Rocky Mount, NC: Knowing Your Name For All the Right Reasons

You remember that line from Cheers theme song, “where everybody knows your name.”

In Rocky Mount, that’s more than a lyric; it’s a way of doing business. When talk turns to the City Council, at coffee shops, or over dinner tables, it isn’t policy people talk about.

It’s about the Councilmen who’ve turned longevity into leverage, their dominance shaping every debate and decision. Their reputations arrive before they do, their ‘My Agenda’ echoing through every vote.

“Everybody knows your name” sounds friendly, until it becomes shorthand for power that never changes hands, and when governance loses its balance.

In Rocky Mount, that kind of recognition isn’t good; it has allowed two Councilmen to become the system itself. What once felt like leadership now feels like ownership, and the line between serving the people and serving themselves is blurred.

Currently, each ward elects its own representative through district (ward-based) voting. To allow citywide voting for all seven seats, an “at-large council” system, the City Council or the General Assembly would need to amend the Charter.

This process is further explained in the 3-part series that I wrote October 28-30 about the change to an “at-large council” system.

The purpose of these blog posts is to open the conversation about how we vote, why a city divided into wards is better served when all constituents have one vote in each of the seven contests.

Rocky Mount once had City-wide voting. I believe we should return to that system. It would require every candidate to earn the confidence of every voter.

Ward 3’s low turnout brought us a new council member, someone who will weigh in on decisions that affect all of Rocky Mount. What troubles me is not the candidate, but the system that limits who gets to choose these citywide decision-makers.

Although the voting system would change, the structure of the election would not. Each Ward will still field as many candidates as choose to run for that Council seat, but every voter will have one vote to cast in each Ward contest.

When the same Councilman continue to bring negative headlines, it hurts Rocky Mount’s reputation and image. These councilman have held on to their Council seats far too long, without the accountability of a citywide vote.

The citizens are paying a heavy price for this latest scandal. A loss of city jobs, the inability to move forward with projects, etc. We must have justice. Will this State audit finally save us from ourselves?

The mantra from those who shall remain nameless (Thank you, Harry Potter) bellow out, “How dare you criticize!” The shenanigans are always someone else’s fault. Everybody ‘knows’ but it continues on. If Rocky Mount wants renewal, it must begin where all reform begins: at the ballot box.

Change doesn’t come because we wish it so. It won’t come while those long recognized, without ever being named, remain in control. Rocky Mount has reached that crossroad.

If you have a better solution, let’s hear it. I am suggesting that real reform begins with changing the way we vote. Only then can we rebuild trust, restore balance, and shape a city where everybody still knows your name, but for the right reasons.