Greater Fayetteville Chamber to hold election forum Thursday at Crown center

Candidates for mayor and Fayetteville City Council will answer questions from the public and members of the media at an election forum Thursday morning.

The forum is sponsored by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber and will be from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Crown Coliseum.

Those who attend must enter through the West VIP entrance of the building.

All the candidates except one have confirmed that they will participate, according to chamber officials.

The election for city offices is July 26. Early voting begins July 7.

“The candidates will have a chance to express themselves and give their vision of the city,” said George Breece, a member of the chamber’s Government Relations Committee. He is also director emeritus of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber.

“We just think it’s important that citizens in Fayetteville have an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates,” Breece said.

The candidates for city office are:

• Mayor: Mitch Colvin and Freddie Delacruz.
• City Council District 1: Kathy Keefe Jensen and Alex Rodriguez.
• City Council District 2: Shakeyla Ingram and Tyrone A. Williams.
• City Council District 3: Mario Benavente and Antonio B. Jones.
• City Council District 4: Thomas C. Greene and D.J. Haire.
• City Council District 5: Johnny Dawkins and Frederick G. LaChance III.
• City Council District 6: Peter Pappas and Derrick Thompson.
• City Council District 7: Brenda McNair and Larry O. Wright Sr.
• City Council District 8: Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and Michael Pinkston.
• City Council District 9: Deno Hondros and Yvonne Y. Kinston.

The forum will be recorded and available for home viewing on the chamber’s website.

Gary Rogers, a member of the chamber’s board of directors, will serve as moderator.

Journalists with CityView TODAY, Up & Coming Weekly  and The Fayetteville Observer will ask the questions.

Breece said Tuesday that all candidates have confirmed their participation except Deno Hondros, who Breece said will be in Florida for a family wedding.

Breece says he expects the candidates to discuss “their vision for the city of Fayetteville and how they can individually make a difference. You have incumbents, and you have challengers. I imagine the challengers will talk about why they feel they would better represent a district than the incumbent.

“There are some real interesting races here,” Breece added.

Michael Futch covers Fayetteville and education for CityView TODAY. He can be reached at mfutch@cityviewnc.com. Have a news tip? Email news@CityViewTODAY.com