Andre Knight – the Ward 1 Councilman:

On May 22, 2026, Mainstreetrockymount.com posted “The Huey Long Lesson and Andre Knight.” It received 2,359 views. On May 23, I posted “Andre Knight Is Not the Only One Who Makes ‘Mistakes.’” It received 1,134 views.

For a blog with 2,082 followers, plus visitors, I have never experienced readership numbers like these on a single day.

I would like to think it was the writing. But the truth is that after the latest disaster involving Councilman Andre Knight and the altercation in the hallway outside council chambers, his name in a headline is now like smoke rising over downtown, people instinctively want to know what has happened this time.

But I believe something larger is occurring than curiosity or political gossip.

In my view, these numbers represent momentum.

For years, criticism of Andre Knight existed mostly offstage, in the wings of his political theater. Resigned, many people came to believe nothing would ever change. Fewer voters turn out. Frustration did not translate into genuine political hope.

This feels different.

If you read the hundreds of comments connected to my blog posts and shared on the Rocky Mount Concerned Citizens page, what emerges is not simply anger, embarrassment, frustration, but the growing belief that change may finally be possible.

People are no longer whispering. They are speaking publicly now, and without hesitation.

A few examples:

“If he doesn’t resign then he needs to be REMOVED !!”

“The money is gone and AK need be gone also.”

“Andre Knight and his cronies have destroyed Rocky Mount.”

“Yes, please let it happen. Enough with the corruption in RM government.”

300 + comments were written on the Rocky Mount Concerned Citizens page, not for Mainstreetrockymount.com. But taken together with the blog’s readership numbers, they reveal something politically important: people are no longer afraid to say publicly what they once only said privately.

That matters.

Elections begin long before filing deadlines, yard signs, and campaign speeches. They can begin when the public mood changes. They begin when voters emotionally detach themselves from an incumbent and begin imagining someone else in the seat. This has just happened, the election has begun.

That is why the Ward 1 councilman will lose this next election.

Yes, this will still be a ward-based election. But I believe 2027 could become the election cycle where people outside Ward 1 begin investing emotionally, financially, and politically in its outcome. Why?

Because they increasingly understand that the behavior of one councilman can affect the reputation and future of the entire city. And it has.

For years, Andre Knight has benefited from political cover regardless of controversy or public conduct. This is one of the reasons I have written previously about the possibility of returning to city-wide voting.

Several folks are organizing for that change. Join them. Supporters, me included, argue that today’s political realities are different from the period when ward protections were first established.

The black vote is now the majority vote. And, Mr. Knight, will have served (2003-27) 24 years on the Council. In that time there should be streets paved in gold. Short of that NO boarded up, neglected house in any neighborhood. Your circumstances may not have changed but his sure have in that length of time.

You can’t vote but for one Ward Councilman. Yours. But seven councilman have determined your past, what today looks like out your window, and a future that is in jeopardy financially.

Give voters a credible candidate with vision, discipline, energy, and genuine concern for the people living in Ward 1, someone focused more on improving neighborhoods than protecting political power, and this race becomes competitive.

For the first time in a long time, people are expressing something loudly and clearly:

“Enough.”

If that emotion translates into votes, 2027 could look different. I believe voters are beginning to not only want change, but believe change is possible, that politics can change even in places where resignation once ruled the day.

That is why conversations, support, participation matter now.

Let’s give the idea of a City-Wide elections some practice. Become invested in this race beyond your Ward.

Start now. Put quarters in a jar from your spare change and hand that jar to the candidate you support, knowing you can’t vote but can participate nonetheless. Have a small fundraiser with friends, hot dogs, chili, board games, charades, and let everyone throw ten dollars into the pot for the occasion.

What do you bet this makes a difference in the outcome of the election. I repeat, practice city-wide voting by taking up interest, cheer leading, encouragement for this change we need. Money alone will not win this election, regardless of our jars of quarters.

Support this version of a City-Wide vote idea, join this political momentum that is happening. Aren’t you tired of being held captive, and paying for the shenanigans of a few members on City Council?

When you study past municipal races in Rocky Mount, the low voter turnout is still able to reelect an undeserving councilman. Too many have adopted the attitude that nothing is going to change, so why bother voting. Well, let’s see if all of us who can’t actually vote can bring that change.

Get your quarters jar started and let’s see who shows up as candidates for 2027. A piece of advice for the Ward 1 contender: Start showing us your vision and what you would do differently and it is your race to be won. Tell us what you would do differently and better.

It will be brutal when Mr. Knight realizes things are different this time. You’ve seen his “How Dare You” speech at the Council when Troy Davis dared to speak out. Lord knows what accusations will be leveled but know this….everybody is going to know your name too and that’s the difference that is going to prevail.