A proposal to award a $40,000 contract to a former College Park city council candidate was denied Monday following sharp comments from city leaders, and criticism from a resident who questioned whether the proposed contract amounted to a payoff for the candidate exiting the race.

Mayor Bianca Motley Broom, in a post previewing the council meeting, said the proposal raised red flags. “Even if no promises were made, the perception is concerning,” Motley Broom wrote.

Councilman Joe Carn and Mayor Pro Tem Jamelle McKenzie supported hiring Demetrius Taylor, owner of Dishing Tea Entertainment, to produce positive video content for the city’s public access Channel 23.

Taylor, an outspoken and controversial figure in College Park, previously served on the city’s Business and Industrial Developm

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