Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin announces he won't seek reelection
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, who is currently serving his fourth term, announced Thursday that he does not plan to run for reelection.
Colvin is a native of Fayetteville and has been mayor since he was first elected in November 2017. He's the longest-serving African-American mayor of the 'All-American City.'
Prior to that, he served two consecutive terms as a city council member for District 3 from 2013-15 and as Mayor Pro Tem from 2015-17.
In recent months, Colvin has taken a tough stance on youth violence. Although it has been an ongoing issue in the city, a shooting during the Dogwood Festival, a major event for the city, voices grew louder for solutions to crime involving young people.
In April, he told ABC11 News there have been 374 incidents involving children in the first three months of the year, and that is not acceptable.
"I think we're in a critical moment that either we get control of this and take back our community, or we allow this to continue, and I don't think that's an acceptable outcome," Colvin said.
He also said parents need to be involved in any solution.
"The city and law enforcement are not the babysitters of these young people. We certainly want to provide venues for them to enjoy themselves, but it should come with parental supervision."
The city imposed a Youth Curfew that's in effect as of May 27. However, police won't start enforcing until July 9.
This comes after the city made changes to the ordinance after the vote to implement one at the end of May.
