Mecklenburg Commissioner Harold Cogdell Jr. isn’t talking about his decision to abruptly quit as CEO of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte.

Reached by telephone late Wednesday, Cogdell said he may never disclose the circumstances surrounding his departure.

“It is something that I’m not commenting on at this point,” he told Qcitymetro, which first reported the story. “I may not have any comment at any point.”

The two-term Democratic, at-large commissioner had closed his law firm to accept the job. He was chosen from among 174 candidates culled from a nationwide search. His first day at work was April 11.

BBBS Chair Bob Shaw said Cogdell quit after three and a half weeks.

“It just very early did not appear to be a good fit,” Shaw said. “You move on when the fit’s not right. We wish him well.”

He described Cogdell’s departure as a surprise.

Shaw said selecting Cogdell for the position was a “non-traditional” choice.

“The most traditional path, obviously, would be to get someone from non-profit,” he said. “We looked at a lot of different candidates with a lot of different skills, and opted to choose someone who had a lot of knowledge of the community and the problems facing the children in the community.”

Cogdell said Wednesday he has not decided whether he would reopen his law practice, which he closed after 14 years.

“That’s certainly an option that I will consider,” he said. “I very well may do that, but I don‘t know at this point. I will consider all options.”

Meantime, BBBS is seeking Cogdell’s replacement.

“We do have a very strong leadership team in place and a very committed board, and we are working very quickly to identify our next CEO,” said Shaw. “We talked to a lot of very high quality individuals in the five-month interview process, and so we expect to make a decision quickly, but also correctly. That’s important.”

BBBS is a non-profit organization that matches adult mentors with children and teenagers. The Greater Charlotte chapter ranks in the upper 10 percent of chapters across the nation in terms of the number of children served and the strength of the matches provided.

*** Editor's Note: This story was updated after reaching BBBS Chair Bob Shaw and Mecklenburg Commissioner Harold Cogdell for comment.

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