Photo courtesy of Zack Matheny for City Council.

SBI Investigating Greensboro City Council Member

A Greensboro City Council member is the subject of a State Bureau of Investigation probe, The Assembly has learned.

The investigation was launched two days after The Assembly’s Greensboro newsletter, The Thread, published a story examining claims against Zack Matheny in his role as both a Greensboro City Council member and president and CEO of Downtown Greensboro Inc., a non-profit that promotes downtown and receives city funds.

When the original story was published on June 25, the SBI said no such investigation had been conducted or was underway. After the story was published on June 27, the office of North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson requested that the SBI look into the matter.

After the story was published on June 27, the attorney general’s office requested that the SBI look into the matter.

“The SBI did not have an investigation or a request for an investigation until last Friday,” said Chad Flowers, public information officer with the SBI, in a Thursday interview.

“It is an investigation into the activities of a city council member,” Flowers said, declining to name the subject of the open probe.

If the investigation centers on him, Matheny told The Assembly Thursday, he welcomes it.

“If it were to be me, I am happy for anybody to come and have a conversation with me and look into anything,” Matheny said. “I know I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’ve been around serving this community for over 20 years,” Matheny said. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done and have nothing to hide.”

Matheny, the council’s only Republican, has for years been the subject of criticism by local activists who say he blurs the line between his position on council and with DGI, where wooing developers and businesses is part of his job.

Read the full story here.

— Joe Killian

Thanks for reading The Thread, a 3x week newsletter written by Greensboro editor Joe Killian and reporters Sayaka Matsuoka and Gale Melcher. Reach us with tips or ideas at greensboro@theassemblync.com.

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Joe Killian is The Assembly's Greensboro editor. He joined us from NC Newsline, where he was senior investigative reporter. He spent a decade at The News & Record covering cops and courts, higher education, and government.