A version of the following article appeared in the July 13, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Independent spending topped some candidates' own campaign budgets as airport negotiations continue; union blasts new state law on airport lease negotiations
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) spent $263,000 on Charlotte City Council elections in 2025, according to newly released records. It poured about $100,000 into the east Charlotte primary race between incumbent Democrat Marjorie Molina (left) and JD Mazuera Arias, seen here at an August 2025 debate. Mazuera Arias won by 34 votes. (Charlotte Ledger file photo)
by Tony Mecia
A labor union that supports the rights of workers at Charlotte’s airport spent big on last year’s City Council elections, pouring in $263,000 to back candidates — almost all of whom won.
Injecting big money into council races came as the union has been working to push the city to negotiate an airport lease with carriers, including American Airlines, that is more worker-friendly.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said in financial documents sent to The Ledger last week that it spent:
$97,268 to help the candidacy of JD Mazuera Arias for an east Charlotte council seat, in the form of mailers, canvassing and a radio ad. Arias defeated incumbent Marjorie Molina in the Democratic primary by 34 votes.
$85,568 to support Democrat Kimberly Owens, who defeated Republican Krista Bokhari for a south Charlotte seat by about 3,800 votes, 56%-43%.
$17,634 to support incumbent Democrat LaWana Mayfield, who easily won re-election to an at-large council seat in a six-person primary
$17,634 to support incumbent Democrat Dimple Ajmera, who easily won re-election to an at-large council seat in a six-person primary
$17,634 to support incumbent Democrat Victoria Watlington, who easily won re-election to an at-large council seat in a six-person primary
$11,000 to support incumbent Tiawana Brown, who lost in a Democratic primary race for a west Charlotte seat to challenger Joi Mayo
$7,778 to support incumbent Democrat James “Smuggie” Mitchell Jr., who easily won re-election to an at-large council seat in a six-person primary
$3,000 to support incumbent Renee Johnson, who easily beat challenger Wil Russell in a Democratic primary.
Seven of the eight candidates the SEIU backed won. The amount of the union’s spending was first reported by WFAE.
In several cases, the spending by the labor union dwarfs the amount the candidates spent themselves:
In the east Charlotte race, the $97,268 that the SEIU spent was more than the combined total spent by Mazuera Arias ($34,147) and Molina ($57,756), according to state campaign finance records.
In the south Charlotte race, the $85,568 that the SEIU spent to boost Owens was more than the $73,862 Owens reported spending on her campaign.
In the at-large race, the $17,634 spent to support Watlington was more than the $12,142 Watlington spent on her campaign.
There are no caps on the amount of money that independent groups can spend in support of political candidates. Independent groups cannot coordinate their spending with candidates’ campaigns.
Over the past few years, the SEIU has pushed for higher wages and better working conditions for contract workers at Charlotte’s airport, such as aircraft cabin cleaners, who work for contractors of American Airlines. The airport, which is owned by the city of Charlotte, is renegotiating the lease with American and other airlines.
The city has said that N.C. law prevents it from including provisions on subcontractor wages or benefits as a part of that lease. And a new section of law tucked into North Carolina’s budget this month further restricts the city’s abilities to help contract workers.
The new law makes clear that any lease between a unit of local government and a business cannot require the business to “set levels for wages, benefits or other terms and conditions of work,” and it says that local governments cannot “require any business to participate in any council, task force, committee or similar arrangement” designed to establish wages, benefits and other work rules.
In a statement last week, the SEIU called the new provision a “dead of night amendment snuck into a budget bill buried on page 532” and said it is “very anti-democratic.”
“This goes far beyond airport lease-term negotiations,” the union statement said. “This has effectively muzzled constituents and their locally elected representatives from taking action on issues of critical importance to their community.”
The city and the airlines extended their negotiations by a year and are expected to finish by next summer. It is expected to be a contentious issue.