Confrontation at voting site leads to election complaints in Fayetteville mayoral race

Two campaign workers for Fayetteville mayoral candidate Mario Benavente filed complaints with the North Carolina State Board of Elections this week following a heated confrontation with an opposing campaign worker and another woman at the county’s early voting site on Monday morning.

The complaints accuse Runae Montgomery, a campaign worker for Mayor Mitch Colvin, of harassing a woman working for Benavente’s campaign. They also say a third person who has been active in local elections, Deja Deanna Royal, harassed the Benavente campaign worker, who is identified in the complaints as Jane Doe, and called her a “dog.”  

The woman who was allegedly harassed told CityView her first name is Frances but declined to give her last name. 

Video of the incident involving Royal, Benavente and Frances was posted on social media and had been viewed 108,000 times on the Fayetteville City News Facebook page as of Friday morning.

Colvin, Benavente and eight other candidates are running for mayor. Early voting is underway ahead of the Oct. 7 primary. The general election is in November.

Tensions mount at early voting site

Benavente campaign workers Zachary Traylor and Yasmyne Vann filed the election law complaints Monday and Tuesday.

Vann, who recorded the viral video, said in her complaint that Montgomery and Frances yelled back and forth at each other and Frances repeatedly asked Montgomery to leave her alone.

Montgomery told CityView on Wednesday that she did not harass Frances. She said Frances had been yelling at her about whether she had taken photos or videos of Benavente on the sidewalk near the entrance of the Board of Elections office.

Candidates and their supporters are allowed to campaign from the grassy areas along the sidewalks at the elections office, but not on the sidewalks themselves or within 50 feet of the office entrance.

Benavente told CityView he was not campaigning on the sidewalk or in the restricted area. He said he went near the entrance with Melvin McLaughlin, the husband of City Council Member Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, to have a private conversation. Banks-McLaughlin is also running for mayor.

Royal said she was upset because she felt Frances had spoken to Montgomery disrespectfully. 

The viral video and a second video both show Royal on the sidewalk in front of Benavente’s campaign tent in a tense exchange with Benavente and Frances.

“Get your f—ing dog,” Royal said to Benavente in reference to Frances.

She told Benavente, “You are encouraging her behavior and you are what’s wrong with this city and I pray to God you don’t f—ing win.”

“Go get some help, girl!” Frances yelled back. “Please, go get some help.”

The arguing continued. Benavente eventually told Frances, “If you say one more thing, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Because of her?” Frances asked.

“No, ma’am, because of me,” he said.

Royal continued to yell at Frances. Benavente asked her to stop.

“No! Don’t tell me to stop! Get your god damned dog!” Royal said, pointing her finger into the air.

Seconds later, Frances charged at Royal. Benavente grabbed Frances’ arm and yanked her back.

“I wasn’t gonna put my hands on her, because it’s not worth it,” Frances told CityView on Thursday. “I was gonna tell her, ‘Don’t call me that no more.’”

Royal told CityView she visited the Board of Elections office on Monday to obtain information about running for office next year, and to have Montgomery give her a medicinal injection for lupus. In the mayoral election, Royal said she supports City Council Member Kathy Keefe Jensen.

Royal called 911 and the Sheriff’s Office sent a deputy to investigate. No one was arrested.

“This incident occurred without the presence of law enforcement and does not warrant an arrest, as it does not meet any of the exceptions that allow an officer to arrest for a misdemeanor that happens outside their presence,” Lt. Patrice Bogerty, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said. “If a crime has been committed, the reporting party may visit the magistrate’s office to pursue charges.”

County Elections Director Angie Amaro said she saw the viral video but did not witness the incident. Early voting has been peaceful otherwise, she said. 

The Board of Elections is not allowed to have law enforcement officers stationed at election sites because of concerns of voter intimidation, Amaro said. 

However, Bogerty said, “Sheriff Johnathan Morgan has designated the Board of Elections building as a special area check for the remainder of the election season.” 

Another accusation

In addition to making accusations against Royal and Montgomery, Traylor’s complaint alleges that Colvin and his staff and volunteers broke the campaigning rules in prior days by campaigning on the sidewalk and within 50 feet of the entrance to the Board of Elections office.

Colvin told CityView that he and his people have not broken those rules. “Nobody in my team has done that,” he said.

The complaint paperwork says the State Board of Elections will review the complaints promptly. Any substantiated violations of election laws will be forwarded to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, and if the SBI finds sufficient evidence, it would send the matter to the appropriate prosecutorial agency.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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