By Steve Harrison
sharrison@charlotteobserver.com

Mayor Anthony Foxx's recent e-mail to Charlotte City Council members warning them about sexual harassment came after a female staffer complained about inappropriate behavior by council member Warren Turner, according to three city officials.

The staff member complained to City Manager Curt Walton, who then asked Foxx to send an e-mail to all 11 council members. The e-mail, sent by Foxx on March 14, said that "sexual harassment ... will not be tolerated" but did not name who his warning was directed at.

Turner, a Democrat who represents west Charlotte, has said repeatedly he didn't do anything wrong. He told the Observer last week that no one from the city had told him the e-mail was about him.

On Monday night, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess, a Democrat, asked that council members approve hiring an outside investigator to determine what happened.

For the item to be placed on that night's agenda, all 11 council members and Foxx needed to vote in favor.

Turner was the only council member to vote against it. He said because there isn't a written complaint, there is nothing to investigate.

He said the city would be wasting time and money.

"Is there a complaint?" Turner asked during the meeting. "How do you investigate something when there isn't a complaint?"

In a later vote Monday night, Turner voted with other council members to place the item about a private investigator on the April 12 agenda.

City Attorney Mac McCarley said last week that the issue was closed because there hadn't been a formal complaint.

On Monday night, when responding to Turner's question, McCarley said there had been "conversations" between a staff member and human resources staff.

Turner said after the meeting that he opposed the first vote Monday because council members shouldn't be involved in human resources issues, which are typically handled by city staff.

"I hope a lawsuit doesn't come out of this," Turner said.

He said he isn't worried that some might conclude from his vote that he did something wrong.

After the meeting, the Observer tried to ask Turner additional questions about the e-mail and whether he had acted inappropriately.

Turner declined to comment and left the room.

Turner is a probation officer who was first elected to council in 2003.

All eight male council members have denied doing anything wrong or being the reason the e-mail was sent.

Foxx, a Democrat, has declined to comment about what prompted the e-mail. McCarley and Walton have also declined to elaborate.

Foxx said Monday night that he was "taken aback" at the reaction to the e-mail, which led to intense speculation as to which council member it was about.

The three officials who said Turner was the reason for the e-mail asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, they said.

The staff member didn't make a formal complaint because she wanted the issue to go away, according to two of the officials.

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