Colvin nets fourth term in Fayetteville mayor's race
In a repeat of last year's race, Mayor Mitch Colvin beat challenger Freddie de la Cruz in a landslide for another term in office, according to unofficial results.
Colvin, 50, netted 65.02% of votes with 11,469 ballots, while de la Cruz earned 34.52% of votes with 6,089, according to the State Board of Elections. Eighty write-in ballots were also cast, the unofficial results show.
Colvin said Tuesday that he was grateful to the voters for placing their trust in him.
"I think it's just about speaking to the needs of people. People want to make sure that they have jobs available," he said. "It's important to people to invest in young people and our next generation."
Plans for his next term include additional public safety measures like new fire departments and police substations, Colvin said.
"Thank you," he said. "I promise to continue to work hard."
De la Cruz said Tuesday that he believed low voter turnout led to his loss.
"People just are not engaged in Fayetteville," he said. "I don't know what we got to do to get people to come out and vote, to get people engaged on what people really think about the direction of the city."
De la Cruz also thanked voters and said that he accepted the results and would offer support to Colvin if requested.
"I'll be buried in Cumberland County, so it's not like I'm going anywhere," he said. "I just thought I'd give people an opportunity to vote for a change and they chose not to."
He said he won't rule out running for mayor again in the future.
"I wouldn't say no to it, because I'm not a quitter," de la Cruz said. "I think there are forces out there that are working against me that I don't know about, and I just gotta figure out what they are, and I gotta come up with a better strategy on how I'm going to approach it."
De la Cruz said he was pleased to see the city already making improvements in areas he campaigned on, such as bus routes and the Murchison Road corridor.
"When you've got competition talking about the things that you want to do, they start to happen," he said. "Having somebody to keep the incumbent in check is a good thing. It keeps him on his game."
Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com or 910-481-8526.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Colvin wins again in Fayetteville mayor's race
