As many of you may know, my wife, Kim Atkins, is the executive director of a local non-profit group, the Mooresville Downtown Commission. She was hired on her own merits, and has been a key figure in the revitalization of downtown Mooresville.

Because I sit on the town board as your Commissioner At-Large, it is important to let you know that I have always recused myself from discussion and votes regarding funding that pertain to the MDC.

I have chosen to do this because of my commitment to transparent and ethical governance. The Town Attorney concurs that this is the correct thing to do to avoid any potential conflict of interest. To further ensure that there is no conflict of interest, I requested our Town Attorney, Steve Gambill, to seek the opinion of the North Carolina Attorney General on the interaction between myself, as an elected official, and the Mooresville Downtown Commission.

Attached is documentation of the request, along with the Attorney General's response confirming that a conflict of interest does not exist. (Click here to review.)

As always, I am proud to be from a family where both heads-of-household are dedicated to serving Mooresville and working diligently on behalf of our community.