What are the Cumberland Board of Commissioners candidates’ health priorities?

CityView examined its coverage from the past year and public statements made by candidates to identify the biggest health issues in this year’s local election. The health-related priorities of the six candidates hoping to fill the three open seats for District 2 on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners can be summed up in a few words: PFAS, homelessness and mental health.

The candidates are:

• Democrats: Toni Stewart, Karla Icaza and Kirk deViere

• Republicans: Peter Pappas, Pavan Patel and Henry Tyson

(Candidate responses to CityView’s general election questionnaire will be posted to our website in late September.)

Clean water

All candidates are concerned about GenX and PFAS contamination in private well water across the county. In February, all three Republican candidates told CityView they see working with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission as a way to bring clean water to every county resident. 

Democrats agree. Toni Stewart, current vice chairperson of the Board of Commissioners running for reelection, has advocated for PWC to build water lines into the impacted areas. The plan for those lines was announced in April. Stewart’s children go to school in Gray’s Creek, one of the county’s communities most affected by forever chemical contamination; Stewart told CityView in February that clean water access is one of her top issues to tackle if reelected. 

Karla Icaza, a former U.S. Army medic and current president of Latinos United For Progress, also told CityView she would push to extend PWC lines to Gray’s Greek.

In addition to making clean water accessible to all county residents, the third Democrat candidate Kirk deViere wants to establish an oversight committee to better enforce the consent order between the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Cape Fear River Watch and Chemours — the company responsible for the county’s forever chemical contamination. The U.S. Army veteran and former N.C. state senator told CityView in February that parts of it are currently not properly enforced. The consent order requires Chemours to curb air and water chemical emissions and provide means to decontaminate local drinking water sources. NCDEQ has issued the company several violations for failing to comply with regulations and the consent order.

Homelessness & mental health

Tackling homelessness and mental health is one and the same for Icaza, who previously served with Suicide Prevention at the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Responding to a previous CityView questionnaire, Icaza framed homelessness and the national opioid crisis as key mental health issues. She believes there needs to be greater access to mental health resources for those with substance use disorders and experiencing homelessness.

Stewart will also focus on improving mental health resources for the unhoused, per her response to CityView’s questionnaire and the priorities listed on her campaign website.

Republican Henry Tyson believes the county government needs to help nonprofits establish programs that serve the unhoused. In an interview with Troy Williams, a columnist with the Fayetteville Observer, that aired on WIDU 1600AM, Tyson pointed to the City of Fayetteville and his church’s collaborative efforts to start and run the Manna Dream Center on Ray Street.

Homelessness, mental health and public health care are listed in deViere’s top 10 priorities on his campaign website. Like Tyson, deViere wants the board to collaborate with nonprofits that already help the unhoused. 

Bettering county health

If elected, deViere looks to increase funds for mental and public health care, something the board asked for last month in its state legislative goals to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. 

In a CityView questionnaire from February, Pavan Patel, a Republican candidate, said he would support medical professional retention to solve the county’s mental health access and other health care issues. Patel’s website states that “access to healthcare is a fundamental right” and that having more medical professionals and facilities will ensure “every resident can get the care they need when they need it.” 

If elected to the board, Patel’s term would overlap with Methodist University’s preparations to welcome its first cohort of medical students in 2026. The Fayetteville Observer reported that the medical school expects by 2027 to create 260 jobs, including positions at Cape Fear Valley Health to support the school.

Despite funding from national opioid lawsuit settlements flowing into the county and almost 2,000 Cumberland County residents using treatment services in 2021, only two candidates — Republican Peter Pappas and Icaza — mentioned the opioid crisis as a priority on their websites. Pappas says he will become a champion on the board for increasing substance use disorder resources. Icaza’s website states she will “improve access to addiction treatment services,” as well as community education programs, “and help identify responsible prescription practices.”

Issues still on the table

While candidates are focusing on mental health, the unhoused and forever chemicals, other health issues are still plaguing the county. A preliminary report from the most recent county health assessment at the August Board of Public Health meeting showed Cumberland County is still falling behind the national and state averages for most health outcomes, with county residents living shorter lives with more mental and physical health problems than across the state and country.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that all three Democratic candidates share a health priority of ensuring county residents have access to clean water.

CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.