‘Habitual felon’: Emails reveal harsh statements as CLT City Council District 3 early voting gets underway

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — As early voting gets underway ahead of next week’s Democratic Primary, one race is getting more attention than others.

Charlotte City Council District 3 Democratic Primary has three candidates on the ballot — one of which reportedly sent a campaign e-mail, calling another a “habitual felon.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life,” said Tiawana Brown, Charlotte City Council District 3 candidate and the implied target of this reported e-mail.

Queen City News obtained the e-mail, which said that a “habitual felon is on the ballot to represent you on City Council,” and reportedly came from candidate Warren Turner.

Brown is a convicted felon, which she has been upfront about for years. She spent time in federal prison in the early 1990s.

Since her release, Brown has turned what some may consider a liability into an asset, running a charity known as “Beauty After The Bars”– an organization that helps those who have been incarcerated.

Brown has also worked for several Charlotte community organizations, and multiple people and organizations have endorsed her City Council run.

She called the reported e-mail from Turner wrong, saying she was only arrested once.

“I can’t answer to something that’s not the truth,” said Brown. “I can tell you how I feel — it has put more fire under my feet. It’s made me run harder. When you write your story, no one else can write it, and it’s already been written.”

Turner, a previous Charlotte City Council member, was the subject of sexual harassment allegations over a decade ago — allegations he has previously denied.

Queen City News sent his campaign website an e-mail requesting comment on this reported e-mail that he sent, and never heard back.

However, Queen City News caught up with him Tuesday afternoon at an early voting location, where he was asked about the e-mail.

He refused to be interviewed and added — in regards to the e-mail — “I don’t know what you’re talking about” before a campaign member took him away from Queen City News cameras.