Fayetteville council adopts rules to begin forcing member out

The Fayetteville City Council on Monday night adopted rules for a rarely used amotion procedure to possibly remove Councilman Tyrone Williams.

Posted 2:39 a.m. Apr 24, 2018 — Updated 3:12 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Gilbert Baez

, WRAL reporter

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The Fayetteville City Council on Monday night adopted rules for a rarely used amotion procedure to possibly remove Councilman Tyrone Williams.

Williams was caught on tape asking for money from a developer, but he refused a request by Mayor Mitch Colvin and the other eight council members to step down, saying he had done nothing wrong.

Williams’ attorney said he has concerns about several rules that could be used to oust his client.

“The rules, as they were proposed to me, allow the city attorney to be the prosecutor and the legal advisor to prepare the petition and to prepare the findings of facts afterwards. To act as all things for the legal conduct of this hearing, to me, that is a conflict of interest,” attorney Kris Poppe said.

The council voted unanimously Monday night to accept the rules and procedures. The city attorney will draw up the petition and present it to Williams.

The amotion hearing could begin in a matter of weeks.

Jordan Jones, the project manager handling the redevelopment of the former Prince Charles Hotel, recorded a Dec. 21 meeting he had with Williams and businessman T.J. Jenkins over a purported "cloud on the title" to the downtown property.

Williams had invested in a previous attempt to redevelop the hotel, but the New York developer behind that effort eventually filed for bankruptcy.

"I don’t know if there is any kind of way I can make it a smooth transition for you and what you’re trying to do, because I want the project to go, and I don’t want there to be no hiccups down the road," Williams said at the December meeting.

"I think I would just feel good if we just worked together some way to make it all go away," he said. "I’m not looking for a large amount of money. I’m just looking for a smooth transition, you know what I mean?"

He then suggested $15,000 to "sign off" on the deal.

Jordan said earlier this month that he recorded interactions with Williams as part of a federal investigation.

An FBI spokeswoman last week refused to confirm that any investigation had taken place.

Colvin said that the FBI has indeed investigated the case, but he believes the case has been closed.

Williams insists that "key facts" were ignored in coverage of the recording. He said Jones called him and offered $15,000 in cash on Feb. 13, but he declined the offer and told Jones to send a proposal to his attorney and the city attorney for review.

Suggest A Correction