The 2025 municipal elections in Cumberland County get officially underway at 8 a.m. Monday when the candidate filing period begins for the Fayetteville City Council, the town boards of Hope Mills and Spring Lake, Cumberland County’s six other towns, and the board members of the Eastover Sanitary District.
Statewide, most of North Carolina’s more than 550 cities, towns and villages conduct city council and town board elections in odd-numbered years, the North Carolina State Board of Elections says. In Cumberland County, 53 offices are up for election this year.
Starting July 7, the filing period for candidates in Cumberland County runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it ends at noon on Friday, July 18. Candidates must fill out their paperwork at the Cumberland County Board of Elections office in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane, Suite 101, in Fayetteville.
Candidates must live in their municipality to seek office (and in Fayetteville, council members must live in their council districts).
The general election is Nov. 4.
Even though the filing period does not start until Monday, some candidates have already begun campaigning.
Several announced they would run for mayor of Fayetteville even before Mayor Mitch Colvin announced his pending retirement from office in June.
The announced contenders as of Thursday: City Council Member Mario Benavente, previous candidate Freddie de la Cruz, City Council Member Kathy Keefe Jensen, and former City Council Member Paul Williams. Williams was in office from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2003 to 2007.
Fayetteville Public Works Commission Chair Chris Davis told CityView that he wants to run for mayor, but as of Wednesday he was still discussing it with his wife and had not decided. Davis served on the city council from 2019 to 2022.
Former City Council Member Antonio Jones announced on WIDU radio on Thursday he will seek the District 3 seat, which Benavente is vacating to run for mayor. Jones was appointed to District 3 in December 2021 after Council Member Tisha Waddell resigned. Then he lost the election by six votes to Benavente in July 2022. (The November 2021 election had been delayed until July.)
Stephon Ferguson is seeking the District 1 seat that Jensen is vacating for her run for mayor.
What’s on the ballot?
Here are this year’s races.
Fayetteville City Council
Fayetteville is Cumberland County’s largest municipality, with about 210,000 people. The city council has nine district seats plus the mayor. The mayor is a voting member of the city council.
Part of Fort Bragg is inside the Fayetteville city limit. Members of military families living in Fayetteville’s portion of the post may vote in the city’s elections and run for office.
Fayetteville will hold primary elections, if needed, for the mayor and city council member seats on Oct. 7. The top two candidates from each of the primaries will advance to the Nov. 4 general election.
Partisan election: No
Seats up for election: Mayor, plus City Council District 1 through District 9.
Term of office: Two years.
Hope Mills Board of Commissioners
Hope Mills is Cumberland County’s second-largest municipality, with more than 18,000 people. It has a five-person board of commissioners plus a mayor. The mayor only votes in the event of a tie among the commissioners.
All candidates seeking a seat on the board of commissioners run against each other. The top five vote-getters win the election.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor, plus five commissioner seats.
Term of office: Two years. However the board of commissioners is considering changing this to four-year staggered terms. If the new terms are approved, the top three vote-getters in this election will serve four years. The next two vote-getters will serve two years, and then their terms will become four years with the elections in 2027.
Spring Lake Board of Commissioners
Spring Lake, with more than 11,500 people, has a five-person board of commissioners plus a mayor. The mayor only votes in the event of a tie among the commissioners.
Part of Fort Bragg is inside the Spring Lake city limit. Members of military families living in Spring Lake’s portion of the post may vote in the town’s elections and run for office.
All candidates seeking a seat on the board of commissioners run against each other. The top five vote-getters win the election.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor, plus five commissioner seats.
Term of office: Two years.
Eastover
Eastover, population 3,710, has a six-person town council plus a mayor.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor, plus three town council seats.
Term of office: Two years for the mayor, four years for the town council.
Eastover Sanitary District
The Eastover Sanitary District is an independent government that administers water and sewer service in the Eastover area. The town of Eastover has no governance over the Eastover Sanitary District. It has a three-person board, elected by people in the district.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Two of the three seats.
Term of office: Four years.
Stedman
Stedman, with more than 1,300 people, has a five-person board of commissioners plus a mayor.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor, plus two of the five commissioner seats.
Term of office: Four years.
Wade
Wade has about 650 residents. It has a five-person board of commissioners plus a mayor.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor and all five seats.
Term of office: Two years.
Falcon
The U.S. Census says Falcon has almost 400 residents. The town has a mayor plus four town commissioners.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor and all four commissioner seats.
Term of office: Two years.
Godwin
Godwin has more than 150 people. It’s governed by a mayor plus four town commissioners.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor and all four commissioner seats.
Term of office: Two years.
Linden
Linden has nearly 140 people. It has five town commissioners plus a mayor.
Partisan election: No.
Seats up for election: Mayor and all five commissioner seats.
Term of office: Two years.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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