The Fayetteville community has been on an interesting journey over the last 18 months with the initiative to amend the city’s charter by converting our current nine single-member districts to a combination of five single-member and four at-large seats. The net effect would be that voters would have six people on council representing them versus the current two.

On its face, the question seems simple — more representation or less? Does Fayetteville want to join with every major city in North Carolina, as well as the other local governments in Cumberland County, who have determined that a combination of at-large and single-member seats represent the most effective and representative form of local government?

One of the major objections being made against the charter change is that the desire for change is racially motivated to reduce minority representation on the council. The belief is that whites want to exert undue influence on the council. That simply is not true.

An objective look at the facts show this Vote Yes Fayetteville initiative is based on the reality of where our city finds itself today after decades of demographic changes here. A few examples show this clearly to anyone willing to look at the facts.
In Fayetteville today, Black voters outnumber white voters by over 38% with Black voters representing 45.2% of the registered voters and white voters representing 32.7%.

A look at voter turnout in recent elections shows that Blacks and whites vote in the same percentages. In the recent July 2022 City Council election, Black turnout of 13.6% was about the same as white turnout of 13.8%.

Neighborhoods which were racially segregated in the past are not any longer. We are truly a very diverse city with shared values and needs that are not dependent on race. This diversity is just an indicator of us truly being an All-America City and should be celebrated, not ignored.
Qualified candidates of all races have success in raising campaign donations. Mayor Colvin raised $134,000 in the last election, Sheriff Wright raised $118,000 and County Commissioner Charles Evans raised $87,000 in his recent congressional race.

Our community continues to elect qualified candidates of all races. Two of our last four mayors have been Black. Our Sheriff, Clerk of Court and multiple judges have won at-large seats in Cumberland County. Of the current five at-large seats on the County Commission and School Board, three of them are held by Black candidates.
Statistics show that communities with at-large representatives have faster growth, less criminal activity and less poverty than communities without such representation. A cohesive and more responsive government improves quality of life for all its citizens.

The recent census shows our growth is not keeping pace with our peer cities that have it. Our poverty rates and crime rates are higher while voter turnout and the opportunity for good jobs are both lower. These peer cities are the ones we compete with for the type of jobs that can help make Fayetteville a place our children can come home to.

If we want to compete for better jobs and a higher quality of life, then we must have a structure more like the ones used by the rest of the state. The structure used by our peer cities, the ones we compete with every day, the ones that are growing faster, are safer and are providing a higher quality of life for their citizens.

At the end of the day, after all the political rhetoric, voters are left with the simple choice. Do you want our city to move forward and have better quality of life? Do you want a more cohesive and responsive city government? Do you want six people on city council representing your interests or just the current two?