Forty Million Dollars, One Building, and a Campaign Finance Complaint | CLT Daily

Description

A pediatric mental health facility going up in east Charlotte has taken in roughly $40 million in public money. Over the same stretch, its founder's circle gave close to $1 million to political campaigns — and a longtime watchdog has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections. The need for the building is real. So are the questions about how it got funded. Plus: Charlotte's economy is running on two tracks going opposite directions, August is stacked, and the cyclospora outbreak is still unsolved.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: North Carolina Health News, The Charlotte Ledger, WFAE, Axios Charlotte, NCDHHS.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
We'll get to the news in a minute, but first, it's Friday and there is a bar crawl in this city tonight built entirely around hot dogs. I'm not going to explain that yet. Stick around, I'll tell you where at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Friday, July 31st. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, $40 million of your money, one East Charlotte building, and a campaign finance complaint. Here's the story. There's a facility going up in East Charlotte called the Katie Blessing Center. 72 inpatient beds for kids in psychiatric crisis, plus urgent care and outpatient. When it opens in 2027, it will be the largest pediatric behavioral health facility in North Carolina. And the need is real. Right now, 300 to 400 North Carolina children are sent out of state every year because there is nowhere here to treat them. Nobody disputes that. What's being disputed is how it got funded. The state has put $35.2 million into this project since 2023. Charlotte added $2.5 million. Mecklenburg County, another $2. That's roughly $40 million in public money. Now, reporting this week from North Carolina Health News and the Charlotte Ledger found that over that same stretch, the center's founder, a Charlotte chiropractor named Michael Estramonte, along with 19 relatives and business associates, gave close to $1 million to political campaigns. Governor Josh Stein received $209,000. Senate Leader Phil Berger, $65,000. House Speaker Destin Hall, $69,000. Estramonte's own mother gave $59,000. The group also spent about $240,000 on lobbyists. Bob Hall, who ran the watchdog group Democracy North Carolina for years, has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections. questioning whether the people listed as donors were actually the ones putting up the money. His words, I can count on one hand the number of people who could put together that much money. Estramonte denies all of it. He says every contribution decision was made by those individuals themselves, and the allegation is not based in facts or evidence. He also notes his foundation put $20 million of its own into the building. And here's the honest complication. Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina, makes the point that research rarely finds campaign money buying votes outright. What it does do is turn quiet supporters into loud ones. Two Mecklenburg lawmakers who took money from this circle defended the project on the merits. One said she was surprised by the size of the grant, but voted for it anyway, calling the center life-changing for families. So this may well be a good building that Charlotte genuinely needs. It can also be true that a million dollars bought somebody a much better hearing than the average nonprofit gets. Both can be true at once. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Charlotte's economy is running on two tracks going opposite directions. The Charlotte Ledger reports job cuts this week at a major commercial real estate firm, with office development still struggling to pencil out, while hotels keep breaking ground and Cheesecake Factory expands to Concord Mills. When people say Charlotte is booming, ask them which half. August starts tomorrow, and it's stacked. Pride, Broadway, major concerts, and more soccer at Bank of America Stadium. If you've been telling yourself you'd get out more, the calendar just did the work for you, and a quick follow. That cyclospora outbreak is still unsolved. 718 cases statewide. No source named. Parsley or cilantro in your fridge from earlier this month? Cook it thoroughly, or toss it. Now we spoke. As promised, tonight, Panthers Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium. Gates at 5, practice at 7.30, fireworks after. $5, and it goes to Panthers Charities. Tomorrow, the Noda Bazaar All Arts Festival at the Johnston YMCA is free. Noon to 7. And yes, the Hot Dog Bar Crawl is part of this weekend's lineup. One of 25 things Axios rounded up. Go find it. And one deadline, Queen's Feast ends Sunday. Last call. That's CLT Daily for Friday, July 31st. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

Description

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: North Carolina Health News, The Charlotte Ledger, WFAE, Axios Charlotte, NCDHHS.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
We'll get to the news in a minute, but first, it's Friday and there is a bar crawl in this city tonight built entirely around hot dogs. I'm not going to explain that yet. Stick around, I'll tell you where at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Friday, July 31st. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, $40 million of your money, one East Charlotte building, and a campaign finance complaint. Here's the story. There's a facility going up in East Charlotte called the Katie Blessing Center. 72 inpatient beds for kids in psychiatric crisis, plus urgent care and outpatient. When it opens in 2027, it will be the largest pediatric behavioral health facility in North Carolina. And the need is real. Right now, 300 to 400 North Carolina children are sent out of state every year because there is nowhere here to treat them. Nobody disputes that. What's being disputed is how it got funded. The state has put $35.2 million into this project since 2023. Charlotte added $2.5 million. Mecklenburg County, another $2. That's roughly $40 million in public money. Now, reporting this week from North Carolina Health News and the Charlotte Ledger found that over that same stretch, the center's founder, a Charlotte chiropractor named Michael Estramonte, along with 19 relatives and business associates, gave close to $1 million to political campaigns. Governor Josh Stein received $209,000. Senate Leader Phil Berger, $65,000. House Speaker Destin Hall, $69,000. Estramonte's own mother gave $59,000. The group also spent about $240,000 on lobbyists. Bob Hall, who ran the watchdog group Democracy North Carolina for years, has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections. questioning whether the people listed as donors were actually the ones putting up the money. His words, I can count on one hand the number of people who could put together that much money. Estramonte denies all of it. He says every contribution decision was made by those individuals themselves, and the allegation is not based in facts or evidence. He also notes his foundation put $20 million of its own into the building. And here's the honest complication. Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina, makes the point that research rarely finds campaign money buying votes outright. What it does do is turn quiet supporters into loud ones. Two Mecklenburg lawmakers who took money from this circle defended the project on the merits. One said she was surprised by the size of the grant, but voted for it anyway, calling the center life-changing for families. So this may well be a good building that Charlotte genuinely needs. It can also be true that a million dollars bought somebody a much better hearing than the average nonprofit gets. Both can be true at once. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Charlotte's economy is running on two tracks going opposite directions. The Charlotte Ledger reports job cuts this week at a major commercial real estate firm, with office development still struggling to pencil out, while hotels keep breaking ground and Cheesecake Factory expands to Concord Mills. When people say Charlotte is booming, ask them which half. August starts tomorrow, and it's stacked. Pride, Broadway, major concerts, and more soccer at Bank of America Stadium. If you've been telling yourself you'd get out more, the calendar just did the work for you, and a quick follow. That cyclospora outbreak is still unsolved. 718 cases statewide. No source named. Parsley or cilantro in your fridge from earlier this month? Cook it thoroughly, or toss it. Now we spoke. As promised, tonight, Panthers Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium. Gates at 5, practice at 7.30, fireworks after. $5, and it goes to Panthers Charities. Tomorrow, the Noda Bazaar All Arts Festival at the Johnston YMCA is free. Noon to 7. And yes, the Hot Dog Bar Crawl is part of this weekend's lineup. One of 25 things Axios rounded up. Go find it. And one deadline, Queen's Feast ends Sunday. Last call. That's CLT Daily for Friday, July 31st. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

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