10/31/2024
For Fayetteville endorses MOLLY RAWN for MAYOR
The theme of our endorsements this year is bold action for the future. That's why we're endorsing Molly Rawn to be Fayetteville's next Mayor.
It's a big decision and not one any of us should take lightly. For Fayetteville has stood beside Mayor Jordan for nearly a decade as he stood beside us in 2015 to rally voters for our signature nondiscrimination ordinance. He was sounding the diversity, equity, and inclusion call long before this organization existed. But now the welcoming culture we all worked so hard for faces new threats from strained infrastructure and oppressive housing costs that are displacing locals from their homes and neighborhoods. Fayetteville is at a critical inflection point and the next four years will shape our city and who can live here for generations.
For many young people and transplants, Lioneld is the only mayor of Fayetteville they have ever known. There is no doubt that Lioneld is a beloved figure in Fayetteville - and he always will be. But fond memories and nostalgia won't sustain the kids growing up here now. A city is bigger than any one person. And a well run city will outlast all of us.
Enter Molly Rawn. For the past 8 years, she's overseen Experience Fayetteville - a tax-funded component of our city government with a public budget that runs the Town Center (among other facilities), the Lights of the Ozarks, First Thursdays, and the destination marketing efforts that bring tourism dollars into our city. As the Executive Director, Rawn has established effective policies and procedures for HR, finance, and public procurement. She develops the agendas for the Advertising and Promotion Commission and oversees their meetings.
In short, Rawn is ready with all the executive and government experience necessary to confidently take the reigns at City Hall. Besides her leadership experience, the current administration has relied on her subject matter expertise for years - adding her to the committee responsible for developing the Ramble and sending her as an emissary to other cities to learn from their best practices.
Change is inevitable. The challenges ahead require creative thinking, collaborative leadership, and a willingness to take big swings to solve big problems. We've seen Molly Rawn demonstrate all of those attributes and we're confident in her vision for our future.
Rawn is already a champion for the values that form Fayetteville's identity. She works closely with the local businesses we cherish, promotes our local restaurants, and advocates for their employees to ensure they have access to the same quality of life they provide to all of us. Rawn was instrumental in the creation of Centennial Park with its world-class mountain biking facilities, and she initiated Fayetteville's recognition as the first and only UCI Designated Bike City in the entire US. She has been a steadfast ally to Fayetteville's LGBTQ organizations, even when others have wavered. When you need her, she's there and ready to act.
Best of all, Molly Rawn will tell you right to your face that she's not going to do any of it alone. While she's ready to lead the City, she does so with the humility to know that any worthwhile accomplishment can only be achieved with a strong team - and they deserve to be celebrated. Fayetteville deserves to be celebrated.
That's the kind of inclusive pro-community vision that For Fayetteville has always sought. We know that Molly will deliver the direction, the leadership, the collaboration, and the energy to launch Fayetteville into our next great era. That's why For Fayetteville endorses Molly Rawn for Mayor of Fayetteville.
We all love this city, and we think it's best days are ahead of us - if we choose for them to be. Your vote for Molly for Fayetteville is how we make that happen.
