FTCC, Observer and Greater Fayetteville Chamber to host City Council candidate forums
Forums with candidates for Fayetteville City Council are scheduled for April 26-27 at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Sponsors for the event are The Fayetteville Observer and fayobserver.com; the Greater Fayetteville Chamber; and FTCC.
Candidates for mayor and all nine district races will be offered the chance to answer questions from a panel and from the audience.
The events are free to the public and scheduled for 6 p.m. each evening in Cumberland Hall on the FTCC campus, off Hull Road in Fayetteville. Candidates who filed for mayor and council seats with the Cumberland County Board of Elections will be invited to participate. The forums will be livestreamed on the Observer's Facebook page.
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The April 26 forum will comprise the mayor’s race, as well as districts 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8. The April 27 forum will comprise districts 2, 3, 6 and 9.
Members of the City Council are elected in nine single-member districts. The mayor is elected at-large, or citywide. The elections are nonpartisan.
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The primary is scheduled for May 17. The top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the general election, which is scheduled for July 26. Races with just two candidates will be held in the general election.
Following is the list of candidates who have filed for each race, according to the county board of elections.
Mayor candidates
Mitch Colvin (incumbent)
Freddie de la Cruz
Clifton L. Johnson
Nyrell Melvin (No longer running)
J. Antoine Miner
Franco Webb
District 1 candidates
Kathy Keefe Jensen (i)
William Milbourne III
Alex Rodriguez
District 2 candidates
Shakeyla Ingram (i)
Janene Ackles
Joseph (Bear) Dewberry
J V Peterson
Tyrone A. Williams
District 3 candidates
Antonio B. Jones (i)
Bill Ayerbe
Mario (Be) Benavente
Kurin Keys
John J. Zimmerman
District 4 candidates
D.J. Haire (i)
William Grantham
Thomas C. Greene
District 5 candidates
Johnny Dawkins (i)
Frederick G. LaChance III
District 6 candidates
Leigh Howard
Peter Pappas
Joy Marie Potts
Derrick Thompson
District 7 candidates
Larry Wright (i)
Brenda McNair
Myahtaeyarra (Myah) Warren
District 8 candidates
Courtney Banks-McLaughlin (i)
Michael Pinkston
District 9 candidates
Yvonne Kinston (i)
John Czajkowski
Deno Hondros
Sonya Renita Massey
Note: This story has been updated to correct the date for the general election.
Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville City Council candidates forums in April 2022
