Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Inauguration And Internal Election topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fayetteville swears in mayor and council; council elects Derek Fitzgerald Thompson mayor pro tem 6-4
Summary
Mayor Mitch Colvin and nine council members were sworn in Dec. 1 in Fayetteville. During the ceremony the council elected Councilman Derek Fitzgerald Thompson as mayor pro tem by a 6-4 vote after brief discussion about alternative nominees.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Mayor Mitch Colvin was sworn in for a fifth term and nine city council members took their oaths at a Dec. 1 inauguration ceremony that included speeches about unity, public safety and oversight, and an internal election that made Councilman Derek Fitzgerald Thompson mayor pro tem.
The ceremony began with the posting of colors, the national anthem and an invocation. Officials administered oaths of office for the mayor and each council member; family members and state legislators assisted with several oaths. After the swearing-in, Colvin delivered remarks urging the council to act together and stressing investments in housing, infrastructure and public safety built on trust. “Together, Fayetteville, we rise and we will rise together,” Colvin said.
Councils’ new members used their remarks to outline priorities. Councilman Sean McMillan (District 8) urged the body to address racial disparities and accountability in policing, referencing recent deaths in the community: “While we celebrate the promise of a new council, the community continues to question and mourn the loss of Jada Johnson by police homicide,” he said, and called for independent oversight and phased mental-health responses through the Office of Community Safety.
The council then moved to Item 2 on the agenda: election of the mayor pro tem. Councilman DJ Hair nominated Councilman Derek Fitzgerald Thompson; Dino Hondros seconded. Council discussion included a request from Councilman McMillan to consider other potential nominees: “Not comfortable with voting for the only choice without knowing if there are other choices possible,” McMillan said during the discussion. The nomination carried by a show of hands, recorded as a 6-to-4 vote. The mayor declared the motion carried, and Thompson was introduced as mayor pro tem.
The ceremony concluded with a benediction by Pastor Chris Fletcher of Manna Church, the retirement of the colors and an invitation from the mayor to a post-ceremony reception in the Metropolitan Room.
Officials who administered oaths included state and local officials identified during the ceremony; swearing-in language repeated included support for and maintenance of the constitutions and laws of the United States and North Carolina. No formal policy votes were held beyond the council’s internal election for mayor pro tem.
