Charlotte council meeting called to reconsider CLT airport vote that mayor vetoed
Charlotte Mayor Robert Harrington used a seldom-invoked power at a City Council meeting this week to override a vote. Now, the council will reconsider it.
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Harrington called a special meeting Monday to reconsider the same motion he vetoed, according to a news release from the city. The city charter requires the council to reconsider a veto at the following meeting. The council has a regularly scheduled zoning meeting Monday.
The council voted by a 6-5 margin to push a decision on an airport use and lease agreement to the end of November following a six-week public review period. Those in support said they needed sufficient time to digest the extensive document, which they had not yet received until this week. The extra time would also allow the community to provide feedback, they said.
The proposed agreement between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and its five largest airline partners would lock the parties into a 10.5-year deal governing business expectations. The previous agreement expired in June, but the airport secured a one-year extension while it continued to negotiate a long-term plan.
The council majority decided to vote on the agreement at the Nov. 23 meeting. Harrington, who took office July 1, immediately vetoed that decision. Harrington said he plans to schedule the vote instead for Nov. 9.
In a written statement after the meeting, Harrington told reporters he didn’t necessarily disagree with the date the council selected but felt there was “a lack of clarity and time to consider” the timeline’s impact.
“I believe that we should have a clearly prescribed process and timeline to discuss and ultimately decide this item, and I will work with my colleagues on council in the coming days to establish that process and timeline, which will be shared publicly so that everyone clearly understands how this decision will be made,” Harrington said.
Harrington said in an updated statement Saturday morning that he landed on the expedited timeline after talking to his colleagues in the days following the meeting.
The original motion to push the vote until Nov. 23 will require seven votes in support to override the mayor’s veto.
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The City Council appointed Harrington to office after former Mayor Vi Lyles resigned midterm. He will finish the remainder of her term, which runs into December 2028.
His veto took council members by surprise given his short stint in office.
At-large Councilwoman Victoria Watlington posted an Instagram video of herself laughing about the situation the morning after the meeting. She voted in support of the motion he vetoed.
Watlington told the Observer “it is what it is.”
“You certainly wouldn’t expect someone newer to the role to try out some of the underutilized tools. You gotta stay on your toes around here,” Watlington said. “I support the mayor, and I support the use of our procedures so long as everything we are doing is within those procedures.”
District 2 Councilman Malcolm Graham voted against the six-week timeframe and was one of Harrington’s early supporters during his campaign to replace Lyles. He said Harrington’s decision to use the veto was a testament to his ability to facilitate meetings and process work efficiently.
“That’s right in line with my expectations for him coming in as mayor,” Graham said.
This story was originally published October 17, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline “Charlotte council meeting called to reconsider CLT airport vote that mayor vetoed.”
CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to state that the city’s charter requires the council to reconsider the veto at a later meeting.
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