NC lawmakers question Raleigh over department seen in undercover video
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- House committee will question Raleigh officials over department shown in AIM video
- City timeline shows Office of Equity created 2020, elevated 2021, realigned 2025
- Committee examines DEI policies, alleged misrepresentation and potential waste
A state House committee created to find waste and mismanagement questioned Raleigh officials about a city department featured in a conservative group’s undercover video that claims the city was “pushing” diversity and equity.
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell and City Manager Marchell Adams-David both addressed the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Rep. Keith Kidwell, a Republican who co-chairs the committee, asked why the city felt it had to make changes in response to a 2025 executive order barring diversity initiatives.
“If I’m understanding this correctly, your position is the city of Raleigh did discriminate, in fact, prior to January 2025 based on whatever criteria was set up,” he asked. “Is that accurate?”
“Totally disagree,” Adams-David said.
“I would argue that we did not discriminate. What we did is we created opportunities for access. What we did was create opportunities for people who said to us that they had been pushed out of the contracting business,” Adams-David said.
“We never gave preferential treatment, we never had quotas, we never did any of the things that were against the law in the way of practice, whether it was through procurement or hiring,” she said.
City officials were asked to speak “regarding the functions and responsibilities of the city’s Department of Economic and Social Advancement,” on Oct. 14, the same day a video by the group Accuracy in Media (AIM) was released.
After the meeting, Kidwell said he will meet with co-chair Rep. John A. Torbett and other committee members to “develop strategies” on next steps.
“I’m curious still about [why the city] had to make such significant changes after the executive order, if we were already following what I would perceive to be the law,” Kidwell said in an interview. “Which would have been the Constitution, stating that you can’t discriminate against anybody. You wouldn’t have had to make changes if you were already adhering to that.”
What the video shows
The start and end of the video about Raleigh shows AIM President Adam Guillette and a camera person telling a surprised city employee they had received a report the city was “pushing DEI in defiance of the federal executive order and in a deceptive manner.”
The middle portion of the video shows a different interaction between an unidentified person and a city staffer, who doesn’t appear to know she’s being filmed. It shows the staffer asking the visitor how she can help, then cuts to the staffer speaking.
“We are certainly being strategic in the ways that we ... we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, number one, right, but also want to make sure that this work is as protected as possible,” the city staff member says.
The video cuts again, with the staffer saying she often partners with the department of Community Engagement and that “they’re also a champion for DEI, so they’re a good resource as well.”
Adams-David told the committee the person who filmed the undercover video had approached the staff member about a job.
“They heard that we were a good employer and that we were a good inclusive organization, and that she and her partner were looking to relocate, and they were looking to settle down in North Carolina, and they landed in Raleigh, and wanted to make sure that this would be a good home for them in their lifestyle,” Adams-David said.
What the city said about the video
In October, city officials said the video “misrepresents the context” of the staff interactions and that the undercover part was filmed in February as the city was complying with changing federal orders. The part, where Guillette confronts the employee was filmed in July.
Raleigh created an Office of Equity and Inclusion in July 2020, before it was elevated to a city department in 2021, based on council priorities.
Shortly after being sworn-in, President Donald Trump signed several federal executive orders including one that barred diversity, equity and inclusion offices, departments and positions in the federal government. The federal government has also pulled funding from local governments that do not comply with anti-diversity initiatives.
Adams-David made similar remarks Wednesday, showing a timeline of what the city has done since those executive orders and when the filming occurred.
- The city “suspended initiatives” on Jan. 31, 2025, and the undercover interaction with a staff member occurred on Feb. 14, according to the city.
- The city “realigned department functions” on April 7 and launched its economic and social advancement department on June 6, according to the timeline.
It was on July 18 when the staff member was confronted and filmed by Guillette.
Economic and Social Advancement
The city’s department of Economic and Social Advancement, which was officially created on July 1, focuses on “improving economic development and quality of life,” according to the city’s presentation. It noted its small business conference and expo, building-improvement grants for small businesses, employer resource fair and disability awareness work. The city no longer has its Department of Equity and Inclusion.
“We build partnerships, highlight business opportunities and provide learning resources to businesses and help the local community thrive,” according to the city’s presentation.
Adams-David told committee members the city stopped offering equity training for staff members and ended an equity action plan, which was approved in 2022 to highlight the equity work of the city.
“Really that was a lens and a focus on where is equity embedded in the work that we do, and how do you call it out?,” Adams-David said. “So right now, rather than call it out, we just don’t have that as part of our core work. We work really hard to be a fair employer and a fair organization and a fair city. So why call it out? It should be a part of our DNA. We shouldn’t have to have it as a plan. And that’s what we’ve done. We removed it as a plan.”
The city will still continue to focus on access, Cowell told The N&O after the meeting.
“We know in the city context that there’s a lot of big developers, and there’s not as many small developers,” she said. “And how can you help give people opportunities, trainings, understand how to even apply for these things, and so we’re still doing that work of outreach, but there are no guarantees, right? There are no quotas. There are no targets.”
The House Select Committee on Government Efficiency was created in January 2025 “to examine state and local government operations for potential waste, duplication of services, mismanagement and violations of constitutional liberties,” according to a news release.
The committee is able to look at diversity, equity and inclusion policies, excess state property and “other potential wastes of taxpayer dollars,” according to that news release.
The three-minute video was one of several undercover videos that were shared last year, including some at universities across North Carolina that resulted in the firing of some university staff members. A former UNC Charlotte employee who was fired a day after an AIM video was posted is suing the university for discrimination.
Bart Goodwin, senior vice president for government relations for the UNC System, gave an update about “equality with the University of North Carolina” and recent changes within system and also referenced the AIM videos. The agenda also included a presentation from an attorney about “civil right violations in Asheville and Buncombe County.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 7:49 AM with the headline "NC lawmakers question Raleigh over department seen in undercover video."
