Transparency Week-Day 6: Charlotte Checkbook for Financial Openness

As Brendan K. Maginnis, Democratic candidate for Mayor of Charlotte, I’m committed to making our city government transparent for all 890,000 residents. On Day 6 of Transparency Week, I’m unveiling the Charlotte Checkbook platform, inspired by New York City’s success, to provide real-time visibility into city spending and prevent secretive deals like the $300,000 Johnny Jennings settlement and the $650M Bank of America Stadium renovation decision (Charlotte Observer, 2024). Join us at #TransparencyWeek on @maginnisformayor (@maginnis4mayor on X) to demand openness! #TrustCharlotte #CharlotteMayor2025

New York City’s Checkbook NYC, launched in 2010, offers real-time access to contracts, vendor payments, and budgets, covering $100B+ in annual spending. With over 1M users annually, it’s empowered residents to track funds and hold officials accountable, reducing corruption risks (NYC Comptroller, 2023). Charlotte’s Checkbook will mirror this, disclosing all contracts, payments, and expenditures from our $943.5M 2026 budget in a searchable database on the Open Data Portal ([data.charlottenc.gov](https://data.charlottenc.gov/)). Residents can track spending on projects like the $650M stadium deal, criticized for its “lack of transparency” and “flimsy economic justifications” (Carolina Journal, 2024), or the Jennings settlement, which interim City Attorney Anthony Fox claimed couldn’t be discussed publicly (WFAE, May 2025). (https://www.carolinajournal.com/charlottes-650-million-splurge-on-bofa-stadium-renovations-named-2024s-worst-economic-development-deal-of-the-year/)

This $300,000 platform investment (0.03% of the 2026 budget) will include user-friendly filters for vendor, amount, and purpose, addressing Victoria Watlington’s call for a “brazen disregard for the law” to end (WFAE, June 2025). It responds to Tariq Bokhari’s critiques of opaque processes (WCNC, May 2025) and Braxton Winston’s transparency push (Charlotte Observer, 2023). Unlike the stadium deal, which drew 300 of 400 survey responses in opposition (WFAE, June 2024), Checkbook ensures residents see every dollar spent. Visit www.maginnisformayor.org to share what spending you’d track.

What matters to you—housing, safety, parks?

Join #TransparencyMatters to build a Charlotte where financial openness restores trust!