Fayetteville council candidates talk crime, 2020 riots, tiny homes and diversity training
Candidates for mayor and Fayetteville City Council discussed crime; the downtown riots of 2020; tiny homes for the homeless population; diversity training for Fayetteville police officers; and other issues at a candidates forum on Sunday.
The mid-afternoon event was held in the Pate Room of the Cumberland County Headquarters Library. It was sponsored by the Fayetteville chapter of the NAACP, the Local HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) Coalition Partners and the library.
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Incumbent Mayor Mitch Colvin and challenger Freddie de la Cruz debated the police department response to the protests over George Floyd on May 30, 2020. It was part of a more than 30-minute question-and-answer between the two candidates. The protest descended into a riot, where storefronts and other property were damaged and two people tried to set the historic Market House on fire.
De la Cruz criticized the police response to the riots. To illustrate the importance of police response, he said his father, a Vietnam veteran, was murdered in Spring Lake in 2011 during a time when the department was not authorized to do patrols. He believed the outcome might have been different if the department had its full powers.
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He said the order for the Fayetteville Police Department to “stand down” during the riots was not the right one. “Why in the world would you tell a police officer to stand down? To secure the life of a police officer, so he wouldn’t get hurt?" de la Cruz asked. “If you're going to arrest somebody that would be the time to arrest them.”
Colvin said he did not issue a stand-down order and does not have the authority to tell the police department how to carry out police actions.
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“The rule of law, and people who break the law are held accountable — as they were on that night,” he said. “But this is not the 1960s where you turn dogs and water hoses and unleash fury on citizens who are behaving or misbehaving. There’s a process to it."
He continued: “Our police officers came home safe that night. We didn’t have any police funerals to attend, nor did we have any citizen’s funeral to attend. But we did have 62 indictments to hold people accountable who acted outside the bounds of the law, two of which went federal.”
After the mayoral candidates, most of the candidates representing the nine City Council districts answered questions submitted by audience members.
Tiny homes
A consensus of candidates said they supported the city investing in tiny homes — 100 to 400 square feet — to provide housing for the city’s homeless population.
Yvonne Kinston, the District 9 incumbent, said such homes could also be good for students just out of college who are in debt and cannot afford a mortgage, or seniors who need to downsize
“I believe in Fayetteville we can build tiny home communities that will meet the needs of each one of these individuals.”
She said the city also needed to address housing overall.
“We need to find developers who are willing to do affordable housing,” she said.
Fred LaChance, who is running in District 5, said it was past time for action. He said as a Navy chief he would tell people under his command, “Don’t give me 100 reasons why you can’t do something. Give me one reason why you can do it.”
He said his stepdaughter, who manages apartments, predicted rents would skyrocket to $1,200 to $1,400. His remarks drew a gasp from the audience.
“You better bank on that, cause that’s coming,” he said. “You need to get a wake-up, and I’m giving it to you right now.”
Thomas C. Greene, a candidate in District 4, said while he supported tiny homes, the city faced a long and difficult job in dealing with homelessness that goes beyond just shelter.
“We have addiction, mental illness, those need to be addressed,” he said. “It’s gonna be a long, drawn out process, and you know what, the community needs to be committed to that.”
Tyrone Williams, a District 2 candidate, said the city had missed opportunities on tiny houses and could revisit the issue in the future. But he said the immediate goal should be to make the most of a day center for the homeless being built off Eastern Boulevard.
“We have a day (center) that’s coming, already funded, here, that’s going to be the same thing as the tiny houses,” he said. “We need to get the programs and assistance in place.”
He said people could be trained to work with mental health and other crises of everyone who comes through the day center.
“Let’s use what we have right now,” he said.
Millennials
The candidates agreed with the need for greater economic and other opportunities to attract millennials — younger people who now constitute the largest generation.
Mario (Be) Benavente, a District 3 candidate, who served on the city’s Millennial Advisory Commission, said if elected he would have “a bit of a bullhorn” to inspire younger people to get involved.
“You’ve heard other folks up here talking about wanting to recruit and retain next generation talent,” he said. “As someone who has been highly involved and engaged in local politics, it is incredibly unwelcoming here.
“Leadership wants to hold onto power with a vice grip, and they don’t want to see young people get involved — God forbid they come and try to take their seat on City Council. But that’s the wrong attitude to have. We should be cultivating and promoting the young people in this community, who want to invest and want to grow and who want to bring a new perspective into a lot of these issues.”
Murchison Road
Candidates were asked about revitalization efforts on Murchison Road, a major thoroughfare that runs through the African-American community near Fayetteville State University. It has long been a city priority.
DJ Haire, the District 4 incumbent said: “I don’t think that there is a more louder, stronger drum major for Murchison on City Council than myself.”
He said the road is playing “catchup” to other corridors. But he pointed to a $7.5 million senior wellness center on the way, and $2 million investment in the MLK Park, which he said would link up with the walking trails at Mazarick Park off Bragg Boulevard.
Derrick Thompson, a District 6 candidate, said with the city budget already done for this cycle there is little that can be done now for Murchison Road, unless state grant money is awarded. But Fayetteville has other areas to address in the meantime, he said, citing the widening of major roads in southwest Cumberland County.
“There’s needs all over the city, not just Murchison Road,” he said.
Working together
Forum moderator Amanda Williams asked the candidates at the outset how they would fulfil their campaign promises having just one vote on the 10-member body.
Larry Wright, District 7 incumbent, said the council must build consensus because it takes six votes to get anything done. He works well with others, he said.
“You have to build relationships and build trust. We all have different opinions with different aspects of our upbringing. And that’s what makes our country great and our city great. To be able to work across the aisle, to be able get consensus and build relationships is key.”
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Candidates were asked what they would say to a Fayetteville police officer or city employee who was resistant to mandatory training for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which is designed to foster awareness of such issues as race and discrimination.
“You’re fired,” is what Michael Pinkston, a District 8 candidate, said he would tell such an employee. “There’s no room in my view for not understanding the public. A police officer is sworn to defend the public, not to harass the public. They are sworn to take care of the public, not to give them trouble. They are sworn to look for ways to help individuals who are down and out.”
“You can’t do that if you don’t understand the concept of empathy.”
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Kathy Keefe Jensen, the District 1 incumbent, praised the DEI training she had received as part of an initiative proposed by Kinston. She said it was a way for officers and other staff to better understand different districts within the city.
“My story isn’t your story,” she said.
Peter Pappas, a District 6 candidate, said Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was “not just a buzzword; it’s a way of life.”
He cited his work on the board for the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission, which has incorporated DEI into its mission.
He said DEI is particularly applicable to Fayetteville: “We are very much integrated, and everyone is everyone’s neighbor.”
He said he would like to see members of the NAACP take a more active role on the board, “so that we get more community input.”
Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville council candidates talk 2020 riots, tiny homes, diversity
