The election cycle has come and gone. Out of the 152,096 registered voters, data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections reports that only 20,229 ballots were cast for the municipal elections.

Though only ~13.30 percent of registered voters came out to cast their vote, their voices will have long-lasting effects on the future of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. These are the returning and newly elected officials chosen by the Fayetteville population.

Mayor
Incumbent mayor Mitch Colvin has once again retained his position as mayor of Fayetteville, securing a fourth term. With 11,469 ballots counted in his favor, Colvin secured ~65 percent of the vote over his opponent, Freddie de la Cruz. Cruz, having 6,089 ballots in his turn, could only secure ~34.5 percent of the vote.
Lastly, 80 individuals wrote in their choice for mayor and took up ~.5 percent of the total votes for mayor.

District 1
Incumbent District One city council member Kathy Keefe Jensen has managed to maintain her seat on the council. Earning 1,088 ballots in her favor, Jensen claimed ~65 percent of the total votes cast for the District 1 race. Alex Rodriguez, however, could only inspire 584 ballots to be cast in his favor. Rodriguez took ~35 percent of the ballots cast for District 1 council seat.
Finally, three people wrote in their choice for the District 1 seat and made up .18 percent of the total ballots counted for the city council seat of District 1

District 2
Coming in with 1,298 ballots cast in his favor, Malik Davis secured the majority of the vote at ~65 percent. This win will mark Davis’s first term as city council member for District 2. The incumbent, Shakeyla Ingram, only managed to have 690 ballots in her favor, leaving her with ~35 percent of the votes in the District 2 race.
Then, 15 individuals wrote in their suggested choice for a council seat and were .75 percent of the total ballots cast.

District 3
Commanding a large majority of the vote at 75~ percent, Mario Benavente, the incumbent city council chair holder for District 3, was able to secure 1,670 ballots cast in his favor. However, Michele Arita Dillon had 535 ballots cast for her and, as such, garnered ~24 percent of the total ballots cast. Eight people wrote in their choice and made up .36 percent of the vote.

District 4
Pushing his lead even further than others, D.J. Haire was able to amass a staggering ~81 percent of the total ballots cast for the District 4 race. With 1,443 ballots cast in Haire’s favor, ~18 percent, or 322 ballots, of the vote was seized by Stuart A. Collick. The remaining .9 percent of the vote came from 16 ballots submitted with write-ins.

District 5
In the second most contested race of the cycle, District 5 has elected Lynne Bissette Greene as the new city council chairholder for their District. Gathering 1,905 ballots cast in her favor, Greene secured ~60 of the vote against the incumbent, Johnny Dawkins. Dawkins, who had 1,261 ballots cast in his favor, was able to hold onto ~40 percent of the total vote in his run for re-election. A negligible .35 percent of the total ballots cast were those for miscellaneous write-ins.

District 6
Running unopposed, Derrick Thompson of District 6 secured 1,559 votes and ~96 of the total for his District. The other ~4 percent were made up of 66 write-in ballots.

District 7
Another single-person race, District 7, has chosen to elect Brenda McNair. With 1,554 votes, McNair won ~97 of the ballots cast. The remaining ballots consisted of 47 write-ins and amounted to ~3 percent of all ballots cast for the District 7 race.

District 8
In the final unopposed race, District 8, with ~97 percent of ballots cast in her favor, has chosen Courtney Banks-McLaughlin to represent them as the city council chairholder from District 8.
Though small, the 38 write-in ballots represented ~3 percent of the total ballots cast in the District 8 race.

District 9
Lastly, 1,815 people came out to cast their ballots for the city council race of District 9. Deno Hondros has once again been re-elected by his constituents. With 1,209 ballots cast in his favor, Hondros managed to cumulate ~67 percent of ballots cast. Meanwhile, Fredlisha R. Lansana only obtained 596 votes. With ~33 of the total ballots cast going to Lansana, the remaining .5 percent comprised nine ballots cast in favor of write-ins.

 

With less than half the total estimated population of Cumberland County registered to vote, this is an opportunity to see that your vote matters and can determine the future shape of legislation, local infrastructure, and even widespread reform.

 

For more information on this election, visit https://er.ncsbe.gov/?election_dt=11/07/2023&county_id=26&office=ALL&contest=0. If you want to know more about upcoming elections, if you qualify to vote in them or your current voter registration status, please visit https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election for further resources.