Incumbent Democratic Cumberland County Commissioner Toni Stewart, the board’s vice chairperson, came in last place among the six candidates who were running for District 2’s three seats on the board.
Democrat Kirk deViere and Republicans Pavan Patel and Henry Tyson, won the District 2 race for the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, according to unofficial returns released early Wednesday.
District 2 is a three-seat multi-member district. The three Democratic and three Republican candidates all ran against each other; the top three vote-getters won the three seats.
The results:
- deViere, winner with 41,097 votes
- Patel, winner with 38,379 votes
- Tyson, winner with 37,524 votes
- Republican Peter Pappas, lost with 37,309 votes
- Democrat Karla Icaza, lost with 36,763 votes
- Stewart, lost with 36,115 votes
District 2 covers most of Cumberland County, in a U-shape that has all of the east side, all of the the south side, and the west side south of Fort Liberty.
DeViere, Patel and Tyson are replacing Stewart plus Republican County Commissioners Michael Boose and Jimmy Keefe, who are retiring from office after long careers as elected officials. The new commissioners will take office in December.
Stewart was first elected in 2020. She is the special project manager at True Vine Ministries, a faith-based philanthropic organization.
DeViere is a former Fayetteville City Council member and served in the state Senate for two terms before he lost a reelection bid in the 2022 Democratic primary. He operates 219 Group, a marketing, advertising and public relations agency.
Tyson is a broker with his family’s Tyson Commercial Real Estate. He previously had an unsuccessful run in 2017 for the Fayetteville City Council.
Pavan Patel — a political newcomer in the 2024 general election — dominated fundraising efforts during his campaign for Cumberland County commissioner, raising over $83,000 in the first half of this year. He works in the commercial real estate sector and is the CEO of Willow Group Investments.
Pappas, a local business owner and real estate professional, previously served for two years on the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission. Icaza, an Army veteran, has also worked as a Spanish interpreter with Language Line Solutions and previously served as President of Latinos United For Progress.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
Did you find this story useful or interesting? It was made possible by donations from readers like you to the CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so CityView can bring you more news and information like this.
