There are those who believe Mayor Mitch Colvin’s last hour bid for a fifth mayoral term is one of the more calculating and slicker maneuvers in city politics. Picture, if you will, Colvin with his rod and reel on the riverbank casting his line and those unsuspecting bass, trout and carp taking the political bait.
Not the case, the mayor says.
“I spoke with so many different residents from all races and partisan backgrounds who asked me to reconsider, as they wanted me to stay the course and finish, because they felt a stability and a steady hand in city leadership was needed in this moment,” Colvin, 52, said Wednesday about his decision to run after announcing on June 12 he would not be a mayoral candidate. “Particularly, as many council members filed to run for mayor, nearly half of the council members will change just in the mayor’s race. This will undoubtedly shake up the face of our city’s leadership.”
Colvin filed for another term about a half hour before the noon deadline on July 18 in what was something of a political stunner for Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Keefe Jensen, two-term Fayetteville City Council Member Mario Benavente, perennial mayoral candidate Freddie de La Cruz, three-term Council Member Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and former Council Members Tisha S. Waddell and Paul Williams. Other challengers are Nahlee Iris Smith, John Ashford and Clifton L. Johnson.
Now, the 10 candidates are heading into the Oct. 7 primary, where the top two vote-getters will bid for the mayoral gavel in the Nov. 4 general election.
“The 2025 mayors’ race will be the ‘thrill-a in the ville-a’ for this election cycle,” George Breece, a longtime community politico, said this week. “A knock-down, drag-out with no holds barred for the number two slot. Ten candidates, with five who are coming to play.
“The mayor will be in the general election.
“The second-place finisher,” Breece said, “is where all of the action will be.”
Breece didn’t name the five, but you can be just about assured they will be Jensen, Benavente, de la Cruz, with Waddell and Banks-McLaughlin as outside contenders at best.
District competition in play
With Jensen, Benavente and Banks-McLaughlin giving up their district council seats in quest of the mayoral gavel, there are a number of candidates vying for council seats in District 1, District 3 and District 8.
“The other council races with primaries will help increase the turnout, which in the past has been dismal,” Breece said.
Jamie Davis, Stephon Ferguson, Theodore Melkoumov and James L. Thomas III have filed to replace Jensen in District 1. Former Council Member Antonio Jones and Jeremy Wright will be after Benavente’s District 3 seat. Rodney E. Garvin, Mahmoud A. (Travis) Hamed, activist Shaun McMillan and Robbie Poole are bidding for Banks-McLaughlin’s District 8 seat.
Incumbent Malik Davis has competition from challengers Gail Morfesis and Joseph (Joey) Thames in District 2. D.J. Haire, the longest serving councilman in history with 12 terms, is taking on challenger Stuart A. Collick in District 4. Incumbent Lynne Bissette Greene will be challenged by Rick Murillo for the District 5 seat. Incumbent Derrick Thompson has a challenger in Kenneth E. Odegard II in District 6. Incumbent Brenda McNair has four challengers in District 7 in Dwight France, J’Kwan Fulmore, Khalil Younger and Kathy A. Greggs, who is a community activist. Incumbent Deno Hondros will be challenged by Gary A. Hunt and Joe McGee in District 9.
“There could be a couple of real surprises in two of the council primaries,” Breece said. “I see some possible surprises in all of the open council seats. Every one of those open seats is truly open. I think all of the incumbents are as close to safe as can be.”
Breece didn’t identify the two council primaries, but if you are the betting sort, look for Greggs in District 7 to potentially upset McNair. Greggs is a co-founder of the Fayetteville Police Accountability Community Taskforce and protégé of late city councilman Ted Mohn. Keep your eye out for Shaun McMillan, who is a familiar presence advocating for Fayetteville Police Department accountability at council public forums.
‘It became clear to me’
Meanwhile, Mitch Colvin offers no apologies for changing his plans to run for mayor, which has drawn criticism from Up and Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman, Up and Coming Weekly contributing writer Troy Williams and others in the community.
Bowman questions Colvin’s political integrity.
Williams says Colvin deceived other mayoral candidates.
