Charles Taylor, a Sanford City Council member running for North Carolina House District 51, owns a building on Tramway Road where 22 video lottery machines are operating — and he never listed the property on his state-required economic interest statement. The room reeks of cigarette and cannabis smoke, while an employee described customers depositing cash into the machines and telling staff when they are ready to cash out.
The property at 2101 Tramway Road in Sanford was purchased for $60,000 in December 2025, according to property records cited by The Assembly. Taylor, a Republican, failed to disclose the property on his economic statement of interest, even though North Carolina law requires political candidates to disclose all in-state real estate worth at least $10,000 that they or their immediate family members own.
Taylor told The Assembly he bought several properties on Dec. 31, 2025, including the Wayne Street property and two single-family homes in Snow Hill that he has since rented out. He said the year-end closings were why he omitted them from his 2025 statement, filed Feb. 12, and said, “I'll amend my economic interest statement to include these new properties that I own.” His current disclosure lists his personal residence; his income sources exceeding $5,000 are freelance television graphics production and his City Council position.
What the Law Requires — and What's Unresolved
Under North Carolina General Statutes § 138A-24, a statement of economic interest must include each asset and liability covered by the statute worth at least $10,000, owned by the filer or an immediate family member, subject to limited exceptions. The statute does not provide an exception for a late-December closing. Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political scientist, told The Assembly that failing to disclose a required asset would violate state ethics law.
Penalty and possible correction
North Carolina law makes knowingly concealing or knowingly failing to disclose required information on a statement of economic interest a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The law's knowledge requirement does not by itself establish that Taylor acted knowingly. Taylor said he would amend his statement to include the properties; the reporting cited here does not say that an amended filing had been submitted.
North Carolina prohibits luck-based video gambling games that require no skill to win. The machines at Taylor's property appear to fall into that category, according to The Assembly's reporting. Separately, North Carolina General Statutes § 19-1.3 addresses money and other property used in gambling as nuisance property. The Assembly reported that a building leased for illegal gambling may be deemed a nuisance. Whether Taylor himself violated the law could depend on what he “knew or by the exercise of due diligence should have known,” the publication reported. His statement did not say whether he knew gambling was occurring at the property. The North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agency has not charged him with a criminal offense.
Enforcement Is a Patchwork Across the State
Statewide enforcement has varied considerably, according to reporting by The News & Observer. North Carolina Judicial Branch data cited by the paper show Randolph and Onslow counties accounted for 47 of the state's 53 video-gaming felony charges in 2020; Durham and Wake counties had filed none since 2015. Statewide, local officials filed 23 felony charges for possessing five or more video-gaming machines and 11 misdemeanor charges in 2023.
The Assembly reported that Alcohol Law Enforcement investigates illegal video-gaming operations but prioritizes locations that sell alcohol; the agency said it could not assess machines its agents had not examined. Operators have also modified machines to claim that skill, rather than chance, determines outcomes, The News & Observer has reported. Enforcement actions do occur: in September, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at a Flat Rock business after complaints of illegal gambling. They seized 15 machines and $9,872 in cash, and arrested four women on charges tied to operating slot machines, according to WLOS.
A Heavily Favored Race in Lee and Moore Counties
Taylor is running as the Republican candidate to represent Lee and Moore counties in House District 51, a seat held by outgoing Representative John Sauls, who carried the district by nearly 29 percentage points in 2024. Taylor is heavily favored to defeat unaffiliated candidate April Montgomery in November, according to the outlet's reporting.
Several agencies declined to weigh in on the Tramway Road property. The State Board of Elections referred a request for comment to the State Ethics Commission, which oversees issues related to economic interest statements but provided no immediate comment. The State Bureau of Investigation referred a request for comment to Alcohol Law Enforcement, Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the North Carolina Republican Party declined to comment.
