

Democrat Norman Mitchell knows what it's like to have his party turn its back on him. After the former county commissioner chose not to support Nick Mackey's bid for Mecklenburg County Sheriff, Mitchell was ousted from his seat in the next election. "One thing about Turner is, if he's with you, he's with you," says Mitchell, who has supported Turner all along, and likewise received Turner's support. When Mitchell's rejection of Mackey led to his own problems in the Democratic Party, "Turner, James Mitchell, Malcolm Graham and Michael Barnes were the only black elected officials who stood by me," he says. "Every other black elected official went against me and supported Mackey. That says a lot about Turner."

But more was said about Turner when the sexual harassment allegations went public. According to the $35,000 report by attorney Valecia McDowell, Turner allegedly told one female employee, "You need a real man to be your motivation." To another, he allegedly said, "The guy you introduced to me, did you say he was your fiancé? I need to know who would marry you!" A third incident — in which Turner allegedly pulled an employee's sweater to waist level — couldn't be verified, according to the report. Still, investigators concluded, "if it occurred, it was sexually harassing in nature."

"It was lies, slander, hatred and jealousy," says Turner, who has remained mostly silent about the report until now. "The only thing they got right was my name. The media helped play that role, the mayor led that role, the city manager, the city attorney played that role. But I can't worry about that. God will deal with that. It's sad that people believe when you print it, it has to be true."

Adding insult to injury, in July 2010 the state Department of Corrections fired Turner from his job as a probation officer, but claimed it had nothing to do with the sexual abuse allegations. The DOC addressed the dismissalin a written statement that read in part, "Mr. Turner did not follow directives from his chain of command."

Turner is the last person McCrory says he could imagine engaging in sexual harassment. But Turner's silence during the months of glaring headlines changed public opinion about him and likely cost him the September primary.

In previous elections, The Charlotte Post, the city's African-American paper, was a staunch supporter of Turner. In the recent election, the paper supported Mayfield.

"He didn't work the community at all, for the most part," says Post publisher Gerald Johnson. "From what we were seeing, the community was responding well from the young lady [Mayfield] who was running. And the events that we were covering, we were seeing her there and he wasn't. And because we were having internal debate about the endorsement process, we decided to invite both candidates in for a debate and he didn't show up."

Herb White, the Post's editor in chief, says Turner was damaged goods. "With what has happened with him in terms of these allegations as a sitting City Council member, that didn't help," White says. "Between that and what was going on with his parole job, it made it difficult not only for him to do his job, but for people to believe that their representative truly had his eye on the ball in representing their interests."

Mayfield, who won the primary with 51 percent of the vote, did not run her campaign by capitalizing on Turner's controversy. But the Raleigh-based Common Sense Matters organization spent $14,227 on glossy fliers sent to District 3 voters with the headline, "Warren Turner's Baggage." Not much is known about Common Sense Matters, except that it was formed two weeks before the election by Alan King, a Raleigh businessman and prominent member of the gay community. Mayfield, too, is gay, and if she wins in the forthcoming election, she could become the city's first openly gay elected official.

When Creative Loafing asked why Common Sense Matters would get involved in a Charlotte City Council election, the group's attorney, Michael Weisel, wrote in an e-mail, "My client, Common Sense Matters has no comment on any aspect of the Charlotte City Council election."

McCrory believes the "party machine" in Raleigh used the allegations against Turner to unseat him. "Someone spent thousands of dollars for a district city council election," McCrory says. "The machine got to him and his family, sadly."

Mitchell agrees with McCrory and says he had urged Turner to speak out but that Turner wouldn't. "If any females are going to accuse me of anything, oh yes, you're going to come forward and your name is going to be known," says Mitchell.

Turner, who now works as a vice president for an IT company, maintains that he didn't deserve what happened to him, and says he will do whatever it takes to protect his family.

Says McCrory: "I frankly wonder when is he going to get his name back. I think the media and other politicians have helped to destroy a father and a great husband. Most of the public doesn't know that [the sex allegations were] never proven."