“Colvin’s ‘flip-flop’ is not only unfair to the other mayoral candidates, but it’s also unfair to the community,” Williams wrote. “Should Colvin’s flip-flop come with reputational costs that prevent his reelection? It’s difficult to determine, but timing matters, and Colvin’s actions may be viewed with suspicion due to how he orchestrated the outcome.”
Colvin stands by his decision for another term.
“With nearly half the city council seats changing, and new leadership in our police department, Sheriff’s office and school system, it’s clear we are at a pivotal moment,” Colvin said. “It became clear to me that we need stable, proven leadership right now. My decision to re-enter the race is not about self-interest. It’s about answering the call to serve when our city needs stability most. I assure the citizens of Fayetteville that my decision to re-enter the race does not come from a selfish place. I love this city, and I love our community.”
Colvin’s decision has left Jensen, Benavente, de la Cruz, Williams, Waddell and Banks-McLaughlin like a shoal of fish in the political pond.
Jensen has wanted to be mayor for years, but only filed when she believed Colvin was not seeking another term. She likes ribbon-cuttings, cultivating a city partnership with Fort Bragg, advocating for the city with congressional state delegation leaders in the nation’s capital and promoting Fayetteville like a cheerleader under the Friday Night Lights of a high school football season.
As for Benavente, he’s a former outspoken activist turned lawyer and not afraid to speak his mind. There’s no love lost between the councilman and the mayor, and it has come into full view with back-and-forth snipping and sniping at recent council meetings.
As for de la Cruz, he’s challenged Colvin in mayoral elections in 2023 and 2021 and refuses to give up the political ghost. A retired lieutenant colonel, de la Cruz has said he knows how to address city crime, which has plagued this city with homicides.
Credit: City of Fayetteville
As for Tisha Waddell, she abruptly resigned her District 3 seat in 2021, claiming unethical behavior and deception by Mayor Mitch Colvin and other city council members, most notably related to a potential sale of the city-owned Fayetteville Public Works Commission to a private equity firm that wanted to provide the city more than $750 million upfront in exchange for operating the utility for 30 years.
Colvin denied Waddell’s claims of unethical practices behind closed doors.
Then CityView investigative reporter Greg Barnes concluded “no evidence of corruption,” but “did find evidence that Colvin and others had worked behind the scenes in an attempt to close the deal and that the evidence indicates officials had purposely tried to keep the public in the dark.”
As for Paul Williams, he served on the council in the late 1990s and early 2000s and lost a bid for mayor in 2013. He brings an entrepreneurial philosophy to his campaign and, according to his campaign Facebook page, a desire to expose local government corruption at the county courthouse.
And then there’s Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, who called for censure of Colvin and Benavente in 2024 for what she described as their alleged disrespectful behavior toward former Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins, which resulted in a $200,000 settlement after a lawsuit filed on behalf of Hawkins after her retirement as police chief. Colvin questioned the timeliness of the censure as Banks-McLaughin was running against his brother, Mike Colvin, for a N.C. House of Representatives District 42 seat. The censorship of Colvin and Benavente failed.
Epilogue
George Breece says money, political mailouts and a good ground game will be paramount for all candidates.
“One can have the best ideas and best intentions, but without the ‘Mothers Milk of Politics,’” i.e., money, “none of that will get anyone to the promised land,” he said. “And all have to be prepared for what politics is … a contact sport. No thinned skin in any of these primaries.”
The mayoral and city council candidates are ambling to the starting gates.
The races are underway.
This is a mayoral campaign nothing akin to the days of Robert Butler (1961-1963), Wilbur Clark (1963-1965), Monroe Evans (1965-1969), Charlie Holt (1969-1971), Jack Lee (1971-1975), Beth Finch (1975-1981), Bill Hurley (1981-1987), J.L. Dawkins (1987-2000), Milo McBryde (2000-2001), Marshall Pitts Jr. (2001-2005), Tony Chavonne (2005-2013) and Nat Robertson (2013-2017) when egos were checked at the City Council Chamber doors and gentleman and ladylike decorum and respect were the hallmarks of the mayor’s gavel.
But city residents registered to vote on Oct 7 and Nov. 4 will have the final say in a political season like none before in the city.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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