Tensions rise within the W-S City Council; lawsuit filed against council member

Winston-Salem City Councilmember Barbara Hanes Burke has filed a lawsuit against fellow Concilmember Kevin Mundy for defamation. The lawsuit comes after Mundy sent an email to a member of the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity (MCWSV) calling Burke a bully and accusing her of questionable practices, specifically around affordable housing. Attached to Mundy’s email, which has been obtained by The Chronicle, are emails from two organizations, Housing Justice Now, and The Coalition for Accountability and Transparency. The emails were also sent to other members of the city council. In those emails both organizations wrote about a meeting held by Burke in October to discuss city-owned lots available for $1.  The City of Winston-Salem owns several lots across the city that they sell to nonprofits and developers for $1 in exchange for the promise to build affordable housing. According to both organizations, during that meeting Burke let it be known that she had an agreement with the former city manager that all control over contractor selection and the sale of the $1 city-owned lots would flow through her Northeast Ward office. The two organizations also accuse Burke of encouraging her constituents to voice their grievances at City Hall.  “Mrs. Burke...