Daniel HargroveLast week, Durham mayoral candidate Pierce Freelon came to N.C. Central University to encourage students to participate in the early voting process. Freelon, 33, spent his day speaking to several classes and marching with students to their local voting precinct at the NCCU School of Law.
“The median age in our city is 32 years old. The average age of our city council is 62 years old. (They’re) almost twice the age of the average citizen,” Freelon said to a packed classroom. “These are the people making decisions about our lives.”
Two of the seven members on Durham’s City Council are also running for mayor as well: councilmen Steve Schewel and Farad Ali. Freelon claimed that many of the other candidates and councilmen are out of touch with the needs of the people. He emphasized that as an elected representative, he would would voice the concerns of the across all generations.
“You need to come out here and vote,” Freelon said to students in an early morning World Societies class. “Voicing your political power is how you hold elected officials accountable. So they know if they do something you don’t like, they’re out of there.”
One student asked what would be the first thing Freelon would tackle as mayor. Freelon replied that he would first approach Durham’s problem with poverty.
“I believe that when you fix Durham’s issue of poverty, you can get everything back on track. Because when there are jobs — and people can provide for themselves and their families — you’ll see a reduction in crime in our communities. You’ll see an increase in our economy, and Durham will grow because of it,” he said.
For more information on each mayoral candidate and their platforms, click here.
The article was originally published on College Town NC.
