They’re coming down the homestretch, these folks who want to lead this city.
Just 10 days left before the Nov. 7 general election that will tell us who will be our mayor and Fayetteville City Council members in six of nine district races.
“We have division in this community,” Efrain “Freddie” de la Cruz, 61, was saying Thursday evening at a candidates forum at Arthur D. Smith Recreation Center that was sponsored by Organizing Against Racism: Cumberland County in partnership with Common Cause NC, Cape Fear Indivisible and Fayetteville Freedom for All. “I would be a mayor who would unify this (community). We need a new direction. I’m asking for your vote for a change in direction in Fayetteville.”
Empty promises, Mayor Mitch Colvin would counter here and there.
“There’s work to do,” the three-term mayor said. “I’m asking for your vote of proven results. You need someone who knows what he’s doing.”
The mayor pointed to proven results to include new jobs, an improved “quality of life,” a $7 million Day Resource Center for the homeless, and a fourth time for Fayetteville being designated as an All-America City by the National Civic League.
De la Cruz countered back.
“I want quality jobs,” he fired back at the mayor. “Not fast-food.”
A retired Army lieutenant colonel, de la Cruz said he wants to mitigate crime, build a stronger relationship with Fort Liberty and do all he can as the next mayor to address affordable housing “because we have close to 500 children living in hotels.” As for economic development, it is contingent on how the city addresses crime.
“A safe community,” he said, “will bring more industry.”
The mayor listened intently to his election foe, ever secure in his own bid for a fourth term with the city gavel.
“We want to be the medical and military community,” he responded on how he sees the city in 2030. “We have great potential in health care and defense. Both currently account for a large portion of our economy.”
No argument from Colvin on affordable housing.
“We need to work with builders to bring construction costs down,” he said.
The mayor called out his opponent on his plans to abate crime and gun violence, but Colvin said de la Cruz doesn’t say how he would do so.
“We’ve heard no examples,” Colvin said. “Just promises.”
De la Cruz was quick on his political feet.
“When you have a plan to mitigate crime,” de la Cruz told the mayor, making reference to leading soldiers in Iraq, “you don’t advertise it.”
And somewhere from the audience came John Ashford, a third mayoral candidate touting a platform of helping youths, the middle aged, and the elderly, more homeless shelters, more local employment and affordable housing.
Moderator Rob Taber said Ashford asked before the forum if he could speak, although you will not see Ashford’s name on the Nov. 7 ballot.
“He is running as a write-in candidate,” Angie Amaro, director of the Cumberland County Board of Elections, told CityView on Friday.
Only five of 12 candidates from Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9 showed up. They were Kathy Keefe Jensen, the incumbent seeking a sixth term in District 1, and her challenger, Jose Alex Rodriguez; District 3 incumbent Mario Benavente; District 4 challenger Stuart Collick; and District 9 incumbent Deno Hondros.
Notably missing was District 5 incumbent Johnny Dawkins and his challenger, Lynne Bissette Greene, in what has become one of the city’s more closely watched council races in recent history. And the District 2 race, where two-term Councilwoman Shakelya Ingram is facing a strong challenge from newcomer Malik Davis. District 4 Councilman D.J. Haire is recovering from recent surgery. Also failing to show was challenger Michele Dillon in District 3 and challenger Fredlisha Lansana in District 9. Taber said all missing candidates had prior commitments.
Issues of conversation
“My passion is public safety and quality of life,” Jensen said, and she added that the “biggest challenge in District 1” is growth in north Fayetteville. “We’re running out of land, and we’re becoming a bedroom community for Wake County.”
Rodriguez said the City Council meddles too often in how Chief Kemberle Braden and his Fayetteville Police Department do their work of policing crime.
“Let the police do their job,” Rodriguez said. “Hold them accountable, but no restraints. But let the police do their job.”
And lower property taxes, Rodriguez said.
“It’s hard for people to own their homes,” he said. “It’s why they rent.”
Back, if you will, to the Fayetteville Police Department. When it comes to the city police, you’ll often hear from Mario Benavente.
“We have to stop equating public safety with crime,” Benavente said to applause from the audience.
“I think about the curfew,” he said about a proposed juvenile curfew by the police chief to address juvenile crime. An arrest, the councilman said, can follow a juvenile into adulthood.
“They have to put that on a job application,” Benavente said. “Government should get the hell out of these children’s way and let them be great.”
Benavente drew applause, too, when the councilman said he would like to see the day when the municipal bus system, Fayetteville Area System of Transit, can provide transportation “from Methodist University all the way downtown.”
Collick touched on more recreation opportunities for youths. He brought up another city issue, too.
“We got a flooding problem,” he said about heavy rains from hurricanes and storms.
Hondros offered his take on the council’s approval of $250,000 for an Office of Community Safety, public safety, investment in youth, the continued need to provide parks and recreation amenities for young people, and the need to provide affordable housing.
Looking at the numbers
Some interesting and civil discourse emerged at the forum, where we learned where the candidates stand on a number of city issues.
Disappointing that only about 50 people turned out.
And more disappointing that Johnny Dawkins and Lynne Bissette Greene were not there to go head-to-head with one another about their District 5 competition that’s gaining so much attention in old Fayetteville. Disappointing, too, that Shakeyla Ingram and Malik Davis weren’t there to make their pitches in the District 2 competition.
Dawkins is fighting for his political life after trailing Greene in the Oct. 10 primary, when Greene garnered 890 votes, or 46.7%, compared to Dawkins’s 678 votes, or 35.6%. Davis had 520 votes in the primary, or 34.3%, while Ingram had 319 votes, or 21%.
As for the mayoral race, there’s no sweat on Mitch Colvin’s brow. The 50-year-old incumbent easily outdistanced de la Cruz in the primary with 6,472 votes, or 60.5%, while de la Cruz had 2,339 votes, or 21.9%.
Truth be told, there’s voter apathy aplenty heading into the general election. There are 127,846 registered city voters, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Only 10,751, or 8.41%, took the time to vote in the Oct. 10 primary.
Epilogue
So, there you have it.
Early voting, if you are interested, ends in seven days. Election Day is 10 days away.
If you are one of the 127,846 registered city residents and you care about your city and where it is headed, it’s up to you.
Or you can take it from John Ashford, the obscure write-in candidate for mayor.
“Don’t think about it,” one of Ashford’s campaign advertisements reads. “Just do it.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
