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A CityView Today Special Report
Key figures in the story
Tisha Waddell
Tisha Waddell
Resigned from the City Council in November, leaving a five-page letter containing allegations against Mayor Mitch Colvin and others.
Mitch Colvin
Mayor Mitch Colvin
Tisha Waddell accuses him of withholding information about the Bernhard Capital proposal to operate the PWC from her and the Fayetteville City Council. Colvin calls her allegations baseless.
Steven Benjamin: The former South Carolina mayor was working with Bernhard Capital Partners and joined Jonathan Charleston's law firm.
Steve Benjamin
The former South Carolina mayor was working with Bernhard Capital Partners and joined Jonathan Charleston's law firm.
Jonathan Charleston
Jonathan Charleston
The city bond attorney who held a fundraiser for Mayor Mitch Colvin at his home. The guests included representatives from Bernhard Capital Partners. Charleston tried to garner support for the Bernhard deal.
Randy Gregory
Randy Gregory
The Fayetteville lawyer says former Sen. Tony Rand told him on his deathbed to promise him that he would see the Bernhard deal through.
Documents that reveal details of the deal

The resignation letter

In mid-November of 2021, Tisha Waddell had become so frustrated with what she calls a lack of transparency and a failure to follow policies and protocol that she resigned abruptly from the Fayetteville City Council. In her wake, she left a five-page resignation letter containing broad and unspecific allegations, many pertaining to Mayor Mitch Colvin and the proposed deal with Bernhard Capital Partners.

Note to the mayor

At the end of a heavily redacted document dated May 15, 2020, from Jeffrey Jenkins to Mayor Mitch Colvin titled “City of Fayetteville - Proposal for a Concession Agreement,” Jenkins wrote by hand: “Mayor Colvin, 11 copies of this proposal are within the envelopes. Let’s get to work.” (Page 7)

How much the proposed deal was worth

Bernhard’s proposed agreement with the city and the PWC would provide upfront money and benefits totaling more than $750 million to have Bernhard operate and maintain the PWC for 30 years and to pay off PWC's debt. The money would be used to repair the city’s ailing infrastructure. (Page 13)

Our followup coverage
A Fayetteville lawyer said he never engaged in private conversations with City Council members to seek their support of a special-use permit for the proposed halfway house.
Updated: Lawyer calls Waddell’s Dismas Charities allegations untrue
When she resigned from the City Council last November, Tisha Waddell alleged that Fayetteville lawyer Jonathan Charleston held private discussions with at least two council members in an effort to garner their support of a special-use permit for a proposed halfway house.
An investigation into allegations by former councilwoman Tisha Waddell may have hit a snag. The city's Ethics Commission may not have the authority to look into the complaints.
Confusion reigns in city’s handling of Waddell allegations
The city’s handling of former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell’s allegations of corruption and secrecy in local government has taken yet another turn: The city’s Ethics Commission may not have the authority to investigate the complaints.
The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to have the Fayetteville Ethics Commission investigate allegations made by former councilwoman Tisha Waddell in her resignation letter.
City Council turns Waddell allegations over to Ethics Commission
The Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously Monday night to have the Fayetteville Ethics Commission investigate allegations of a lack of transparency against Mayor Mitch Colvin and other council members regarding a proposed takeover last year of the Fayetteville PWC.
Bill Kirby Jr.: Residents weigh in on City Council decision
Angie Amaro might give some thought to having her staff call for some overtime hours a couple of weeks from now at the Cumberland County Board of Elections office on Fountainhead Lane when election filing resumes for city, county, state and federal elections.  
The Fayetteville City Council voted 5-4 Monday night not to pursue an investigation into allegations made by former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell against the mayor and others.
City Council decides against independent investigation of Waddell allegations
The Fayetteville City Council voted 5-4 at a Monday night work session not to pursue an independent investigation into allegations made by a former councilwoman regarding Mayor Mitch Colvin and others.
The City Council on Monday is expected to discuss whether an independent investigation is warranted into allegations made by former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell in her resignation letter in November.
Council to discuss possibility of independent probe into Waddell allegations
The Fayetteville City Council on Monday is scheduled to discuss whether an independent investigation is warranted into allegations against the mayor and others made by Councilwoman Tisha Waddell when she resigned in November. 
The Fayetteville Audit Committee plans to ask the City Council for an independent investigation into allegations made by former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell in her resignation letter in November.
Audit Committee to request council investigate Waddell allegations
The Fayetteville Audit Committee plans to ask the City Council for an independent investigation into allegations made by former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell in her five-page resignation letter in November.
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